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.

Bluetooth beacons — small nightlight-sized devices that can communicate with a mobile app as shoppers move throughout a store — may have the same potential for bank branches as they do for mega-retailers like Target Corp.

Nothing accelerates innovation quite like a new car. But before consumers can outfit their vehicles with James Bond gadgetry, they need a way to pay for it all from behind the wheel.

Startups, including one in the virtual currency field, have approached the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency about applying for banking charters, the agency's chief counsel said Thursday.

Square is "betting big on Near Field Communication," but not to the point the company would consider bringing back its own Square Wallet app, CEO Jack Dorsey says.

Retirement was good for Pamela Joseph, former head of U.S. Bank's Elavon business, but not enough to overcome the lure of a high-level executive role at Total System Services, a company rapidly transitioning into a new age of digital payments.

LendKey, which manages online lending programs for banks and credit unions, has named Salil Mehta to senior vice president of credit risk and analytics.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking aim at marketplace lenders, announcing Monday that it is accepting complaints about the developing industry and releasing a bulletin to inform the public about such firms.

Atlanta is flush with payment processors that handle more than 70% of the nation's transactions. These players now plan to expand their reach even further, hoping to make the southern city a fintech hub to rival Silicon Valley and New York.

Putting bank venture clearXchange's push for real-time person-to-person payments in motion, U.S. Bank says it is one of the first to make the service available to its customers.

The payments industry changes fast, and a business model that was viable just two years ago may be obsolete today. Some companies are making major updates to their strategies to stay ahead of these developments.