Capital markets

Uber’s getting a half billion dollar investment from PayPal at a time when the ride-sharing app is prepping a $100 billion IPO and can least afford speed bumps in its user experience and payment process.

The restaurant food delivery market is booming, as it caters to America’s growing desire to get on-demand meals for a dine-at-home lifestyle. This trend is influencing how restaurant orders are placed and paid for.

With Wirecard's value tumbling since a Financial Times report two months ago alleging an accounting scandal in its Asian operations — and a followup Wednesday reporting that half of its revenue comes from "three opaque partner companies" — the German payments processor received a lift from a €900 million ($1 billion U.S.) investment from Japan's SoftBank.

Silicon Valley, New York, London and several of China’s largest cities are the world’s leading fintech hubs, but many other locales are gunning for their crown.

The Providence, R.I., bank reported increases in most fee-based lines and loan categories, and it continued to add deposits through its new digital franchise, Citizens Access.

Citcon has completed a Series B funding round that included a $5 million strategic investment from East West Bank. The cross-border QR code payments processor will also be adding Catherine Zhou, executive vice president and head of consumer banking and digital banking at East West Bank, to its board of directors.

The New York company formed the nationwide group after hiring a team of former Square 1 bankers.

Urfer co-founded a business with the banking automation pioneer John Diebold, worked for Chase Manhattan and other major banks, and played an important role in the Nixon administration, phasing out exchange controls.

Following its own economic downturn that required bailouts by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain’s governors hit on an economic recovery plan that includes turning the tiny nation into a global payments hub.

The startup now has five bank partners and equity financing from four investment entities.

The company plans to use the new capital to pursue growth opportunities.

Large investment houses see an opportunity to improve financial conditions for contract workers, accelerate evolution away from cash to digital payments, expand the smartphone as a commerce device and streamline user experience.

PayPal has joined a funding round for startup Cambridge Blockchain, reportedly the first investment the online payments giant has made in distributed ledger technology.

As N26 schedules its launch for midyear, it will face off against other startups and mobile-only spinoffs from incumbent financial institutions.

Jumia Technologies AG said Mastercard Inc. has agreed to invest 50 million euros ($56 million) in a private placement ahead of the Africa-focused online retailer’s planned initial public offering in New York.

Restaurant point of sale and back-office management provider Toast raised $250 million in a Series E funding round, valuing the company at $2.7 billion, and is adding David Yuan from TCV to its board of directors.

Freddie Mac exchanged existing bonds from its portfolio for mirror certificates for the first time, completing a key test that is central to the creation of a uniform mortgage-backed security.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, by allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to split the CEO and president positions, let the companies dodge a congressionally mandated cap on executive salaries, the regulator's inspector general said.

Some lenders, especially in markets like California, are preparing in case of a technology-industry stumble that hurts business, real estate and other loan segments. Whether those fears are well founded is a matter of debate.

Marqeta, which launched in 2010 with a payments platform to support payments through mobile and virtual channels, reportedly has attracted $250 million in a new funding round, which would bring its total funding amount to more than $350 million.