Payments

Payment firms including Mastercard and Block are banding together with fintech companies to press Canada to move faster on rules that may boost competition in financial services.

The bank-led peer-to-peer payment system reportedly wants to standardize how it handles reimbursements for fraud. The move would have to both reassure consumers and keep regulators at bay.

In global news this week, WeChat Pay enables instant payments outside China, Mastercard takes a minority stake in Societe Generale subsidiary Treezor, Sella Group tests a fingerprint payment card in Italy, and more.

Firms like Visa, Mastercard, Barclays and JPMorgan Chase are expanding hubs and accelerators as technology experts look for new jobs and entrepreneurs look for new ideas.

The collaboration with Thunes enables millions of underbanked mobile wallet users and merchants to perform digital cross-border sales, providing another route to cut processing costs.

Russia's international ambitions for its homegrown alternative to Visa and Mastercard have been dashed as even some of its closest allies have dropped its Mir payment system following a threat by the U.S. to sanction anyone who helps or supports its use.

U.S. consumers are more likely to apply for a credit card, and less likely to get rejected, than they were last year, according to a New York Fed survey. The card industry is growing even as the mortgage and auto lending sectors show signs of retrenchment.

A partnership with Singapore authorities and a project with a network of banks aim to demonstrate the viability and interoperability of central bank digital currencies.

Visa's Qatar 'face payments' rollout, Regions' continuing-ed perk and more in banking news this week.

The London-based challenger bank will also launch a streamlined version of its app as it works to break into non-European markets.