Patriot National Bancorp was exploring a digital pivot, and American Challenger Development Corp. had been seeking a bank charter in its quest to become open an all-digital bank. They decided it was quicker to join forces.

Mainstream lenders have long been reluctant to make short-term consumer loans because the costs involved make them expensive for borrowers. Upstart says its technology will enable partner banks to offer loans at annual percentage rates below 36%.

The data aggregator is recruiting partners such as Railsbank, Silicon Valley Bank and Marqeta for a project designed to make certain digital transactions easier to complete.

The bank is partnering with Anthemis to match investors with female entrepreneurs, who according to Findexable research attract just 1.5% of investment in the sector.

Northern Hills Federal Credit Union in South Dakota is one of several institutions testing tools that can deliver faster loan decisions, an edge they need against digital upstarts.

Hispanic adults are underbanked compared with their white counterparts, according to the Federal Reserve. Challenger banks such as Tend and Viva First are reaching out to this population with bilingual services and low-cost money transfers.

Digital upstarts like Square, Stripe and PayPal are invading community banks' turf by appealing to local merchants with a mix of electronic payments and lending. Small banks are fighting back by leaning into digital services while maintaining their personal touch.

With today’s generation of home buyers so rooted in a digital world, how will the financial services industry need to change to meet their needs? What new consumer technology will they need to adopt to meet consumers where they are? How will those approaches differ from how things have been done historically in the industry? Join us in a discussion with Blend’s Founder, Nima Ghamsari as we chat through how banks and financial institutions need to think through these questions.

Some big tech firms “have sought to gain greater control over the flow of money in our economy,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra told senators. His comments came after the agency demanded information from large tech companies about their payment offerings.