Bank technology

Travis Patron of the research firm Diginomics discusses financial institutions' interest in Bitcoin and blockchain technology as platforms to facilitate payments of fiat currency and trading of real-world assets.

The $9.1 billion acquisition of SunGard Data Systems would deepen FIS' bench in banking and asset management services and add products for capital markets, dovetailing with banks' desire to narrow the list of companies that serve them.

UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo., has hired an IBM executive to be chief information officer.

Some community banks stick with rigid or outdated policies out of habit. That winds up hurting them when customers take their business to financial institutions that use technology to make transactions more convenient.

Fidelity National Information Services, a provider of banking and payments technology, agreed to buy software maker SunGard Data Systems in a deal valued at $9.1 billion, including the assumption of debt.

Eris Exchange, an over-the-counter futures market based in Chicago, is trying to stop Eris Industries, a London tech startup, from using the name Eris in markets where both companies operate.

Many payment companies are hosting hackathons to attract developer talent from outside their own ranks; MasterCard found that its own people are just as eager to bring their ideas to life.

Exposing a new front in cybercrime, U.S. authorities broke up an alleged insider trading ring that relied on computer hackers to pilfer corporate press announcements and then profited by trading on the sensitive information before it became public, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The acquisition of Yodlee, considered PFM's pioneering firm, would cement Envestnet's capability to serve an emerging demand for data aggregation and leveraging data insights and behavioral science in wealth management.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is trying to "supercharge" its process for reviewing financial innovations in an effort to keep pace with a glut of new products inside and outside the banking system.

Chicago-based Envestnet will pay $660 million in cash and stock for Yodlee, a California firm that sells data-aggregation services to banks and others.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is raising concerns about a new financial services communications tool that critics warn could be used to get around compliance requirements.

Community Trust in Ruston, La., took the rare step of replacing its hodgepodge legacy core system. The move should cut processing costs in half. In the meantime, the bank's taking a lot of calls from confused customers.

Rejiggering the credit-scoring system won’t do much to expand credit access. Instead, banks and financial services companies should start thinking about new ways to evaluate the situational factors that influence borrowers’ reliability.

Apple Pay users are fanatically satisfied — to the tune of 98% of in-store users and 93% of in-app users surveyed — making an average of 2.6 weekly in-store purchases and 2.3 weekly in-app purchases, according to the Auriemma Consulting Group.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including a critical look at the Fed's post-crisis monetary policies and a bid to make the funding community groups receive from banks more transparent.

Blockchain technology may soon make the high fees, lengthy transaction times and opacity that have plagued legacy cross-border payments a thing of the past.

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.

Standard Treasury team joined SVB Financial's information technology team this week to help it expand the bank's digital banking platform.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has named Stephen Warren chief information officer.