Bank technology

In a newly created role, 14-year company veteran Andres Wolberg-Stok is helping Citigroup take its consumer technologies in new directions with APIs, wearables, the Internet of things and biometric authentication.

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 and sister publications.

Google, an early investor in LendingClub, is using the online platform to help it sell more services to businesses.

Regions Financial is testing gamification as a way to teach financial literacy to young people with a mobile app that simulates a sport more commonly associated with older generations.

While computers may have bested humans in chess and mutual fund management, loan underwriting is one area where men can still beat machines.

In an era where businesses are increasingly focused on cloud computing, Citigroup is turning instead to souped-up hardware in the form of IBM's newest z13 mainframe, which it says can help it better deal with the explosive growth in mobile and online transactions.

EMV cards are moving payments security in the right direction. But if hackers tamper with the hardware or associated software on merchants' EMV-enabled equipment, they can silently spirit off customer data.

After 18 months of testing, Wintrust is rolling out technology that lets customers order cash ATM withdrawals through a mobile app. The bank aims to quicken transactions, strengthen security and pave the way for mobile wallet adoption.

The White House rolled out several more cybersecurity provisions on Tuesday, including a proposal to better coordinate information sharing between the government and the private sector around cyberattacks and emerging threats.

Wintrust Financial in Chicago has formed a division to focus on the city's start-up community.

Banks can be compliant with cybersecurity guidelines and still remain vulnerable to massive liabilities. One case in point: many financial institutions carry mandatory insurance policies that could leave them on the hook for six-figure losses from corporate account takeovers.

A new push by President Obama to tighten cybersecurity at banks and other businesses could help light a fire under some firms that have historically been slower to react in the wake of a data breach and help financial institutions dealing with a tangle of confusing state laws.

The mobile platform most bankers had all but given up on is showing signs of life. But the changes seem unlikely to persuade financial institutions, many of which have quietly discontinued or abandoned their native BlackBerry apps.

Capital One acquired Level Money, a startup with a budgeting app for consumers, on Monday. Level Money has approximately 700,000 users and claims to have helped users manage a total of $12 billion during its brief existence.

Customers affected by cyberattacks frequently direct their wrath at financial institutions, whether or not a bank is responsible for the breach. Therefore banks need to have a strategic communications strategy in place.

Online lending marketplaces claim that they will revolutionize the financial services industry. But financial companies need a lot more than high-tech prowess to achieve sustained success.

Nationwide the number of bank branches fell by about 1.7% last year. But some cities and states were hit harder than others, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and research firm BankRegData.

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Even is building a mobile money-management service for baristas, Lyft drivers, freelancers and others with unpredictable incomes. For $5 a week, users can draw advances on paychecks during rough patches.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.