Banks are facing the potential of disruption by digital assistants from Apple, Amazon and Google — and are pouring money into machine learning to provide their own option for automating consumers' financial lives.

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

MyBucks and its New Finance Bank subsidiary have opened 4,200 digital banking accounts and provided 72 loans at a Malawi branch said to be the first of its kind in a refugee camp.

In a push to be on the leading edge of technology, Tennessee-based Enrichment Federal Credit Union launched a service through Amazon's Alexa by first making sure employees knew what to do.

Using machine learning to analyze payment data, the latest technology automates workflow and decisions, making fraud detection quicker and more efficient, writes Steven Goddard, product manager for risk at The ai Corporation (ai).

In a bid to help younger consumers, CommunityAmerica Credit Union’s new FAFSA chatbot can answer more than 400 questions about applying for federal student aid.

AI-driven analytics can help both pure-play and brick-and-mortar brands understand the frustrations of their users at an elemental level — which buttons remain unclicked, which form fields make them leave, and which customer paths are dead ends, writes Jonathan Cherki, CEO and founder of ContentSquare.

The Omidyar Network has invested in five challenger banks. Tilman Ehrbeck, who is leading its financial inclusion efforts, says the firm will invest more in apps for gig workers and retirees next year.

As an industry, we need to take the risks of poor AI design and algorithmic bias seriously, says Ralf Ohlhausen, business development director at PPRO Group.

Credit union business boomed in the wake of the financial crisis, but that growth could backslide if the industry doesn't keep up with the competition.