Bank technology

During a House hearing, marketplace lenders suggested that the U.S. government follow the lead of the U.K., which has set up a separate regulatory regime for the online industry.

As banks compete for tech talent against the Ubers and Amazons of the world, a new startup called untapt offers algorithmic matching of workers and bank tech jobs.

Canadian telecommunications companies Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) and SaskTel now offer their customers mobile payments through TD Bank.

A new wave of artificial intelligence applications work by crunching financial data to answer customers' questions. This may give financial institutions a leg up over their nonbank competitors, since the latter group tends to lack vast reserves of people's financial information.

The financial-technology explosion, or bubble, depending on one's viewpoint, continues.

Mitek on Tuesday rolled out a new imaging technology for financial services companies called Photo Verify. It lets bank customers take a smartphone photo of their driver's license to verify their identity.

Many lenders shy away from adjusting monthly payments based on struggling borrowers' income for fear of losing too much money, but the Education Department's expansion of such plans for student loans and new data-crunching products have reframed the longtime discussion.

Voice biometrics, fingerprint recognition, device ID and behavioral analytics are at long last becoming accurate and convenient enough for prime time.

MoneyGram has renewed its relationship with Minnesota's Bremer Bank to assist with its check services.

A new series of reports from analytics and consulting firm Accenture found that nearly 90% of the 450 financial firms surveyed plan on increasing their spending in risk management related to cybersecurity and fraud detection and prevention.

IMGCAP(1)]

Todd Barnhart, head of retail banking at PNC Financial Services Group, discusses the conversion of branches to emphasize digital banking and why it's good to teach consumers to better manage their own accounts, even at the expense of fee revenue in the short term.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including how convenience may help banks beat out Silicon Valley and whether community banks can reduce their regulatory burden on their own.

Bitcoin firms are eager to partner with banks, but they first need to prove that they have left their unruly days behind — and perhaps submit to government oversight.

Prosper is already offering loans at doctor's offices while Lending Club is testing a device that would allow it to make loans on the spot at car dealerships and other retailers. The efforts highlight the need for marketplace lenders to keep innovating as competition for customers intensifies.

Green Dot reported higher first-quarter earnings Thursday, thanks partly to the revenue generated by a recently acquired tax refund processing business.

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 from our social media platforms.

Mercury Network, the mortgage lender and appraisal management company software unit of a la mode, was acquired by private equity firm Serent Capital, the companies announced Thursday.

Wells Fargo and other banks are testing the use of mobile devices to authenticate consumers in the drive-through lane. The pilot, designed to expedite service and improve security, serves as the latest example of a growing trend: preordering banking services via digital devices.

One more quick illustration of why bank customers and regulators are demanding that the U.S. move to a real-time payments system.