Merchant

A federal court has temporarily halted Los Angeles-based Wealth Educators Inc. and its president from offering mortgage relief services after the Federal Trade Commission charged the operation with failing to provide the help promised to homeowners, while charging a large illegal upfront fee for services.

MultiCare Health Systems, a Tacoma, Wash.-based nonprofit, is the subject of a new report citing questionable billing practices and collection methods that leave some patients in endless cycles of debt.

Critics of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposals to rein in payday loans argue that onerous requirements could force many lenders to shut down, leaving cash-strapped Americans with few options for short-term credit. But the truth is payday loans often leave low-income borrowers in even worse straits.

When costs plummet but prices stay high as ever, a market is clearly not working properly. But that's what is happening right now in the business of processing credit- and debit-card transactions, thanks to price-fixing that harms not just merchants but consumers and the entire economy.

Lyle Beckwith of the National Association of Convenience Stores argues that debit card interchange is unfairly high. But this argument ignores several key points.

Bank card and closed-end loan delinquencies rose in last year’s fourth quarter but were still near record lows, according to the American Bankers Association’s Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin.

Idea Bank in Poland aims to win over new small-business customers with an Uber-like service that orders cars equipped with ATMs and cash deposit machines to drive to them.

Bank regulators plan to release their self-assessment tool later this quarter to gauge institutions' cyber readiness, but many see it as sign of more prescriptive measures down the road.

After a making a number of adjustments to overcome a shaky start, Google Wallet is starting to build momentum with merchants, this week adding Shopify, Dunkin Donuts and Seamless to the roster of companies supporting the search company's mobile wallet.

Mortgage finance company Fannie Mae revealed details Wednesday of its first-ever large sale of non-performing mortgages, a move that could make it easier for some of the borrowers behind the loans to stay in their homes.