Bank technology

The "Digital Bankers of the Year" for 2015 selected by Bank Technology News are innovators pushing their organizations to better serve customers. Their high-tech efforts range from reaching the underbanked in Africa to helping prospective homebuyers look beyond the "for sale" sign through a mobile app.

Diebold contacted Wincor Nixdorf about a potential acquisition last week, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.

Bank Technology News has chosen five bankers to be our 2015 Digital Bankers of the Year. They’re creating apps and sites that are engaging, relevant and personalized.

Citi was one of the first banks to open its application programming interfaces to outside developers, leading a movement that's picking up momentum. For this and other efforts, Bank Technology News has chosen Heather Cox as its top 2015 Digital Banker of the Year.

As it continues to build innovative features in its digital apps, such as its own virtual assistant and biometric authentication, USAA is trying to make a one-on-one connection with its members, says Christopher Cox, head of digital experience delivery for the San Antonio company.

Jamie Armistead is focusing Bank of the West's mobile and online efforts on design principles.

In a letter to nine lenders, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said investigators uncovered identity-theft schemes hatched by tellers at some of the biggest institutions.

Several weighty issues remain on the agenda for policymakers over the next few months, including everything from living wills to regulatory relief to a long-lost compensation rule.

AMG National in Denver has bought a minority stake in an applications and software developer.

Apple Pay's security shortcomings were likely deliberate, done with the goal of making signups and initial usage as easy as possible for shoppers. And so far, it's worked.

Tom Ormseth has built a competitive strategy around digital banking, driving Wintrust to be an early adopter of innovative new features.

Under the leadership of CEO Uzoma Dozie, Diamond Bank has refocused on digital banking offerings, with an aim of improving the financial lives of the underbanked.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including the debate over how to expand access to mortgage credit and the dangers and opportunities presented by large-scale corporate data mining.

Investment in London fintech firms is soaring and young companies are being drawn to the area, especially the Canary Wharf district, thanks to the efforts of incubator Level39, a vibrant social scene, and close proximity to large banks.

Same-day payments will be a big improvement for business-to-business transactions, but banks are still bound to lose market share to technology firms that are taking the complexity out of the payments process.

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.

Hackers based in China breached U.S. Office of Personnel Management computers, according to American officials, stealing records of as many as 4 million current and former federal employees in one of the largest breaches of government personnel data.

The 28-year-old Young Americans Bank was founded to teach kids to save, but now the bank is focused on showing its customers how to spend wisely. CEO Richard Martinez says tots still prefer paper statements, while tweens are getting their allowance via bill pay.

Facebook's new Instant Article service for publications underscores the competitive threat that the site's business model poses to banks. There's one particular feature that should have banks worried: because Facebook's primary interest is ad income, product pricing is of secondary importance.

It's certainly true that as customers conduct fewer basic transactions in branches, those branches will see reduced foot traffic. But branches will remain relevant so long as they have helpful and intelligent people determined to help customers manage their finances.