Bank technology

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Former Google CIO Douglas Merrill believes his firm, ZestCash, can jump-start the subprime lending market with an alternative underwriting engine that uses thousands of consumer data points and proprietary math to aid loan decisions.

Bank of the West in El Paso, Texas, is changing its name to WestStar Bank to avoid confusion with a much larger San Francisco bank that shares its name.

Fair Isaac Corp. said Friday that it has appointed John Chen as its managing director in China.

USA Technologies Inc. announced two additions to its board of directors.

An alternative payments company that lets users make electronic payments in cash is planning to quickly expand its user base and merchant clients with the addition of a mobile channel.

The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, two bills that would have relied on payment companies to block funding to websites accused of content theft, were put on hold Friday.

As alternatives to automated clearing house payments start to mount and small business electronic payment volumes lag, NACHA has embarked on a campaign to get businesses to say "via ACH" more often.

Jan. 13 — Jan. 19: Visa pushes back on PIN for chip cards; what a shoe retailer's breach says about the state of data security; and more.

American Express Co.'s fourth-quarter earnings rose 12% as cardholder spending kept rising and the company booked higher revenue, though loan-loss provisions increased.

Scott Thompson's abrupt departure as PayPal's president leaves PayPal in the hands of a team of competent executives, but raises the question of who among them, if any, will be tapped to fill his role.

The squeeze on fee income, lower branch volume, and big regulatory outlays has banks looking everywhere to find savings, even in teller scheduling. Automated staffing tools are moving downmarket to smaller banks such as Bangor Savings Bank and North Dakota's State Bank & Trust.

Tiny Square-like card swiping gadget available to those remaining merchants and consumers who still favor the BlackBerry.

FinTech top 10 company growing its presence in the home base of competitors Tata and Infosys.

Corporate payment automation provider Syncada said it processed more than $21 billion in payments last year.

BancorpSouth has selected TSYS to process its debit card and consumer and commercial credit cards.

Transact24's T24 Black Visa card has a $240 activation fee and a $15 monthly fee, which is waived for the first year. Users of the card can load up to $50,000 and get perks like access to VIP airport lounges and travel insurance.

Treasury Department software used to track federal collections and payments was stolen by a government contractor's employee who worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, federal prosecutors said.

Proximiant is attempting to create a mobile payment system that focuses on digital receipts and rewards. And it leaves payments out of the process.