Authentication

Forward-thinking companies could get a reputation lift from being first out of the gate with interesting apps. Banks could also be first to help protect customers from the inevitable privacy leaks that the IoT will make possible.

U.S. Bank recently updated its mobile app to a system that would allow it to react more quickly to new technology. It's going to need that flexibility now that consumers are complaining about missing features in the latest upgrade.

To identify fintech startups deserving of special recognition this year as part of the FinTech Forward program, a team of American Banker editors, BAI staff and industry members debated the merits of self-nominees and companies we know.

The collaboration between financial institutions and technology firms runs deep, but banks' recent criticism of lax regulatory oversight for nonbanks reveals fissures.

The quest for secure, yet really quick and easy enrollment and login for bank accounts, has evaded banks for years, and it’s become more important than ever.

First Internet Bank is pioneering eye-vein recognition to let customers log in to its mobile app, hoping consumers' distinct concerns about this form of biometric authentication fade away.

Banks need to take a hard look at the age-old practice of using signatures to authenticate card payments, Federal Reserve Gov. Jerome Powell said Thursday.

Applying early for the web extension increases the odds of getting a preferred address in a business where "First National" is as common as "John Smith." Eventually, bankers hope .bank gains widespread recognition as a mark of trustworthiness.

Most banks that deploy voice authentication require a specific spoken passphrase. Eastern Bank customers can have a normal conversation with call center reps; software in the background compares their voice patterns to a recorded snippet.

In the second part of a two-part conversation with American Banker, miiCard's James Varga discusses how his company leverages the trust placed in banks to create "digital passports" for consumers to prove their identities without oversharing information.

Carolina Bank's growth, and a corresponding increase in remote workers, drove the CEO and IT department to seek technology tightening access to its systems without making it harder for employees to log in.

James Varga, chief executive of miiCard, discusses how today's backward identity-management system requires people to share more information than is really necessary just to prove who they are.

Voice biometrics, fingerprint recognition, device ID and behavioral analytics are at long last becoming accurate and convenient enough for prime time.

As Facebook and Google increasingly become de facto managers of consumers' online identities, some wonder if another, more trusted party, such as banks or the government, should step up and take on this role.

Jacob Dienelt, a former financial adviser at Morgan Stanley, has joined Factom, a cryptocurrency tech startup, as its head treasurer.

Smaller banks need to develop detailed marketing plans to reach out to cardholders, while also working with their processors to prepare for the transition to EMV cards.

Apple Pay and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have a lot of appeal for banks looking to stay at the cutting edge of digital payments. But security and compliance risks are part and parcel of these innovations.

Jeffrey Robinson is hardly a fan of Bitcoin (the title of his latest book, "BitCon," kind of gives it away.) But as the author of a classic 1990s book about money laundering, even he says that Bitcoin is a terrible tool for that particular crime, despite the digital currency's reputation. He explains why in the second part of a conversation with American Banker's Marc Hochstein.

Top executives from Bank of America, U.S. Bancorp, American Express, MasterCard, Microsoft and Apple are expected to participate as part of a White House summit on cybersecurity issues in California on Friday.

The creation of a new cybersecurity agency is the latest move by the Obama administration to combat the increasing threat of cyberattacks.