Merchant

With the CFPB flexing its regulatory muscles, it's no surprise that collectors are making compliance a priority.

Synchrony Financial, the credit card lender that was recently spun off from General Electric, is considering an expansion into small-business lending.

Back in 2014, Dekkers Davidson, then CEO of the Merchant Customer Exchange, declared that the mobile wallet venture would draw inspiration from Uber and be just as disruptive to financial services as the popular ride-sharing app was to the taxi industry. But Uber's success stems largely from its decision to make payments invisible, whereas MCX was developing its CurrentC wallet to do just the opposite.

Harmony Bank in Jackson, N.J., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund. The $ 295 million-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that it paid about $3.5 million to redeem roughly 3,500 shares of preferred stock.

MuniServices LLC, a business of debt-buying giant PRA Group, will offer aspiring municipal leaders a chance to learn about strategic financial administration through a new certification program.

A recent story in American Banker reported that at least three banks are planning to launch new small-dollar loans products after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's payday lending rule becomes effective.

The San Jose (Calif.) City Council is reviewing the best way to recover the overdue fines without also chasing people away.

Mobility's incursion into merchant services is normally treated as a threat to independent sales organizations and legacy acquirers, who will find themselves on the outside as technology-based services take over the store.

Every business runs the risk of fraud, but some are more likely to be targeted than others. The customers you court, the products you sell and even the amount of time you have been in business can make you more vulnerable to an attack or more appealing to a cyber criminal.

When Walmart switched on Walmart Pay this week at 600 stores in two states, it marked the beginning of a new era, when merchants finally take the reins in mobile payments — and, by extension, the future of digital commerce.