Fintech regulations

The industrial loan company charter is getting more attention as doubts grow about a new federal license for fintechs.

Some in the industry worry the Fed may balk at allowing OCC charter recipients into the payments system, but Otting downplayed those concerns.

Although most consumer-facing financial institutions now offer mobile applications, that doesn’t mean that they are ready for a world where smartphones are the primary point of contact with their customers, writes Rune Sorensen, a product manager at Nets.

One bank's push to use Ripple's XRP in cross-border payments; LendUp spins off credit card business, names new CEO; a worrisome resurgence of rivalry among the banking agencies; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Nicolas Kopp, head of N26 in this country, explains how the company plans to spend a chunk of the proceeds on its expansion here and add to the intensifying competition among fintechs.

Whether it's the OCC's special-purpose charter, ILCs or some other option, observers see fintechs being able to obtain banking powers.

In venturing into what's normally a province of large banks, nbkc in Kansas City, Mo., discovered innovative tax-management and other products that it could offer to its own customers or sell to other banks.

The agency refuted claims by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors that the OCC was overstepping its authority.

The coming year will bring a wave of data-sharing deals between banks and fintechs, increased bank use of automated advice, marked changes to financial jobs as a result of automation, and much more.

As banks begin to use artificial intelligence in their businesses, they’ll need to consider the potential for bias as well as the impact new technologies will have on workers.