Bank technology

Community banks are spending on technology to expand without having to build new branches.

The customer interface is just the tip of the iceberg in fintech, says Wells Fargo's Secil Watson. Plus, the tech trends in business banking, a power shift on sexual harassment as women support each other, and Michelle Obama's advice on raising boys.

Royal Bank of Canada has found a unique solution to keeping its tech-savvy interns from moving on — using a new technology that matches young employees with more seasoned people to set up career mentoring chats over coffee.

CME Group plans to offer bitcoin futures contracts by yearend, a sign that financial institutions may be getting ready to trade financial products tied to digital currencies.

Calls for less reliance on credit bureaus and Social Security numbers for verification are leading many to envision a future of identity on a distributed ledger.

Banks are revamping and investing in new wholesale systems to solve the frustrations felt by corporate customers.

Metronome, the brainchild of Jeff Garzik, may appeal to banks as the world's first "cross-chain" cryptocurrency.

Cort O’Haver, the successor to Ray Davis at Umpqua, has a plan to preserve human relationships in mobile and online banking.

Though they won’t name names, fintech leaders claim tier-one U.S. banks string them along, fail to communicate, don’t pay anything and, worst of all, out-and-out steal intellectual property.

The Midwest bank said that digital usage rose 400% after a makeover of online and mobile banking platforms that was meant to make them more customer-friendly and more competitive.

Both banks and fintech are satisfied for now with the CFPB's nonbinding principles on data-sharing. But the statement may lay the groundwork for future regulation.

Execs from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, BBVA, Ally Bank and others outlined their AI strategies, progress to date and lessons learned at BankAI this week.

JPMorgan Chase has made several investments in financial technology startups, but its plan to buy WePay will give its 4 million small-business clients a much more direct way to adopt digital payments.

As many as a dozen financial institutions are deploying IBM’s Watson to search for signs of employee misconduct so they can avoid a Wells Fargo-size scandal. But the legal and technical limits of its use are major issues.

Credit Suisse, State Street and several other banks are experimenting with a blockchain technology that could allow them to make corporate deposits more affordable to hold on their books.

Banks such as Citigroup, Regions and TD have decided they need to offer mobile customers truly customized experiences. They are experimenting with different ways of doing so that come across as helpful without being intrusive.

Bankers need to set aside their post-crisis aversion to risk, recapture some of the magic they once practiced as innovators, fear fintechs less, and worry about the Googles and Amazons more, says Peter Memon, a bank IT veteran turned global consultant.

Ripple announced several new customers Tuesday. The startup says its software, designed to compete with Swift, allows banks and others to send cross-border payments more quickly, transparently and cheaply.

The bank is upgrading its ATM network to work with Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay, allowing easier cash withdrawals and other cardless ATM transactions.

It's a question many banks are already confronting head-on as they implement new technologies designed to make compliance easier.