Payment processing

The buy now/pay later firm, which reports earnings Thursday, has inked deals with Worldpay to expand potential borrowers and with New York Life to obtain more capital for future lending.

About $2 billion changes hands daily for the sale of new motor vehicles in the U.S., making auto dealers a prime use case for faster payments. So why aren't more using it?

The deal is the latest example of a mainstream bank buying a point-of-sale lender focused on financing home improvement projects.

The bank, which helped launch the real-time network for peer-to-peer payments, is trying to duplicate that success by helping corporate clients process certain transactions instantly with wholesale partners and, in some cases, retail customers.

The bank’s decision to offer home improvement loans directly will not have a material impact on profits at the Atlanta-based fintech, according to GreenSky.

A growing number of companies like Klarna, Sezzle and Circle let consumers split large purchases into smaller transactions paid over time. But they say they need to offer more than one product to set themselves apart and build customer loyalty.

The deal for the Salt Lake City-based home improvement lender, which Home Depot tried to acquire more than a decade ago, is part of a larger effort by Regions Financial to diversify its home lending business.

Genesis Financial Solutions is pursuing a $135.9 million securitization of credit card receivables, including riskier point-of-sale credits that should provide investors with attractive spreads.

Citigroup’s $900 million payment blunder in a normally low-profile part of the financial market dominated by a handful of banks has experts wondering if regulators will uncover a deeper problem.

The agency announced changes meant to reduce compliance costs and allow some institutions to provide estimates rather than disclose exact prices for international money transfers.

Online lenders now have close to 40% of the unsecured personal loan market, much of which is refinanced credit card debt. Banks' card portfolios are taking a hit.

The Atlanta company reported a first-quarter revenue increase of 22%, and it has established a more aggressive target for the full year.

The rule requires disclosure of exact fees but institutions can estimate pricing under an exception that will expire in 2020. The CFPB is seeking comment to prepare for that deadline.

The upstart lenders have been chipping away at credit cards’ consumer-lending dominance by offering fixed-rate loans with predictable repayment plans. Now the card giants are fighting back.

The Atlanta company, which reported fourth-quarter results Tuesday, said that the lending partnership with American Express will launch in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Dallas within the next 60 days.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has gotten the ball rolling for financial technology firms trying to operate a national platform, but the FDIC and Federal Reserve should act to remove other policy roadblocks.

Seth Frotman, whose student lending unit had been gutted in May, said the bureau's current leadership "has abandoned its duty to fairly and robustly enforce the law.”

Merchants have been challenging surcharge bans in numerous states on free-speech grounds. They have the wind at their backs following another court victory on Wednesday.