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.

In an interview, Comptroller Thomas Curry expressed concern about eroding loan standards and the potential for crippling cyberattacks. But he also argued that the industry is much stronger than it was a decade ago.

A modest proposal in the president's new budget plan seeks to strengthen the link between youth employment programs, financial education and the responsible use of financial products.

Under the new model, tax preparers must pay lenders for originating loans and are prohibited from passing costs on to borrowers. But consumer advocates argue that pricing of tax preparation services is so opaque that customers could be paying loan fees and not even know it.

The White House and other Democrats have long pushed for banks to offer affordable small-dollar loans as an alternative to payday loans and other costlier credit, but banks have struggled to make them profitable and safe for consumers.

Financial companies from SunTrust to SoFi will be advertising in Sunday's game — a rare sight in recent years — despite the estimate $5 million price tag.

The amount of complaints in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s database dealing with payday loans is relatively small, so why is the proposal to regulate payday lenders so sweeping?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stepped up efforts Wednesday to encourage banks to offer simple checking and savings accounts, but many institutions said it is regulations and other factors that are preventing them from reaching the underbanked.

The marijuana industry is still hampered by its own banking crisis, but the rigidity of federal laws is not stopping all advances in financial services for the sector.

Steve Streit, who founded the prepaid card pioneer in 1999, is taking fire from an investment firm that owns 6.2% of the company.

The Secured It Card requires a security deposit but also offers cash-back rewards and other perks normally associated with Discover's traditional cards.