Petal has received a $13 million funding round from Valar Ventures, a New York-based venture capital fund that specializes in financial technology, to use artificial intelligence to fill holes in legacy risk vetting.

Outstandings top 2008 high mark, prompting some concerns; big banks are expected to take $31 billion in writeoffs from fourth quarter earnings due to tax reform.

The McLean, Va., company said that the personnel moves were unrelated to either its financial performance or its risk performance.

Alliance Data Systems is developing a co-branded credit card and a private-label credit card program with Sweden-based Ikea’s U.S. furniture store operations.

The late-payment rate on loans frequently used to consolidate credit card debt hit its highest level in more than four years.

Companies like Visa and Mastercard make decisions about security in secrecy, without enough input from banks and merchants.

The milestone marks the end of a seven-year-long recovery in the credit card market that followed the Great Recession.

Dueling blockchain stories — one arguing it was virtually useless, the other saying it could change real estate lending — seized the top spots this week, while readers also focused on tax reform aftermath and a key Senate retirement.

Merchants have been challenging surcharge bans in numerous states on free-speech grounds. They have the wind at their backs following another court victory on Wednesday.

Credit card debt hit $807 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016, with consumer balances on average exceeding $4,800, according to a report released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.