Technology

Apologies to those yearning for escapism, but it is hard to escape turmoil — in financial services, in the economy and in civilization — in this year’s reading list. That said, these weighty topics promise to stimulate the mind: How AI will disrupt employment; dystopian imaginings and real-life histories of societal shifts; the necessity of collaboration; bitcoin’s path from obscurity to relevance; the need for leaders to make sacrifices; and more. Recommendations are courtesy of American Banker readers, editorial staff and BankThink contributors.

With a new core system, Surety Bank plans to connect with customers outside of its geographic market.

Enabling peers to compare notes will help ID management specialists at regional, midtier banks who face the same requirements as large banks but command smaller operating budgets, IDPro’s founder says.

The promise of fintech is that it might offer underbanked consumers access to financial products. But some are worried that relying on algorithms to make credit decisions could open up problems of its own.

Real-time payment processing is drawing more attention to tangible use cases, such as helping workers pay bills that are due before they receive their salary.

Wearables are a clear evolution of the mobile wallet, but companies are still experimenting with use cases. Here are a few of the latest concepts.

Mobile commerce must support larger and more complex shopping categories to take the next step, and some companies are looking to enable this through alternative financing.

The iPhone is 10 years old. Here’s a look at some of the ways the Apple product and the boom in smartphones overall have shaped banking in the U.S. over the past decade.

Two women who lead innovation efforts at major U.S. banks are having opposite experiences. Christine Lagarde calls for male allies to help with gender equality, and Geena Davis wants your input.

More consumers will soon be able to withdraw cash at ATMs by using their mobile phones as a remote control via Cardtronics, which has decided to extend FIS Cardless Cash to all of its U.S. ATMs over the next two years.