Payments

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Monday that the central bank's real-time payments network will go live between May and July of 2023 and financial institutions should prepare themselves right away.

Drake Bank in Minnesota is working with the fintech B Generous to test whether installment loans can help bring in larger donations to nonprofits.

More than 30,000 of the bank's customers have already updated their credit cards to show their chosen name instead of their legal name, and the bank expects a similar response from debit card users.

The technology firm is pitching itself as a partner for the development of central bank digital currencies, hoping to gain its clients a role in newer payment systems.

The late-payment rate for the company's buy now/pay later loans rose above 2% for the first time this year in July and August, and CEO Max Levchin says a downturn is "more than likely."

Affirm must demonstrate it can maintain healthy loan growth to regain investor confidence when reporting earnings results Thursday, while Klarna unveils results next week.

Wealthier Americans cut their credit card spending for a third straight month in July as inflation and market volatility weighed on sentiment, according to a study by Bank of America Institute. 

Firms like Amazon Go and Zippin are focusing more on data their systems collect that isn't captured by traditional point-of-sale systems. This information can play a key role in loyalty programs or back-office tasks such as tracking inventory.

This week in global news, Australia maps out its crypto market, the U.K. ponders new crypto legislation, Microsoft plans a metaverse accelerator in Dubai, and more.

The human resources consultancy Thrive and the money management firm Unifimoney say the appeal of digital assets is expanding for payments and payroll, despite the volatility that eliminated much of the currencies' valuation this year.