Ally Financial has sold its credit card business to credit card service provider CardWorks for an undisclosed amount, the bank announced today.

Selling its card business is part of Ally’s plan to achieve mid-teens returns, Chief Executive Michael Rhodes said today during the bank’s earnings call, adding that Ally is terminating new mortgage loan originations on Jan. 31.

CardWorks, and its subsidiary of $6 billion Merrick Bank, will gain $2.3 billion in credit card receivables with 1.3 million active cardholders as of Dec. 31, 2024, by acquiring Ally’s credit card portfolio, the release stated.

The sale is part of $191.8 billion Ally’s broader strategy where it is winding down operations that are not its core offerings, Rhodes said. In January 2024, Ally sold its point-of-sale business to payments company Synchrony for an undisclosed amount and will also exit mortgage business in 2025, Rhodes said during the earnings call.

Gate City picks Lama AI’s platform for business lending

Fargo, N.D.-based Gate City Bank tapped generative AI provider Lama AI for AI-powered business banking solutions, the bank announced Jan.16.

The $3.6 billion bank will integrate Lama AI’s AI-powered loan origination platform to:

• Streamline workflows;
• Increase deal flow;
• Reduce manual tasks; and
• Accelerate decision-making.

The collaboration with Lama AI comes on the heels of a November partnership with Alkami to deploy Alkami’s cloud-based digital banking solutions. Lama AI’s other financial services clients include:

• $50 trillion Fidelity National Information Services;
• $500 billion bank consortium Alloy Labs; and
• $42.5 billion Mastercard.

VeriPark teams with FI coalition on tech

A coalition of Canadian financial institutions is partnering with digital banking solutions provider VeriPark to develop banking technologies, VeriPark announced Jan. 17.

The coalition of FIs includes:

• $18.6 billion First West Credit Union;
• $8.3 billion DUCA Credit Union;
• $5.2 billion Prospera Credit Union; and
• $5.2 billion Coastal Community Credit Union.

Central 1, the provider of mobile and online banking applications for multiple Canadian financial institutions, announced in October 2024 it was winding down its digital banking business, and the FI coalition is now exploring other options for technology collaboration, a coalition representative told Bank Automation News.

The digital solutions, designed with Canada’s open banking framework in mind, will be powered by Microsoft Azure and core integrated with Central 1’s payment and fraud management systems, but will function on other core platforms, according to the release.

The integration of VeriPark’s platform is expected to be complete by the end of 2026, the representative said.

One Inc. to modernize CIG payments

Digital payments provider One Inc. was selected by $94.9 million property and casualty insurance company Columbia Insurance Group (CIG) for digital payment solutions.

CIG will integrate One Inc.’s PremiumPay and ClaimsPay solutions for inbound and outbound payments. The solutions will be deployed using software company Guidewire’s InsuranceSuite and Guidewire Cloud Platform, built exclusively for One Inc., Kevin Ostrander, chief revenue officer at One Inc., told BAN. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

The integration will enable CIG clients to make secure payments via PayPal, Venmo and Zelle on a single platform and sign up for digital payment reminders, Lisa Wharton, vice president and chief information officer at CIG, said in a Jan. 16 statement.

CIG expects to enhance customer retention, cut costs and reduce risk by simplifying the payment process, Wharton said.

Through its digital platforms One Inc. can process approximately 100 million transactions per year, Ostrander said.

One Inc. has more than 250 clients, including: $4 trillion JP Morgan and $678 billion U.S. Bank.

Prosperity Bank selects Akuvo for debt collections services

Houston-based Prosperity Bank has selected credit risk management provider Akuvo for debt collections services, according to a Jan. 14 release from Prosperity Bank.

Akuvo’s cloud-based collections platform enables banks to engage with users and collect debts through:

• Text;
• Email;
• Direct mail;
• Automated voice calls; and
• Silent voice drops.

“The solution’s scalability ensures seamless adaptation to increasing collection volumes as we grow or the economy changes, which promises a positive long-term impact on our collections process,” Todd Young, consumer manager at $40.1 billion Prosperity Bank, told BAN.

The bank is observing a slight uptick in mortgage delinquencies and is preparing for increased collections activity, Young said.

Akuvo’s services will be provided to Prosperity bank via cloud, an AKUVO spokesperson told BAN, adding that AKUVO’s services are cloud-native to Microsoft Azure.

Akuvo’s customers include:

• $9.8 billion Tri Counties Bank;
• $6 billion Shore United Bank; and
• $1.7 billion Beneficial State Bank;

FV Bank expands stablecoin capabilities with PayPal

San Juan-based FV Bank announced the expansion of its stablecoin offerings with PayPal in a release on Jan. 9.

“We think that stablecoins are a really good example of how traditional financial services, in particular banking, can interoperate with blockchain-based technologies,” FV Bank CEO Miles Paschini told BAN. “It allows clients to interact with blockchain-based transactions without a wallet, without an exchange account and without having to understand the underlying technology.”

In 2021, the $45.8 million bank integrated digital currency company Circle’s USD Coin, he said, noting, “We’re all in on stablecoin integration.”

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