Disruptors

Capital continues to flow freely into financial technology ventures, many of which are repositioning themselves as aspiring partners for banks rather than would-be disruptors.

Community banks are at a crossroads as they face a threat from alternative lenders and the need to stay true to the traditional bank model. What they should do?

The heat of battle can forge some unlikely bonds, as demonstrated by MasterCard and Western Union’s collaboration with the four-year-old mobile financial service provider bKash, giving the incumbents a foothold in omnichannel payments and making them a bigger threat to other newcomers.

Airbnb, the company that disrupted the hospitality industry as Uber did to taxis, is sidling up to the fintech space.

Affirm, a three-year-old online lender that finances consumer purchases at the point of sale, has raised a $100 million in equity funding to help it boost distribution and develop new products and services.

Delaware, whose business-friendly laws have lured more than half the country's publicly traded corporations and more than 60% of the Fortune 500 to incorporate in the state, is now vying to become a hub for blockchain technology.

Verifone is hoping to beat the payments disruptors at their own game, introducing a mobile point of sale terminal for quick-service businesses, small retail shops and cafés that integrates payments with other consumer services.

Model legislation in the works would give state legislatures a template for regulating virtual currency businesses. The Treasury is lobbying against clear exemptions for firms that don't control customer funds.

Startupbootcamp's fintech accelerator in New York boasts an unusually large faculty of 225 mentors, trained to give candid feedback and prepare the class of 10 startups for the real world.

Members of a House Energy subcommittee had many basic questions for technologists, entrepreneurs and legal experts testifying at a hearing on digital currency Wednesday.