Merchant

Facing Wall Street analysts for the first time after the murder of George Floyd, CEOs of major payment companies joined other financial services firms in promising to improve fairness and opportunities for Black people and other underrepresented groups.

Why banks want in on Google checking accounts; readying new tech tools to tackle anticipated rise in delinquencies; more institutions opt to sell PPP loans as heavy lifting nears; and more from this week’s most-read stories.

The central bank released new details about FedNow, which officials hope to get off the ground before a 2023 or 2024 target launch date.

Regulators found fault with the bank’s cloud migration efforts in the years that preceded a 2019 hacking incident.

A survey of companies that received funding from the Paycheck Protection Program also showed that respondents on average have cut their payroll costs by more than half.

The coronavirus outbreak initially looked like it might torpedo U.K.-based Paysafe’s plan to expand in the U.S. in 2020. But several months into the pandemic, the payments conglomerate sees ways it can grow by helping bruised small businesses retool operations.

Many sellers are ditching the loans to avoid the cumbersome forgiveness process. For others, the Paycheck Protection Program was never a strategic fit.

The owner of The Shuckery in Petaluma, Calif., says she was unable to get a Paycheck Protection Program loan until she responded to an email from the delivery service and BlueVine.

Square's gross payment volume tumbled by 15% year-over-year due to COVID-19’s impact, but revenue jumped as online selling rose, Cash App doubled in users and Square enabled almost $900 million in PPP loans.

The increased use of technology, along with holistic data points, can eradicate racial and gender disparity for fintech lenders in small business, says Become’s Eden Amirav.