Coronavirus

Banks and credit unions should make it their top priority to pair with the central bank in distributing financial relief to small businesses, even if that means putting everything else on hold.

Margins will be squeezed after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates earlier this month to counteract the economic fallout from the coronavirus.

It's still unclear how the coronavirus pandemic will alter payment habits over time — will consumers avoid cash out of fear of germs, or will they favor it as the one payment option that nearly all merchants accept? An impending change in interchange rates may tip the scales in cash's favor.

Targeted marketing efforts must go beyond explaining the functionality and instead educate consumers about all benefits that contactless can offer. Responsible communication should prioritize those who are at the highest risk for infection, says The Futurist Group's Demitry Estrin.

As companies move work off-site because of the pandemic, a host of issues have arisen around remote access, network monitoring and cybersecurity.

The regulation issued late on Tuesday directs state-regulated financial institutions to give mortgage borrowers at least 90 days of forbearance if they can show financial hardship resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. It also requires banks and credit unions to provide relief on ATM fees and credit card late payment fees.

The central bank will prioritize monitoring and outreach while reducing examination activity due to the coronavirus pandemic until at least the end of April.

It joins a growing list of banks temporarily shuttering branches as the novel coronavirus continues to spread across the country and more Americans stay home. Meanwhile, Citi and rival Wells Fargo became the latest banks to announce plans to pay bonuses to front-line employees.

The coronavirus stimulus package has resurrected calls for the U.S. government to offer a central bank digital currency, public mobile wallets and postal banking—controversial ideas that are hard to pull off, but exist outside the U.S. and could dent interchange fees and private stablecoin projects like Facebook’s Libra.

The bank has asked managers review job postings and pull listings for roles that don’t need to be filled immediately, according to people familiar with the matter.

The COVID-19 crisis is forcing many banks to hold their spring shareholder meetings online only.

The legislation sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, would require banks to offer the accounts so that consumers could easily access cornonavirus relief funds without turning to high-cost check cashers.

With economists fearing high unemployment stemming from the pandemic, the housing finance system is grappling with how it will recoup lost revenue from delinquencies, forbearance plans and other tremors.

Financial services personnel were among critical infrastructure groups that the Department of Homeland Security said were crucial for “public health and safety as well as community well-being” during the pandemic.

While financial institutions are encouraging customers to use their digital banking services rather than the branch or ATMs during the outbreak, attackers will also be looking to exploit this potential increased adoption of mobile banking and mobile payment apps, says OneSpan's Sam Bakken.

Financial services personnel were among critical infrastructure groups that the Department of Homeland Security said were crucial for “public health and safety as well as community well-being” during the pandemic.

Mastercard Inc. ditched its full-year outlook for revenue growth and lowered forecasts for first-quarter results it announced just a month ago.

Britons stuck at home due to the coronavirus outbreak are hitting the online casinos, providing a boost for operators of virtual games such as blackjack and roulette.

If the new accounting standard poses too many risks during an economic crisis, then it's probably not a good idea at all.

As coronavirus forces most shopping to occur online, merchants will likely see their product return policies tested by both good customers and the unsavory ones who abuse those policies for profit.