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IBM took the banking world by storm last month when it revealed its planned acquisition of Promontory Financial Group. Now, it has unveiled IBM Pay, a perhaps unexpected and yet unsurprising addition to the technology giant's Watson Commerce unit.
The private label mobile payment and point of sale system for merchants allows them to integrate loyalty, engagement and payments within their existing app, giving retailers full control of the end-to-end digital container—under their own brand—to compete more effectively with online merchants.
An IBM logo sits on display outside the offices of International Business Machines Corp. in the media city district of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Friday, Nov. 7, 2014. The United Arab Emirates' central bank limited mortgage lending and required larger down payments, and the Land Department doubled transaction taxes early last year as policymakers tried to avoid a repeat of a property bubble in 2008 that caused values to slump by about 65 percent. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Watson, IBM's massive artificial intelligence engine, is central to IBM Pay. A video announcement released Monday implies the move is more of a play for loyalty and engagement than convenience, which the consumer-facing Apple, Samsung and Android Pays have been pushing.
IBM touts the offering's insights, tailored offers that can be redeemed with one-click payments, and reduced transaction times and costs through in-app payments.
The Office of Management and Budget issued reduction in force notices to Treasury staff working in the Community Development Financial Institution office Friday, saying that the layoffs are necessary to "implement the abolishment" of the fund.
Former City National CEO Kelly Coffey has a new venture in wealth management; Erin Siegfried is Northwest Bancshares' new chief legal counsel and corporate secretary; Flagstar Bank secures OCC approval to merge its holding company into the bank; and more in this week's banking news roundup.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced job openings for attorney-advisors to represent the agency in defensive and appellate litigation.
An updated deposit insurance reform bill from Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., would raise deposit insurance for business accounts to $10 million, exclude the largest banks from coverage and insulate community banks from footing the bill.
Younger borrowers are increasingly moving money away from financial institutions, but banks could recapture Gen Z capital by helping them build credit.
