Bank technology

Belmont Savings in Massachusetts isn't trying to fire or replace its employees who work the phones pursuing sales leads, but it has made some technological investments to get more out of them.

Consumers flooded Twitter and downdetector.com with complaints that Bank of America's teller system was down Tuesday afternoon.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati will record a gain of $9 million during the fourth quarter after selling shares in the payment processor Vantiv.

More than 41% of banks have bought into hyperconvergence — a blend of integrated server, storage and networking technology that's easily managed by software — and there's no sign of its popularity letting up. PeoplesBank, a community bank in Massachusetts, is one of those that caught the bug.

Spanish banking giant Santander has withdrawn from the bank consortium R3 CEV, becoming the second defector from the blockchain group this week after Goldman Sachs.

With access to financial transaction data under threat by hurdles imposed by certain financial institutions, it should be up to consumers to decide how their data is used to improve their financial well-being.

Cody Wilson, inventor of the world's first 3D-printed handgun, has struggled to keep his radical business going after banks and payments companies repeatedly cut him off. His story offers an unusually detailed window onto the dynamics of de-risking.

Distinct business plans in promising areas such as smart use of consumer data, cybersecurity and content creation, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch commercial banking executive Scott Olmsted. And that is just the beginning of his list.

One of the founding members of R3 CEV, the high-profile bank consortium developing commercial applications of distributed ledger technology for the financial industry, is leaving the alliance.

In the days of diskettes, Quicken was an innovator. Now, the personal financial manager aims to reclaim its glory days as it targets the 35-and-older crowd.