Investment

With Microsoft, Equifax and others acknowledging that the SolarWinds hack of U.S. government entities had affected their holdings, security teams and vendors have put the holiday aside while continuing around-the-clock surveillance to ensure no financial services or payments networks have been hacked.

As risk rises and budgets tighten post-pandemic, training all employees about security risks and conducting quarterly penetration tests helps to offset threats and potential losses.

By upgrading permissions and defining access, firms can get ahead of the new threat, says vArmour's Marc Woolword.

Underpinning the technology with mathematically sound models can make a better case to consumers and regulators for why a loan applicant was denied.

Data that mimics the original set is part of coronavirus vaccine trials, and also has ramifications for mapping financial services metrics, says Aite's Ginger Schmeltzer.

Venture capitalists will shift their focus to fintechs that support financial inclusion, according to Emmalyn Shaw, managing partner of the VC firm Flourish. Meanwhile, challenger banks will continue to grow, she says.

Remote learning and work heightens the security risk, says Pulse Secure's Mike Riemer.

The online lender, which raised $240 million, wants to take its artificial intelligence technology for evaluating borrowers to the next level and expand its partnerships with banks, its CEO says.

Federal banking agencies want to give the industry a hard deadline for notifying their regulators about serious security breaches and failed system upgrades.

Paying on delivery with tokenization, biometric fingerprint cards, vein scanning or phone-to-phone with a variety of card payment options helps create a universe of consumer choice, convenience, personal preference and better fraud protection, says Radar Payments' Jane Loginova.