By WSJ City 

Citigroup is starting a consumer-payments business, joining its biggest rivals and a host of financial-technology startups jockeying for position in the hottest corner of banking.

KEY FACTS

--- The bank is already a dominant player in business-to-business payments.

--- It's launching a new unit that will offer big merchants a suite of consumer-payment options.

--- The historically high-volume, low-margin business of connecting companies to customers is heating up.

--- Digital wallets and other new payment methods are proliferating.

--- However, fraud and other complications have boomed, creating an opening for new market entrants.

Why This Matters

Citigroup and other banks are betting that the combination of traditional banking and payments services will allow them to extract more business from their existing customers. For example, a merchant that collects payments in one currency and pays out in another could tap a bank's trading desk for those transactions.

A fuller story is available on WSJ.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 26, 2019 10:18 ET (14:18 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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