Technology

The online lender and challenger bank is offering customers a way to shop and receive cashback rewards at 20,000 merchants from its app.

The new group will provide technical assistance for cloud clients’ blockchain-based platforms.

The bank technology provider Amount has acquired Linear Financial Technologies to supplement its consumer and buy now/pay later offerings with digital small-business loans.

In her last week in office, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chair discusses why she worries about the dwindling number of community banks and minority-owned banks, why she has made serving low-income communities a priority during her tenure, and what she might do next.

Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has cautioned banks, credit unions and fintechs about fair-lending violations that may stem from reliance on artificial intelligence. His comments threaten to discourage financial firms from using the technology to crunch nontraditional data about borrowers, experts say.

The online-only bank sees opportunities to boost revenue and lower its customer acquisition costs by providing more behind-the-scenes services to fintechs offering financial products.

The transfers are among the fastest and least expensive in the region. The quicker service will please users but the fintech faces a challenge in trying to differentiate itself from rivals, analysts said.

Few banks have adopted an instant invoicing technology called Request for Pay, but more may get on board to help their customers avoid overdraft charges.

The card network hopes its enabling of digital payments could balance the scrutiny it faces over interchange rates in countries such as the U.S. and U.K.

The retailer is funding a challenger bank called One that would be formed from the combination of several fintech firms. The startup would have a strong product set and cash position but could struggle to stand out in a crowded neobank field.