Technology

The payments startup Bolt Financial is cutting staff, its CEO said in a message to employees on Wednesday. 

Under the deal, participating members of the BancAlliance network will be able to buy interests in loans originated on the digital lender’s platform.

Wall Street lenders are calling on the U.S. government to hold off on launching a digital dollar, arguing that a virtual currency backed by the Federal Reserve risks draining hundreds of billions of dollars out of the banking system.

The state of Connecticut recently handed the small-dollar marketplace loan provider a cease-and-desist order, but Rodney Williams says his company is getting much-needed emergency funds into marginalized communities at a low total cost, and that the rules need to be rewritten.

Banks need to come together to create interoperable tokenized deposits, as part of an effort to bridge the gap between traditional finance and blockchain.

Several federal agencies have recently stepped up requirements on banks to notify regulators and the public when they fall victim to cybersecurity incidents.

The startup, whose name suggests its purpose of helping companies attract and retain employees, lets companies offer cash incentives to talented recruits that are vested over several years, motivating them to stay in their jobs for a while.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., says she and Sen. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., plan to release draft legislation next week that would establish a supervisory entity for emerging financial technologies and new rules for stablecoin issuers.

Q2 Holdings, a banking-software provider, is weighing options including a sale after receiving takeover interest, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Mastercard has begun to trial a biometric payment system for brick-and-mortar stores, using facial recognition rather than contactless cards, smartphones or memorable PINs.