Bank technology

The New Jersey Assembly is weighing whether to pursue legislation that would make the state a haven for digital currency businesses.

Criminals who once focused on email fraud are turning to text messages and phone calls to trick bank customers. Fraudsters are also using social media and Big Data to learn more about their consumer and commercial targets.

Stephen Platt, regulatory investigations consultant and author of "Criminal Capital: How the Finance Industry Facilitates Crime," explains his misgivings about the idea of a shared know-your-customer registry for the industry.

Some brokerages aren't doing enough to protect themselves from cyberattacks while other firms don't share information that could reduce future threats, according to U.S. securities regulators.

The San Antonio financial services provider says 101,000 members have already logged into mobile banking with a spoken phrase or a selfie. It may be a sign that after 50 years, biometric authentication is finally hitting the mainstream.

Alternative finance marketplace Lending Club has entered into an agreement with the U.S. branch of Alibaba to offer financing to American businesses to buy parts from Chinese manufacturers through the Alibaba marketplace.

More than a decade after spearheading the direct banking model of offering high-yield savings accounts exclusively online at ING Direct, Arkadi Kuhlmann is trying to reboot international banking for the smartphone.

U.S. Bancorp on Monday named its annual "Dynamic Dozen" list, a select group of young employees chosen to provide the $387 billion-asset company with guidance on digital banking.

By linking mobile payments with money transfers, Western Union created a new use for Apple's mobile wallet. But it must still rigidly conform to the basic requirements of an Apple Pay transaction — without a bank account, there is no payment.

Small business alternative lender Biz2Credit has added Fortis Payments to its roster of payment partners.

Puppy Bowl fans, keep your TVs turned to Animal Planet on Sunday. FirstBank's new ad campaign was made with you in mind — sort of.

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

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 social media platforms and the blogosphere.

Federal Reserve officials suggested that anonymous payments and the technologies powering digital currencies could inform broader plans for reshaping the U.S. payment system.

Green Dot reported a net loss in the fourth quarter as it spent money to diversify beyond its flagship prepaid card business.

Purveyors of certain cloud services, such as cloud-based lending, face continual rejection from bankers worried about security. But some say a data storage specialist could be every bit as secure as a financial institution — if not more so.

A new study says Americans are getting hooked on mobile banking.

Marketplace lenders are seizing on current investor enthusiasm after the December public listing of LendingClub. SoFi and Funding Circle have set new origination targets, and new capital markets deals may help replace bank credit lines for Blue Elephant Capital Management and perhaps others.

SimpleFi is working with a New Jersey bank to pitch its payday loan alternative and financial educational services to employers across the country come February 1. It represents part of the trend of disruptors rethinking payroll data.

Citigroup has agreed to change its policies that prevented low-income consumers from opening checking and savings accounts.