Bank technology

For the third year in a row, employees of various credit unions across the country spent 24 straight hours trying to come up with the next great financial technology offering.

Green Dot plans to acquire Santa Barbara Tax Products Group for about $320 million, a move that will allow the prepaid card provider to add tax refund processing services through partnerships with tax preparers.

For a company that operates a computer network that 1.7 billion people come into contact with each month, CloudFlare keeps a low profile. Now the security startup's new product may raise its prominence among banks faced with mounting cyberattacks.

Eastern Bank in Boston is raising its profile by installing automated teller machines at travel plazas along some of Massachusetts' most heavily traveled highways.

The mobile wallet finally has some real momentum. Will the biggest banks use the opportunity to take business from their smaller peers?

From the moment Apple revealed its mobile wallet to the world, PayPal has wasted little opportunity to take its share of digs at the product.

TrueAccord, which just raised $5 million, aims to use automation, data and behavioral analysis to transform debt collection — a business where old hands shy away from communicating with consumers by email.

NexID Biometrics, an authentication technology provider in Potsdam, N.Y., has enhanced a fake-finger-detection solution for fingerprint-sensor systems.

PrivacyCheq, a financial technology company in York, Pa., has launched a service that hosts streamlined versions of banks' privacy notices that can be pushed out to smartphones, tablets and desktops.

Customers of Simple, a unit of BBVA, have complained in recent weeks about delays and failures in scheduled payments, highlighting digital-only banks' dependence on third-party providers and antiquated legacy systems.

American Express is seeking ideas from outside researchers on how to cater to underbanked consumers and potentially refine its Serve prepaid account.

Apple's desire to maintain tight control of the payment experience is likely to wind up pushing banks away from iPhones and toward Android and host card emulation technology.

To obtain approval and funding for security improvements, bank technologists have to make their case by pointing to losses from recent security breaches. But calculating those losses can be tricky.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will provide $100,000 to organizations that promote the use of digital payments for the poor.

Microbranches have their merits — but banks should be aware that changes in technology and customer preferences could render them obsolete.

Citizens Financial Group in Providence, R.I., is expanding its banking unit that focuses on the technology sector.

Until we know without doubt with whom we are transacting, the legacy payment networks cannot be made secure for Internet-sourced electronic payments.

The New York Times' Neil Irwin says Apple Pay is trying to solve a problem that isn't a problem, but he’s missing the point.

The banks involved in Apple's mobile payment platform cite the enhanced security, intuitive user experience and brand name. Even if they sacrifice fees, they could make it up on volume.

Apple will collect fees from banks when consumers use an iPhone in place of credit and debit cards for purchases, a deal that gives the handset maker a cut of the growing market for mobile payments, according to three people with knowledge of the arrangement.