Bank technology

Royal Bank of Canada has introduced a video chat service for its small-business banking customers whose hectic lives may not allow for frequent branch visits.

The bank's new CEO, Onur Genc, fresh from Turkey, will have to find a way to leverage the considerable tech and innovation investments the bank has made and strengthen the brand's U.S. presence.

Both banks and fintech firms have a lot of questions about the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposed new charter, including exactly how the agency will ensure nonbanks don't get a leg up on bank competitors.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's decision to offer a special-purpose charter for fintech firms may entice more players than expected, including mortgage lenders and even some payday lending shops.

From the industry repercussions of Trump's election victory to the rise of the robots in financial services, these are American Banker's most popular stories of 2016.

As you plan for the coming year — and beyond — here are some challenges and opportunities worth thinking about.

As you plan for the coming year — and beyond — here are some challenges and opportunities worth thinking about.

Even in a digital era, human connections still matter. That is one big disadvantage for fintech startups and increasingly for banks as customers stop making regular branch visits. So it is instructive to hear SoFi's thinking on how to overcome this challenge. It is trying some unorthodox tactics to better understand the people behind the data and to create meaningful connections with them.

From Dimon's campaign against earnings guidance to the bottom-line implications of rising rates, here are more of our favorite stories of the year. (See part I here.)

So much of the blockchain hype has dwelt on the efficiency it could bring to the financial system, but finding ways it could make money would excite more bankers about the nascent technology.

The time banks have to investigate red-flagged credit payments has shrunk from several days to a few hours and fraudsters have already taken notice.

If companies like Amazon, Apple and Google enter in force the battle between banks and fintech firms over customers' personal data, it could tip the scales against the banking industry.

Cash machine transactions have held steady over the past three years, despite the rise of mobile and peer-to-peer payments, according to Andy Mattes, CEO of ATM manufacturer Diebold Nixdorf. "Consumers embrace all types of payment," Mattes says.

As some banks warm up to the idea of open banking, several tech vendors are vying to be the intermediaries that connect them to the fintech ecosystem.

The Minneapolis company's addition of Karen Wimbish, a former Wells Fargo executive, to oversee wealth management products is one of several moves by U.S. Bancorp as it builds up its investment-advisory services.

The New York State Department of Financial Services has modified its cybersecurity rule after bankers registered complaints at a hearing in Albany last week.

Banks have used biometrics for about a decade, but there are a number of hurdles that banks, device makers and customers need to overcome before passwords are history.

The new year will bring risk in marketplace lending, but progress will be made in micropayments platforms and regulators embracing innovators.

A 2010 cyberattack targeting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. — believed to have originated in China — is reportedly the subject of an FBI investigation.

Since technology is so ingrained in every aspect of banking, some say the idea of looking at tech spending as a stand-alone budget item is antiquated.