Investment

The Spanish banking giant Santander has withdrawn from the bank consortium R3 CEV, becoming the second defector from the blockchain group this week after Goldman Sachs.

Mobile apps that allow consumers to control their payment cards are becoming more popular as banks use payment security as a way to build customer relationships.

A full year into the EMV migration, crooks are expected to be even more aggressive about attacking soft spots in online and mobile transactions.

Distinct business plans in promising areas such as smart use of consumer data, cybersecurity and content creation, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch commercial banking executive Scott Olmsted. And that is just the beginning of his list.

Banks are warming to behavioral biometric software as one of an array of choices to prevent digital banking fraud.

Mastercard will launch its “selfie pay” system in the Asia-Pacific region next year, expanding the global reach of its biometric identity-verification service for online payments to more markets as part of a gradual worldwide rollout.

Behavioral biometrics has already stopped several million dollars worth of online banking fraud at National Westminster Bank in London.

The global conglomerate Koch Industries plans to invest $2 billion in Infor, an enterprise software provider for various industries including financial services.

OfferUp, a secondhand mobile marketplace, closed its latest funding round $11 million higher than previously reported and added PayPal co-founder Max Levchin as an investor.

The once-booming market for reloadable prepaid cards has seen a slowdown in new-account growth in recent years amid heavier competition and consolidation, causing longtime providers to look for ways to stand out in a crowded field.