Bank technology

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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.

itBit, the startup Bitcoin exchange whose backers include former FDIC chairman Sheila Bair, has become the first digital currency firm to receive a trust charter under New York banking law.

While the penalty is a blow to Ripple Labs, it could have significant implications for the industry at large and its efforts to legitimize itself in the eyes of regulators and banks. Here's how:

Companies like OnDeck and Lending Club are under pressure to keep finding new borrowers, but there are signs that customer acquisition costs are rising amid heavier competition.

The Fintech Sandbox — an accelerator of sorts for startups — has attracted ten data providers and eight fintech startups in two months. But it's still missing what it needs most: bank members.

WASHINGTON — Financial Crime Enforcement Network Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery said Wednesday that Internal Revenue Service examiners are conducting bank-like exams of virtual currency firms for possible anti-money laundering violations.

U.S. authorities have fined the San Francisco startup $700,000 over violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's Tuesday press release.

After the early exuberance surrounding Apple Watch, banks and vendors are ramping up testing of bank apps on other wearable devices and everyday objects, preparing for a day in which most everything is connected to the Internet.

The Chicago-area community bank, which started in the basement of a church as a savings and loan 117 years ago, has started a series of free webinars to give people guidance to free themselves from debt.

Western Independent Bankers, a consortium of about 130 community banks in 13 western states, has entered into a deal to use the marketplace lender LendKey to underwrite and service auto loans.

Bankers give too much credence to futurists and financial gurus who warn that technology will render the in-branch experience obsolete.