Underbanked

A program recently started in New York helps entrepreneurs improve their business plans and cash flow before sending them to a bank. The nonprofit lender behind the program, meanwhile, hopes to boost small-business borrowers' credit scores and lower their rates.

Some of today's credit products and practices risk leaving consumers trapped in a cycle of debt.

Experts see the British bank's decision to downsize its African stake as another example of money-laundering concerns and other risks prompting institutions to get out of emerging markets.

The first protection a consumer needs is the assurance that any new reforms will not inadvertently drive all regulated credit from the market.

Endorsements from lawmakers such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren of the U.S. Postal Service providing banking services overlook how a similar plan faltered after the Panic of 1907.

Despite billions in revenue annually, legal marijuana businesses have yet to find a solution to the industry’s lack of reliable payments, banking and other financial services.

Regulators’ focus on having banks and credit unions offer payday loan alternatives to underserved consumers overlooks the success of Web-based companies in filling credit gaps.

Moven, one of the most talked-about startups of the fintech boom, is looking to spread financial education to the self-employed.

More borrowers with spotty credit are failing to make monthly car payments on time, a troubling sign for investors who have snapped up billions of dollars of securities backed by risky auto debt.

Western Union is at the center of a preliminary antitrust inquiry as European Union regulators examine allegations of collusion to drive rival money-transfer operators out of the multibillion dollar market.