Payments

In the news this week: A consumer group filed a complaint against Starbucks over its mobile app and reloadable gift cards, Apple Pay added a new payment tech firm, The Clearing House hired Amanda Stewart as its new marketing chief, and more.

These executives have taken charge at firms like PayPal, Discover and Early Warning Servcies during a volatile time for the entire industry.

The governor's proposed license for buy now/pay later lending adds momentum to the efforts to rein in the fast-growing and unregulated product.

Banks have a simple choice: Either invest in fraud controls to prepare for FedNow, or expect draconian supervisory measures that will increase friction and confuse customers.

In a crowded market for mobile payment apps, the search giant hopes to expand its support of driver's licenses, providing a key method of authentication for more financial services.

Germany, traditionally a cash-heavy economy, is seeing a rise in debit card use. Meanwhile, Indian regulators accuse several crypto exchanges of violating anti-money-laundering rules.

The bank's cross-border transaction service opens a new lane for customer acquisition in an increasingly competitive niche.

Projects are underway at a number of payment firms including PayPal, Circle and Ripple. Location and regulation will also play a big role in what the market looks like in the next year.

2023 saw a recovery in ridership and signs of progress for contactless boarding. But there's still lots of work to do.

Executives at America's largest banks are making rosier predictions about the financial health of U.S. households than they were a year ago, when their forecasts proved to be overly pessimistic.

India softens stance on payment regs; a Dutch neobank turns to gen AI; and more.

EWA programs are not loans, no matter how loudly critics insist that they are. They provide a vital source of liquidity to hardworking families.

Despite tougher economic conditions, BNPL lenders are driving growth by expanding to new audiences and checkout channels, as well as fine-tuning proprietary risk-management models.

Walmart adds BNPL to self-checkout via Affirm, Uber integrates with payment firms Brex and Ramp, Fulton Financial announces next president and more in the weekly banking news roundup.

Banks, payment companies, mortgage lenders and insurance providers are racing to seize an advantage from generative artificial intelligence. Some have been especially aggressive in deciding which workflows — or entire jobs — can be handed off to AI.

Multifunction wallet apps will support shopping, loyalty, paying at the pump or EV charging station and crypto asset management, challenging the roles of U.S. financial institutions.

Here's what's happening around the world

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.

Google's $700 million antitrust settlement is part of a series of legal battles that are eroding Big Tech's control over checkout, cracking a door for other transaction processors and the bank-led Paze wallet from Zelle's developers.