Payments

The two companies in the largest bank merger since the 2008 financial crisis released details of their agreement. It leaves the door open for Discover to field better offers, though the payments company would pay a break-up fee of 4% if it accepts one.

In the wake of the largest U.S. bank deal in more than 15 years, industry executives offered mixed views about the prospects for more big acquisitions. They also spoke about the deal's impact on competition in the credit card business.

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.