At 4 feet tall and with a child's voice, Pepper won't replace tellers, but it can help bank customers interested in applying for a credit card or having issues with an ATM.

Since launching in the U.S. a year ago, CashShield gained traction in the marketplace by adding Yamibuy and Scalefast, among others, to its global portfolio.

The two Wall Street firms anxiously await the second round of stress test results; Commerzbank is working on using technology to generate basic research notes.

How the big banks fared in the Fed's latest round of stress testing; what's on new FDIC chair Jelena McWilliams' plate; why banks' biggest risk factor may be employees who don't speak up; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Banks are more established organizations that cannot afford to take the same shortcuts and risks as startups do in fintech development, executives said.

Jonathan Walker of the Center for the New Middle Class and Mark Schwanhausser of Javelin discuss ideas for helping women facing financial difficulties.

Jelena McWilliams said the agency will ask banks what's working and what's not; the acquisition of Hyperwallet Systems lets PayPal offer more services.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning can far exceed human capabilities. But AI is still only as good as the quality of data that's feeding the machine, according to Sunil Madhu, founder and chief strategy officer of Socure.

Reconciling accounts, predicting market turns and their effects on portfolios, and even answering client faxes (yes, faxes) can all be done better with artificial intelligence, the custody bank says. Experts describe it as a cutting-edge program.

Starling's Anne Boden and Mastercard's Ann Cairns have a similar warning for the banking and tech sectors. Facebook scolds activist investor Natasha Lamb for being "not nice." And some big Most Powerful Women moves, as Catherine Keating takes a new CEO job and Kathie Andrade exits TIAA.