Joel Berg

It can be difficult to measure the effectiveness of the wellness programs that banks offer to employees to help keep morale high, stay competitive in recruiting and lower health care expenses.

When H. Lynn Harton joined United Community Bank seven years ago, he knew he was on track to eventually become CEO. But he still felt he had to earn it.

The Tennessee bank was able to give employees more flexibility and cut its costs in half for its biometric screenings initiative.

The two banks' strong chemistry helped 1st Security's integration of Anchor go smoothly.

A South African payments company has established a consumer-facing subsidiary in London to enable its worldwide expansion over the next few years.

Creating checking accounts, mortgages and consumer loans with features that suit folks with lower incomes is paying off in unexpected ways for some banks.

A joint venture formed by Norway's three dominant mobile phone carriers is testing a new, rebranded version of its mobile wallet, designed to lower the barriers merchants and consumers face when first using a mobile phone for payments.

Several wallet apps already let restaurant patrons order ahead for takeout and/or pay without waiting for a waiter. A Ukrainian company called Settle takes this concept a step further by also allowing customers to skip the wait for a table.

One of the engines driving Kenya's mobile-money transformation is poised for export.

A Helsinki, Finland-based startup is hoping to knock down one of the barriers to credit-card acceptance in developing countries: a lack of reliable Internet access.

The research and development process needs to undergo radical change. To remain relevant in the digital age, banks large and small are creating innovation labs, conducting quick beta tests of products early in the development stage and partnering with fintech startups.

While many mobile wallet companies look to complement credit and debit card acceptance, South Africa's SnapScan is focused on merchants who accept only cash.

A South African company called FlickPay wants to win over the country's retailers with a flexible fee structure for offering deals and loyalty programs through its smartphone app, but it operates in an increasingly crowded mobile payment market.

A U.K. company is building a mobile payment system that is designed to appeal to the needs of both banks and retailers, but faces challenges in winning consumers away from mobile wallets that have already hit the market.

Some banks are coming up with creative strategies for dealing with the rising cost of health care, from on-site clinics to full-time wellness coordinators. They also are softening the blow of high-deductible plans by phasing them in and contributing to employees' Health Savings Accounts.

Besides trying to figure out how to keep health insurance affordable, bankers are wrestling with a slew of other challenges, including recruitment, leadership development and employee engagement.

An Israeli company is hoping to make installment plans a routine part of credit card transactions in the U.S., relying on retailers, banks and other partners to promote its technology.