Payments

The auto lender is selling its credit card business and halting new mortgage loans, abandoning its once-broader ambitions. Ally CEO touted the move as "the power of focus."

The e-commerce giant has added payment and credit products, though it faces heavy competition from banks and other tech firms. Also, Stripe's layoffs and other news from the world of payments.

The bank is among traditional financial institutions attempting to counter the gains rivals have made in buy now/pay later.

CEO Richard Fairbank told analysts executives have their "microscopes" out for any signs of trouble, but consumers remain "in a great place."

Industry players, regulators and law enforcement will need to work together in 2025 to ensure that as Americans increasingly rely on digital payments, the fraudsters trying to take advantage of them are kept at bay.

The enhanced fintech partnership would build merchant scale, and selling U.K. and U.S. portfolios would free up cash.

Wakefield, Massachusetts-based The Savings Bank named Raichelle Kallery as its president and CEO; Los Angeles-based Banc of California is donating $1M to launch a recovery fund in response to the wildfires devastating Southern California; Amazon agreed to acquire the Bengaluri-based fintech Axio; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Cash App's parent company Block failed to investigate fraud and unauthorized transactions, and refused to refund customers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.

The bank, which owns a minority stake in Viva Wallet, can take over the company in June if its valuation falls before a certain level — which has resulted in a legal dispute with Haris Karonis, the fintech's owner. That and more in American Banker's weekly global payments roundup.

Digital transaction risk draws attention to dynamic CVVs for cards.

Most Influential Women in Payments honorees say the dramatic expansion in technology presents new opportunities and challenges as employers evolve away from traditional business models.

Shift4, whose CEO Jared Isaacman has been nominated by President-elect Trump to head NASA, will pay $750,000 to resolve claims that the fintech didn't report payments to the relatives of its executives.

Honorees from American Banker's Most Influential Women in Payments discuss spotting tangible uses for innovation, rather than buying into hype.

Texas Capital Bancshares promotes Aimee Williams-Ramey to chief human resources officer; M&T Bank hires Wells Fargo veteran Krista Phillips for newly created post of chief customer officer; Paul Connolly and Paul Speiss age out of their positions on Eastern Bankshares' board; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Women in the payments industry are using the advent of real-time payment networks to help underserved women around the world gain access to vital financial services.

Each year, American Banker recognizes the women who are advancing the payments industry in banking, retail, acquiring, processing and more.

A new EU law that requires interoperability and universal support for instant processing goes into effect this week, providing clarity that the U.S. lacks, while ABN Amro says restrooms generate transaction revenue. That and more news in this week's global payments roundup.