Payments

Lenders collected an estimated $25 billion in additional interest income last year by raising the average margin on annual percentage rates, or the amount above the prime rate, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The payment company is working with Google Cloud to develop new forms of machine learning on a larger scale.

The credit card lender's blockbuster acquisition of Discover is not guaranteed to get across the finish line. But co-founder and CEO Richard Fairbank appears to see the rewards that would come from controlling a payments network as outweighing the potential downside.

Some analysts said that the Capital One-Discover deal would undercut the reasoning behind the Credit Card Competition Act — authored by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. — which aims to spur competition for Visa and Mastercard.

London-based global money-transfer firm TerraPay has hired Ruben Salazar Genovez, the longtime global head of Visa Direct, in a new role as the startup's president; U.K. challenger bank Revolut has added a tool that uses machine learning to flag payments for fraud; and more.

The combined company could streamline card payments in a manner similar to American Express' "three party network" — while also doing more with artificial intelligence and other technologies.

The blockbuster merger proposal will be reviewed at a time when the Biden administration is expressing skepticism about consolidation. Its analysis will have to account for markets dominated by both big banks and the likes of Visa and Mastercard.

Data, volume and potential regulatory carve-outs are among the benefits Capital One Financial would get upon the completion of its deal to buy Discover Financial Services.

The Supreme Court justices grappled with the question of whether a newly formed company can challenge a regulatory rule after the six-year statute of limitations has expired, a decision that could have broad impact on plaintiffs' ability to challenge agency rules.

The recently announced merger of Capital One and Discover would create a credit card behemoth, but would also create a credible challenger to the Visa-Mastercard duopoly. Regulators will have to choose between having both or neither.

Capital One Financial's proposed acquisition of Discover Financial Services would create a credit card behemoth with its own payments network. The deal is likely to draw tough regulatory scrutiny, though analysts say there are many compelling strategic reasons for the combination.

The median interest rate that large credit card issuers charged consumers with good credit in the first half of 2023 was 28.2%, compared with 18.15% at smaller banks and credit unions, according to a study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is on a campaign against excessive fees.

Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts asked Early Warning Services, which operates the payment platform Zelle, to clarify its reimbursement policy around impostor scams.

Ex-State Street exec joins Citizens Financial's board, payment software firm Toast will cut workers, Visa rolls out enhanced digital wallet tools and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

The bank is arguing in court with Viva founder Haris Karonis over whether it hindered the fintech's growth. The allegations strain a relationship that was already pressured by inflation and other economic factors.

Nearly a dozen states are looking to regulate digital payroll advance products, prompting a fintech trade group to ask the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to conduct a formal rulemaking.

Financially stressed consumers nearing their credit limit use buy now/pay later loans to finance smaller purchases, while wealthier households want to avoid paying interest or carrying a balance on credit cards for bigger-ticket items, according to the New York Fed.

The top five fintech and payments M&A deals had a combined dollar volume of more than $23 billion.

Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, have added Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., as cosponsors to a bill aimed at increasing credit card competition and lowering consumer fees.

The major U.S. card networks are pursuing financial inclusion in Egypt, the Reserve Bank of India works to bring central bank digital currencies to more users, and other news in this week's global roundup.