Technology

For years mobile wallets have been a solution in search of a problem – until now. COVID-19 has reframed the retail point-of-sale (POS) and with it, how consumers want to pay, giving wallets a new relevance for safer in-store payments.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council says bank accounts and information systems have become more vulnerable as mobile and other technologies have expanded. It issued guidelines on detailed steps financial institutions should take to heighten security.

It may seem odd that Citigroup has created an online lending platform that matches small businesses with minority-run and other banks for no financial benefit. Yet company executives and observers say it makes sense.

Upgrade, a lending startup that counts former LendingClub executive Renaud Laplanche as a co-founder, raised $105 million in a funding round that values the company at more than $3.3 billion.

The acquisition of Florida-based Service Finance Co. would expand the North Carolina bank’s presence in the point-of-sale lending business.

The $119 million-asset Ergo Bank in Wisconsin, which is working with the fintech Neocova, says artificial intelligence and modern data management are attainable for even the smallest financial institutions — and essential to competing with larger banks for consumers.

The combination of American Express and its fintech subsidiary Kabbage is starting to bear fruit at an opportune time, as credit card companies increasingly expand their range of products to boost revenue.

As tech giants rush into point-of-sale lending, the smaller companies that built the market are counting on acquisitions and partnerships with specialized vendors to defend their turf and pull in new borrowers.

The San Francisco company says it will "modify and strengthen" its filings with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Utah officials and "resubmit at a later date." It's the latest fintech to encounter such a setback, though some later secured approval.

As people more heavily use exchanges and other providers of digital-asset-related services, they're registering more beefs with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, too. Experts say it's only a matter of time before the agency invokes its broad authority to police the sector.