Bank technology

Santander Group has launched an innovation competition for early-stage blockchain startups.

Meta Financial Group in Sioux Falls, S.D., has promoted Cindy Smith to the newly created position of head of technology and operations.

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Zions Bancorp. in Salt Lake City has promoted two executives to leadership roles in the bank's technology division.

U.S. Bank is making a small-business online payment management system available to consumers.

Financial institutions are often thought of as major consumers of technology, but a pair of recent examples show that more tech is being developed in-house and, once proven feasible, monetizing it. Expect more spin-offs, observers predict.

KeyCorp’s biggest deal since Beth Mooney became CEO would make it the 13th largest U.S. commercial bank if approved, and a proposal from Virgin Money's Jayne-Anne Gadhia could prompt the U.K. to peg bank exec bonuses to gender diversity. Also: Barclays' Barbara Byrne, KKR's Suzanne Donohoe and JPM's Eileen Serra.

Raj Date, the consumer bureau's former deputy director, said Thursday regulators need to be flexible, responsive and use discretion when it comes to dealing with financial technology startups.

USAA has partnered with Coinbase to let users view their bitcoin wallet balances, an added financial management tool indicative of a kind of bundling of non-bank financial services it hopes will differentiate it from its competitors.

The number of startup companies opting out of the State of New York — more than a dozen — since the financial services department's BitLicense regulation was finalized is troublesome.

Uber Technologies is drafting plans to offer banking services to its drivers as part of an effort to fend off ride-sharing competition, according to a report by Quartz.

Reimaging the digital experience for retail customers has been the rage for several years now, but a handful of companies are turning their attention to rethinking the digital experience for small business deposit accounts.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council issued a joint statement Tuesday advising financial institutions to take steps to defend against cyber-ransom attacks.

There is a time, a place and a customer base for pseudonymous cryptocurrency. For regulated financial institutions, other types of shared ledgers — those whose validators are legally accountable for certain terms of service — may provide unique utility.

Customer acquisition firm Avoka and identity verification company Trulioo have teamed up to create a real-time know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering identity verification service.

Financial services technology company Fiserv and bank-owned risk management provider Early Warning are partnering to add scale for deposit accounts and bill payment services.

Although millennials are less trusting of financial advisors than older investors, there are still ways for wealth management firms to court younger clients.

Google, Amazon, Apple, PayPal and Intuit have joined forces to promote policies they say will foster greater innovation in financial services.

WireCash, an online marketplace for international remittances, has added the Brazilian company Pontual to its platform.

Virun Rampersad, the guy in charge of global innovation for the 230-year-old BNY Mellon, is more banker than technologist, and it shows in his strategy. His job is to create a culture that'll keep this banking behemoth relevant for centuries to come.