Technology

Building alliances with startups is the most affordable route for community banks that want to offer innovative services, but industry officials cautioned that they must be balanced with smart internal investments, too.

The son of late billionaire George Lindemann, who made a fortune in cable television and gas pipelines, is hosting a conference next week during Art Basel Miami Beach to explore how the blockchain, his latest obsession, can transform the art world.

Installment plans have helped shoppers afford large purchases since the late 19th century and are still available for pricey items like cars and smartphones. But to delay payment for a T-shirt and a couple pairs of jeans, you needed a credit card. Now several fintech startups are putting smaller purchases on installment, too.

Quicken and U.S. Bank are launching a co-branded contactless credit card that will integrate with Quicken's personal finance software and mobile app.

Any future machine-to-machine environment calling for communication and transactions will surely include a consumer's option to make payments through such a network. That turns any home or business into its own complex network of devices, routers, sensors, passwords, communication coding and private credentials.

Phishing is a serious and growing problem in the financial services and payments industries, creating pressure to come up with advanced detection techniques, according to Adrien Gendre, chief solutions architect for Vade Secure.

The latest personal financial management tools provide a more passive approach for customers that analyzes patterns and suggest ways to fix issues.

Proponents of real-time payments systems say banks must embrace them given consumer demand for more immediacy and transparency, even if criminals will try to exploit them.

Kenya’s Family Bank Ltd. will collaborate with London fintech SimbaPay to launch a transfer service to China with WeChat.

Indonesia’s Go-Jek plans to roll out a preliminary version of its ride-hailing app in Singapore Thursday, bringing fresh competition to the hometown of arch-rival Grab, according to people familiar with the plan. Both companies combine ride hailing technology with payments and other financial services.