Payments News from American Banker

The banking subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation is discarding six brand names to unify under the Western Alliance Bank moniker; longtime JPMorgan advisor Vishal Idnani will join Western Alliance as its next CFO; First Community in Lexington, South Carolina, will acquire Signature Bank of Georgia; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

To reverse the trend in payments fraud, regulators and the private sector must work together to expand how we define verification. It must be a dynamic, intelligence-driven process embedded at every point of the payment journey.

With the big banks honing in on Amex's high-end card turf, Steve Squeri said his company's past success will drive the future.

The U.K. fintech's shares fell about 5% in London, partly due to international currency volatility. It hopes a U.S. listing will improve the company's ability to raise capital.

Noelle Acheson points out that the GENIUS Act is right to ban interest on payment stablecoins, and suggests that the bigger debate should be around the current banking model.

With the GENIUS Act near the finish line, top execs are revealing their plans for the digital asset during calls with analysts.

New research from American Banker finds that card and check fraud has gotten more problematic for bankers over time.

Governments must reconsider policies that treat migrants sending money home as risks rather than contributors. Regulators should remove barriers to affordable transfers and enable innovation that puts people first.

The U.K. challenger bank would follow London fintech Wise in emphasizing New York over London in an effort to boost valuation and establish a foothold in the U.S. Plus, Lloyds is in talks to buy all-in-one card fintech Curve; and more news in the global payments and fintech roundup.

The Federal Reserve governor said the uptick in buy now pay later repayment issues is likely a sign that consumers don't understand the terms of the emerging credit offering.

Miles Paschini, CEO of blockchain specialist FV Bank in Puerto Rico, says he expects a ton of new stablecoins. Here's why he's not worried about getting buried in a mountain of crypto.

Increasing community bank and credit union adoption is a key pillar of the P2P payment network's strategy as it looks to increase its network effect and penetrate into small-business payments.

Historically high interest rates and falling late-payment rates suggest that credit card issuers are tightening their underwriting standards amid economic uncertainty.

Connecticut has set strict new rules for EWA providers; Louisiana's regulation is more aligned with existing state laws.

Intuit and Ramp, two firms that work with fintechs that compete with banks, are using agentic artificial intelligence to automate mundane tasks.

Noelle Acheson asks whether stablecoins can be considered "money" according to traditional definitions. And if not, what does that mean for payments?

The U.K. fintech has launched a series of products that expand on its core payments business and compete with banks and other payment technology firms.

Regulators from California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York and Texas levied the fine for anti-money-laundering and Bank Secrecy Act violations, which comes as Wise seeks a banking license in the U.S.

U.K. regulators said Monzo didn't properly vet new customers, while Vocalink was dinged for risk management lapses. Also, Paxos launched a dollar-backed coin in the European Union; and more news in the weekly global payments and fintech roundup.

Stablecoins are already disrupting traditional finance and have the potential to eat away at banks' deposit base. Banks should be looking for ways to turn this emerging threat into an opportunity.