Payment processing

Charging a nonsufficient funds fee on a debit, ATM or peer-to-peer payment that gets declined immediately would be considered "abusive" under a proposed rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Federal Reserve would seem to offer a compelling alternative to the bank-backed RTP network, but some credit unions — which typically see bank systems as competitive threats — are making more nuanced choices.

Here is a highlight of 10 great American Banker Magazine features from the year. Topics range from redlining to the Most Influential Women in Fintech.

The first credit unions enrolled in the Federal Reserve's FedNow instant payments platform say it will fundamentally change the way they serve consumers and businesses across multiple categories.

Only 111 credit unions currently use The Clearing House's real-time payments platform, out of nearly 5,000 nationwide, but having the world's largest credit union in the system could lead more to join.

Real-time payments and a potential central bank digital currency are different initiatives, but many bank customers get them mixed up. To promote acceptance of FedNow, banks must distinguish between these new technologies as well as dispel the myths and fears linked to CBDCs.

Three months after the instant payment network went live, users and former Fed staffers say the rollout is going as expected. But the key to wider use depends on banks and their customers figuring out what to do with it.

Brazil's PIX network has sparked a venture-capital boom in an otherwise down economy, including interest from U.S. investors.

Because instant settlement is irreversible, companies like Orum expect to see demand for systems that can vet recipients within seconds.

California-based Star One is sharing its experience with smaller banks and credit unions, in an effort to get more to offer the government-backed real-time payment rail.

It's hard to see FedNow as a revolutionary solution because it's not actually much newer, faster or cheaper in many cases than existing payment services.

More than 1,000 users reported problems making payments on Tuesday before complaint volumes tapered around midday, according to DownDetector, a site that collects user outage reports. The internal network disruption comes on the heels of another Zelle outage JPMorgan Chase took responsibility for seven days ago.

The bank hasn't explained why person-to-person payments, bill processing and account-transfer services went down for parts of two days this week. But observers suspect glitches in its legacy systems could occur at other financial institutions and increasingly affect real-time payment networks.

Wells Fargo leads $70 million funding effort targeting credit-challenged entrepreneurs; PayPal adds Tap to Pay for Venmo, Zettle; Amex names new CFO to succeed retiring veteran finance chief and more in this week's banking news roundup.

The Block unit's new American Express card credits users with $1 in payment-processing fees for every $3 they spend on business expenses. It's also offering new loan terms and other tools for managing expenses and cash flow.

Discover Bank launches financial health fund, Cross River Bank climbs past real-time payment transaction benchmark, Webster funds financial education at youth-focused nonprofits and and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Banks that haven't built a plan to implement the Federal Reserve's new real-time payments system still have time to make up lost ground.

Josh Williams, chief banking officer for Seattle Bank, explains how changes in payments technology will affect smaller institutions.