Biometrics

There are security gaps in chip cards that are vulnerable to new types of skimming. Biometrics can help solve this problem, and will also prove handy as EMV cards migrate to smartphones.

Samsung Electronics has entered a commercial software license and distribution agreement with fingerprint software company Precise Biometrics.

Payment companies are increasingly adopting biometrics to replace more traditional authentication. That's a good move, but it also comes with a whole new set of risks.

The Spanish bank has launched a new “online onboarding” feature, which allow customers in Spain to open an account on a mobile device and verify their identity via a photo snapped from their mobile device, it announced Thursday.

When Early Warning acquired clearXchange—soon to be renamed Zelle—late last year, the acquisition was applauded by banks that make up the P-to-P payments network because it brought Early Warning's various fraud detection technologies into play.

UBS is piloting a program with Alexa, Amazon's chatbot. Clients won't be able to ask Alexa about their portfolios yet, but they can ask questions about the economy.

Combining biometrics with device ID, social data, behavior patterns and other factors builds a strong foundation for artificial intelligence to conduct identity proofing and transaction authorization.

Biometric security company Hypr Corp. has closed a $3 million funding round to accelerate the development and adoption of its encryption product.

It's hard to sell a big bank something regardless of the tech company's size. But for early-stage startups with only a handful of employees and a product still under development, the challenge is far greater than for seasoned tech vendors.

USAA now offers voice-guided check deposit on its mobile app for visually impaired customers.

The sheer volume of data that collected by Internet-connected "things" — cars, homes, wearable devices, and yes, refrigerators — could help deepen banks' relationships with customers. But it also adds more avenues for security breaches and raises privacy concerns.

Banks will likely take a wait-and-see approach before connecting their apps to Siri, Apple's talking digital assistant. Such conservatism poses risks as consumers increasingly demand the latest digital features.

By allowing commercial clients to authenticate via an eye scan, Wells Fargo is making a burdensome task simple. Secil Watson, head of wholesale Internet solutions, is pushing the bank to make digital banking easier for commercial clients.

The San Francisco bank isn't interested in making splashy investments in technology. At an investor day event Tuesday, Wells executives said they would focus on taking incremental steps to reduce costs and improve customer experiences.

Wells Fargo will soon roll out eyeprint verification for its commercial customers using its mobile banking platform.

BMO Financial Group is looking to bring a recent consumer-facing innovation to its corporate customers.

Biometrics are seen as the future of authentication, but some customers hesitate to ditch old ways. Picking the most practical pain points — like authenticating over the phone — is banks' best bet to win converts, observers say.

Authentication methods meant to keep cybercriminals from taking over accounts can also lock out legitimate users. This old dilemma is growing more vexing as cybercriminals get better at impersonating customers and as regulators increasingly push multifactor authentication.

Banks have a lot of work to do to modernize branches and keep their technology on par with other businesses' digital tools. Here are some ideas worth borrowing from retailers, restaurants and consumer electronics makers if banks haven't adopted them already, says appointment-software firm Financial Management Solutions.

Customer expectations for digital are a moving target, and banks and their vendors are quickly trying to figure out which products and services to add next.