Legal issues and news

Square, the mobile payments company, has joined with other tech companies in a cross-licensing platform to reduce patent lawsuits over cryptocurrency and promote the growth of digital currencies.

JPMorgan Chase settled a longstanding French criminal investigation over allegations it helped clients commit tax fraud for 25 million euros ($29.6 million).

A lawsuit filed by Attorney General Maura Healey last year said Credit Acceptance Corp. in Michigan made predatory loans to Bay State borrowers and used deceptive practices to collect debt.

A predecessor bank, Allegiant Bancorp of St. Louis, was accused of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with a scheme run by a seller of funeral contracts.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is seeking nearly $19 million from David Julian, Claudia Russ Anderson and Paul McLinko. The trial before an administrative judge is scheduled to begin in South Dakota on Sept. 13.

For banks that want to replace usernames and passwords with more secure options, there's hope: Consumers are becoming more comfortable with biometrics, the technology is getting easier to use and regulators are starting to require it.

Banks talk a good game about thwarting fraud and protecting consumers and businesses, but the experiences of this author, a former bank regulator, illustrate how the quality of such efforts varies dramatically from one bank to the next.

Chief executives from across the business world are set to join President Biden for a discussion Wednesday on how industry and the federal government can partner to improve cybersecurity in the face of debilitating ransomware and cyberattacks.