Investment

The ‘Unsinkable Cathy Bessant’; Thasunda Duckett’s rising star takes center stage; the challenges facing Wells Fargo chief Charles Scharf; Fannie, Freddie to retain $45B in capital; and more from this week’s most-read stories.

Retailers are decelerating data security spending, even as attacks become more sophisticated and merchants emphasize the types of multi-channel shopping that draws attackers.

The company will use the funds to increase research and development efforts as well as expand its global presence.

The card networks are taking blockchain seriously as a means of streamlining cross-border B2B payments. But while they share a vision, they are taking different paths to this goal. Visa has opted for a closed network that it controls, while Mastercard envisages a wider, more open ecosystem.

Freddie Mac's test of artificial intelligence to make lending decisions could be a significant turning point in broadening the use of the technology.

As cryptocurrency global payment options expand, Ripple wants to assure it stays at the forefront with its XRP token through the creation of a developer platform for third parties that will fuel new products using XRP.

Mastercard has developed a service called Threat Scan to help card issuers get ahead of fraudsters by running scans on their card authorization systems based on the latest evolving global card scams.

Oak HC/FT is the lead investor in a $100 million round in Rapyd, a company that’s designed to serve a complex international supply chain.

More states are adopting mobile driver’s licenses, sparking hope of creating a shareable consumer-driven digital ID to power e-commerce and data sharing among banks, fintechs and merchants.

With financial institutions relying more and more on cloud computing services, Washington is increasingly focused on the concentration of industry data in the big three technology giants.