Risk management

The payments giant has made a lot of money issuing loans to online shoppers with blemished credit histories. But now it is looking to reduce its risks.

Artificial intelligence is steadily making its way through the payments and financial services world. The technology's usefulness for fraud detection is clear, but there are other areas where AI can have an impact.

The industry expects to lean on technological efficiencies this year as higher rates and dwindling refinances test their businesses.

Germany's state-owned development bank KfW, which gained publicity for erroneously transferring hundreds of millions of euros to Lehman Brothers the day the U.S. firm filed for bankruptcy, has done it again.

So-called performance-share units are pushing aside stock options as the preferred long-term incentive pay for bank executives. Many investors and regulators fear that options can encourage reckless conduct and have other shortcomings, though options still have supporters.

The scandal involving Wells Fargo that surfaced last year shows the U.S. banking industry still has work to do on improving its culture, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said.

The financial services industry has been using artificial intelligence for decades in trading, and as the technology gets smarter it’s being tested more often with payments as well.

Firms need to evaluate risks ranging from hackers spreading false information about the bank to an executive’s inappropriate social media posts.

The certification covers compliance, risk and strategy expertise as the payments industry becomes increasingly digitized and global.

If the megabanks' Zelle person-to-person payment service takes off, it will serve as much as a blueprint for collaboration as it does for digital payments.

In her work as a data scientist for several payments startups, Afra Khan's key skill is leveraging fast-evolving technology tools to analyze consumer financial behavior and block fraud before it strikes.

Fraudsters have a strong desire to take over a consumer's accounts or create new accounts to commit fraud by purchasing clothes or shoes to resell or initiate other crimes or chargebacks.

The insurance company, facing regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits over a former sales relationship with Wells Fargo, said it may press its partner to cover costs after halting the sales.

The newest reputational threat has nothing to do with violations of regulations or ethical norms, but rather with the extreme polarization and activism spreading through the country.

When e-commerce fraud spikes, it can be tempting for merchants to pile on more controls and risk turning away otherwise legitimate transactions that appear to be fraudulent. The alternative is often to shut off these controls altogether and leave themselves vulnerable to criminals.

Trust and transparency can be strengthened and like-minded borrowers and banks can be brought together if transactions are “tagged” and investments are explained, argues Bruce Cahan, adjunct professor at Stanford University.

A key aspect of the job for security leaders at retailers is to present cyber risk threats to boards and top executives in terms they understand. Bay Dynamics says the best way to do that is through the common language of dollars and cents.

You’d think financial institutions and retailers in the U.S., with a long list of EMV migration examples to look to in other countries, would have been prepared for fraudsters shifting their attention to e-commerce after security improved at the point of sale. But e-fraud is on the rise, so what's happening?

The scenario where someone uses a check's "float" to purchase something before they have the funds is still more common than many people think, according to the founders of Float, a startup that sends emergency "credit" to a consumer's debit card.

When there’s talk of Amsterdam, many people immediately conjure up the skunky smell of marijuana emanating from coffeeshops. And they wouldn’t be wrong.