Payments

The payment option has grown beyond underbanked consumers. For issuers, a $1 trillion market is at stake.

Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar will lead a centralized sales structure, part of a larger organizational change as the firm battles firms like PayPal and Stripe to reach merchants.

The Federal Reserve chair said Fed researchers continue to explore central bank digital currencies to stay current on international payments developments, but emphatically denied that the central bank is considering creating one of its own.

The London challenger bank has added deposits in an effort to keep customers from using banks and other fintechs; the Australian bank Westpac is offering cards to kids as young as 8; and more in our global payments and fintech roundup.

CEO Michael Miebach told analysts that a court's dismissal of an earlier agreement on interchange charges is disappointing, and he hopes to avoid a trial.

Instances of check fraud have ballooned in recent years, plaguing banks, and they don't seem to be slowing down. Probably the best thing regulators can do to combat that fraud is to develop an equally inexpensive alternative that is more secure, and FedNow might be that service.

CEO Alex Chriss contends the payments company can get a boost from greater access to mobile payment technology while competing against the technology giant on other fronts.

New funding would increase valuations for both firms, reversing a slump that has impacted the entire industry for the past two years.

As a senator, the likely Democratic nominee for President championed an agency that did early work on payment technology, setting the stage for a central bank digital currency.

The big box retailer's move comes amid a broader decline for the traditional payment option.