A stronger U.S. economy paved the way for Toast and other companies like it, such as Bolt and Due, to find their own niche against PayPal, Stripe and Square when it came to serving small restaurants or coffee shops with point-of-sale hardware and software.

First Financial Banc will gain nearly $300 million in liquidity when it acquires First National Corp. of Wynne.

The company will also gain deposits and loans from its deal with Republic Bancorp.

The mobile point of sale market has grown far beyond its roots as an off-the-shelf dongle for smartphones. The category is now driving major acquisitions, collaborations and international deployments.

The company agreed to buy the parent of Countryside Bank for $90.5 million.

The company agreed to pay $66 million for the parent of Citizens State Bank in Tyler, Texas.

The Wisconsin regional agreed to buy the parent of First National Bank in Staunton for $76 million in cash.

South Plains' agreement to buy West Texas State Bank is its first major move since conducting an initial public offering in May.

The Washington company will have more than $1 billion in assets in Southern California when the $87 million deal closes.

The $64 million acquisition is the first for Investors since it was freed from a regulatory order tied to Bank Secrecy Act compliance.

A company that operates mostly in rural markets is finally making a push into the thriving mid-Atlantic markets of Washington and Baltimore with its deal for Old Line Bancshares.

The deal cleared another key hurdle as Financial Services Committee members showed little interest in slowing the formation of Truist Financial.

Shelby Community has just 1,000 members and $5 million in assets and will complete the merger into 1st Liberty by the end of August.

WesBanco, which is based in West Virginia, will have more than $15 billion in assets when it completes the acquisition.

Visa’s decision on how or if it will participate in Facebook’s cryptocurrency project will be based on how the social network handles the mountain of criticism and requirements that global regulators and lawmakers are heaping upon it.

The Mississippi company has agreed to buy First Florida Bancorp in Destin, Fla., as part of its plan to build a community bank stretching across the Gulf region.

There have now been a record 10 credit union-bank merger deals in 2019.

Earnings at the Cincinnati company fell 25% from the same period last year, largely due to $109 million in expenses tied to its March acquisition of MB Financial.

With the industry continuing to consolidate, credit unions must address mergers in their strategic planning sessions so they are ready to be on either side of the deal when the opportunity arises.

Several megabanks dominate the market, but First Choice is seeking to expand there by catering to its ready supply of midsize businesses. It's not the only one.