Paybby, whose founder wanted to address disparities in the financial system after the George Floyd protests, is working with banks and others to develop products especially for underserved communities. They include a debit card that substitutes for food stamps and an app that temporarily sweeps cash into cryptocurrency.

The regional bank is switching VirtualBank, a digital-only unit added through a recent merger, to a core system that relies on Finxact software and Amazon Web Services. The move epitomizes the industry's cautious approach to cloud-based technology.

About 70% of Bank of America's customers are now “digitally active” and 17 million people use Erica, its virtual assistant. David Tyrie, who was recently promoted to head of digital, would like to get that rate up to 100%.

The Buffalo, N.Y., bank and Railz are working together to analyze accounting data to provide small firms with fresh insight into the health of their operations.

The digital bank for students, which recently merged with a blank-check company, can tap its new source of capital to diversify and pursue more white-label partnerships.

The investments, part of a post-merger effort to wring out more profits, include new commercial and mortgage lending platforms.

The company, poised to complete its purchase of Radius Bank, will enjoy new cross-selling opportunities, gain additional sources of fee income and capital as well as benefit from greater regulatory clarity, CEO Scott Sanborn says.

Sigal Zarmi, who took on broader duties this fall, is modernizing the company's technological infrastructure and using reverse mentoring to combat bias in the workplace.

The online lender founded by Renaud Laplanche is now a full-fledged challenger bank that can offer generous checking terms because, it says, it can count on its loans for profits.