Bank technology

Digital upstarts are out to steal traditional banks' customers by taking the hassle out of everything from account opening to borrowing. It’s tough to compete with banks' resources and brand recognition, but these new mobile competitors are adamant that they can win on customer experience.

Even if you don't care about Bitcoin, you could use the technology that enables it. Companies like Eris and Factom are working on practical applications that banks would find handy, with use cases ranging from acquisitions to securitizations.

For all their talk, banks are still sorely lacking when it comes to creating a great user experience in their digital channels, as this unhappy customer can attest.

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

For more than a decade, U.S. regulators have been advising bankers to know more about their customers than who they are. In the next five years that may become the global norm as technology allows more granular transaction monitoring.

Discover, the only major U.S. card network that did not support Apple Pay at the mobile wallet's launch, has inked a deal with Apple, eliminating some of the fragmentation in the mobile wallet's deployment.

Banks can ditch their reputations as fuddy-duddy workplaces by helping millennial employees connect with the social mission driving the company and giving them plenty of opportunities to advance their careers.

Using scant evidence of women's participation in the digital currency industry to foreshadow Bitcoin's demise is not only erroneous, but also impertinent. Though the number of women in Bitcoin may be small, the collective impact of their achievements is unmistakably great.

The McLean, Va., credit card lender is offering steep discounts to Uber riders, even though the promotion stands to hurt some of the bank's commercial borrowers.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including thoughts on derisking, biometric technology and Paul Volcker’s proposal to reform the regulatory system.

itBit, a Bitcoin exchange, looks to be gunning to go mainstream with an application for a New York trust charter and a lineup of prominent Washington backers including former FDIC head Sheila Bair.

TD Bank's efforts to be responsive and natural on Twitter and Facebook have earned it a top ranking among its peers.

The ubiquitous coffee chain is making new inroads with its mobile payments app, and its success underscores how nonbanks can outdo banks at their own game and should be watched closely by banking industry participants.

Millions of dollars spent on software upgrades are worth the hit to short-term profits, executives at the Buffalo bank said, because it will be able to run deeper credit profiles of borrowers.

As horrifying cyberattack scenarios grow more plausible, an American Bankers Association simulation of a hypothetical breach at a $10 billion-asset bank is designed to guide institutions through a set of crisis response steps.

First Niagara Financial Group in Buffalo, N.Y., said its first-quarter profit declined because of costs tied to its technology upgrade and lower spread income.

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.

House lawmakers approved two bills this week to foster greater information sharing between the private sector and government about cyber threats — and all eyes now turn to the Senate to see if legislation can finally be enacted.

Cybercriminals' distributed denial of service exploits are getting more targeted and sophisticated.

Banks that use biometric technology should remember to take client and employee privacy concerns seriously. After all, banks have a duty to protect personal information and prevent its potential misuse.