Payment methods

MagicCube’s i-Accept is a hardware-free option for accepting card and electronic payments that could appeal to cost-conscious small businesses and open up a new market for banks that provide them payments services.

Online fraud typically spikes when holiday shopping begins in November, but so-called friendly fraud poses another big threat this year with the pandemic pushing more consumers — and inexperienced merchants — to online sales channels.

Citigroup is now the third, and largest, U.S. financial institution to offer the Mastercard True Name feature, which lets customers use their preferred name, rather than their legal name, on credit and debit cards. The cards are targeted specifically for transgender and nonbinary people, who often face outsized financial hardship.

Other central banks have considered phasing out cash as they explore digital currencies. Should the idea take hold in the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said it would not replace the physical dollar.

Credit unions' credit and debit card portfolios could see a surge this week as the online retailer offers two days of deals, while the industry's regulator is set for a cybersecurity update.

Digital money will have to coexist with cash and other forms of tender, according to a report by the Bank of International Settlements, the Federal Reserve and other institutions.

The $3.1 billion-asset institution's product will not carry any fees and offers a variable APR.

U.S. consumer borrowing unexpectedly fell in August as credit card balances declined for a sixth consecutive month with the coronavirus pandemic continuing to limit some purchases amid elevated unemployment.

The company, which provides credit cards to millennials, is expanding its target audience beyond thin-file consumers and those without credit histories. It will now also target those with blemished, nonprime credit histories.

Bank bill-payment sites have become less relevant over the last decade as more people go to billers’ websites to pay directly or use billers' mobile apps — often at the last minute. But the COVID-19 pandemic could flip the script on the $4.6 trillion bill-payment sector.