Merchant

A top CFPB official said student loan companies are at risk of breaking the law if they place people in default when the co-signer of their loan dies or declares bankruptcy. The CFPB’s latest Supervisory Highlights report focuses on problems in the student loan industry.

The focus on the smart-home device marks the latest frontier in the ways in which banks and payment companies are testing features on cars, fridges, watches and other internet of things.

The confusion over how banks categorize chargebacks has become the latest minefield in the transition to EMV chip cards in the U.S. And the sheer volume of chargebacks has forced some merchants to turn to legal action, questioning the entire migration process.

In opposing restrictions on interchange fees, the financial services industry often claims that 2011 debit swipe-fee reforms are such a huge threat to revenue that even small banks and credit unions below $10 billion in assets, which are exempt from the Dodd-Frank Act rules, feel the pinch.

Bluetooth beacons — small nightlight-sized devices that can communicate with a mobile app as shoppers move throughout a store — may have the same potential for bank branches as they do for mega-retailers like Target Corp.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Massachusetts invested in technology to beef up its small-business lending, an area ripe for the picking by alternative lenders.

There are more than 43 million student loan borrowers in the U.S., owing nearly $1.3 trillion dollars of debt. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling believes those numbers make it a hotbed for debt relief scams and NFCC officials are warning student borrowers about falling victim.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco is exploring ways to use $40 million it received as part of a private-label securities settlement to support small-business development and job creation to help future homebuyers.

Verifone's presence in the mobile point of sale market is as old as Square's, but it has had a bit more trouble reaching Square's market. This year, Verifone's strategy will be to move the goalpost — and to chop it up into smaller segments.

Ray Grace, North Carolina's banking commissioner, believes federal bank regulators should embrace charters for banks dedicated to innovation. Doing so, he said, would help the banking industry secure its spot as a "laboratory for change."