Technology

The account-to-account payment method has become prevalent in countries such as China, India and Brazil, but adoption has been slow in the U.S. and limited to small- and medium-sized businesses. That paradigm is expected to shift amid continued fintech investment.

Countries around the world have lots of incentives to build an alternative to the U.S.-centric global payments system using central bank digital currencies. The U.S. must get in the game or see its economic might begin to wane.

The Buffalo bank recently shelved in-house startup GrowGrade and folded another, Nota, back into the mothership.

In a collaboration with Coinbase and Flexa, Regal theaters now accept on-chain U.S. digital currency payments for movie tickets and concessions; the Bank of Nova Scotia has completed its second investment in KeyCorp; Fiserv entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Canadian-based payments fintech Payfare; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Improved consumer confidence helped to drive greater use of buy now/pay later as younger generations turned to short-term installment options.

In 2024, some banks were reluctant to publicly discuss their AI projects while others couldn't wait. Here's a look at the AI stories American Banker readers clicked on the most.

With transparency, security and reliability embedded at its core, a blockchain is not merely a way to enhance existing systems — it represents a model for what banking should aspire to be.

New tools, new partnerships and a new focus on combating increasingly complex fraud schemes will take center stage in the new year. This could be a turning point in a long-running battle.

From embedded finance to artificial intelligence to real-time processing, there are plenty of sources of competition and opportunity in the new year.

Fintech lenders often get criticized for high rates or fees on their consumer lending. But there's an argument to be made that the alternatives are worse.