Bank technology

Major cloud, consulting and software providers like Microsoft and Deloitte are plugging "blockchain as a service" for financial institutions that want to experiment with this technology without making huge investments.

Ex-banker Frank Rotman, now a venture capitalist who focuses on marketplace lending, has a unique vantage point on the competition for small-business loans between banks and Web-based upstarts, as well as on both sides' strengths and weaknesses.

A customer's social media presence provides a window to the soul, which a more traditional credit history cannot touch.

The core-processing vendor FIS wants to dream big like fintech startups when it comes to developing future services, but it also seeks to be large enough to offer multiple services in an era when banks are cutting back on third-party providers.

The debate over whether signatures or PINs are a stronger security feature overlooks the fact that neither is the most important defense against fraud.

The vaguely defined term needs an overhaul to meet the financial demands of refugees and others long ignored by efforts to expand banking access.

Banks have a lot of work to do to modernize branches and keep their technology on par with other businesses' digital tools. Here are some ideas worth borrowing from retailers, restaurants and consumer electronics makers if banks haven't adopted them already, says appointment-software firm Financial Management Solutions.

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KeyCorp is partnering with fintech firms to offer innovative payments products to its commercial clients, as interest in payments technology begins to spill over from retail into commercial.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

Goldman Sachs is seeking to create its own cryptocurrency for post-trade settlement, according to a recently released patent filing.

The price hike represents a significant shift in strategy for the company, which has frequently touted its pro-consumer bona fides.

So-called containers can lessen the IT workload and help companies bring applications into the cloud. New security and management tools, like automatic patching, are bringing containers into the mainstream.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati plans to record a large fourth-quarter gain after selling shares in payment processor Vantiv.

Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., has created a unit dedicated to disrupting the banking industry.

Q2, in Austin, Texas, paid $10.6 million to acquire all outstanding interests in Social Money, according to a Tuesday news release. The purchase price was subject to a customary working capital adjustment.

Bank of the Ozarks' taste for M&A means its information-technology staff has to juggle integration projects and experiments with new software, mobile and other technologies.

Target has agreed to pay $39 million to settle loss claims from a two-year-old data breach that were brought by a group of financial institutions, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

Unlike the high-profile hacking incidents at big banks, smaller institutions have their own breed of threats such as cyberextortion that they must focus on in strengthening their security.

Services are cropping up that help banks analyze bitcoin transactions for signs of criminal behavior such as money laundering. But such services come with their own risks.