Economic news

Citigroup hopes to return $60 billion to shareholders by 2020 while earning $20 billion a year; SEC says companies that raise money by selling their own electronic tokens for cryptocurrencies may be subject to federal oversight.

Bank of America has picked Dublin to locate its main European Union hub in preparation for Britain quitting the bloc in 2019.

The California lender, which specializes in trade finance, reported strong growth in commercial and other lending categories last quarter, and it urged the Trump administration to seek fair trade deals with China.

Hub brand requirements are modest compared with retail systems. They communicate reputation and trust to a relatively small set of sophisticated firms they hope to serve.

House Republicans are ramping up their criticism of the Fed for making interest payments to member banks on excess reserves, and may have identified a way to counter claims that the payments are critical to monetary policy.

When you look at the potent combination of Prime customers (who are the only ones eligible to shop on Prime Day) and Echo owners, Amazon was shrewd to give those customers extra special treatment.

The move will explore the risks and opportunities of the new technology, and the group membership allocation across agencies and stakeholder groups seems to be a reasonable way to include a range of opinions, writes Rob Viglione, co-founder of ZenCash.

Large outdoor events were among the earliest proving grounds for mobile point of sale technology. Will this environment be as welcoming of digital currency?

Removing restrictions on companies such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon could have clear repercussions for the payments industry.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said European Union officials could force London-based firms to move substantially more employees abroad than planned if they demand additional banking operations be performed inside the bloc.

The OCC says banks face growing “strategic risks” from trying to compete and team up with fintech startups; U.K. investor group wants banks to provide more nonfinancial information about their conduct and culture.

U.S. retailers have been shutting stores at a record pace as shoppers opt to make more purchases online.

Transaction laundering is gaining steam, and since it uses familiar payment technology, it can be easier to use than virtual currency, writes Ron Teicher of EverCompliant.

Retailers are worried about the online giant’s move into bricks-and-mortar retailing. For example, Amazon's $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market Inc. wiped $17 billion off the value of Walmart.

Toronto-based nanopay Corp. is making MintChip, a digital currency it acquired in 2015 from the Royal Canadian Mint, available to merchants looking for a lower-cost payments channel by leveraging digital cash.

Local payments are included in the e-commerce checkout process, allowing merchants to immediately sell products online to local customers.

The company has added six new markets in Europe, where it has already established a beachhead for its e-commerce technology.

The central bank said the legal change would allow it to fully exercise the powers laid out in a clearing proposal from the European Commission.

The exchange is adding Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash, Monero, Zcash and dozens of other cryptocurrencies in exchange for U.S. dollars.

Payoneer believes British companies will seek opportunities outside of the EU, leading to international payments demand.