Bank technology

Santander Bank, formerly Sovereign Bank, has launched a rewards-heavy credit card and made other creative retail moves in the U.S. as it tries to establish an identity beyond that of the foreign-owned bank with the tricky name.

For most of the banking industry, the ability to generate real-time views and assessments of risk across a company – right down to the transaction level – remains dangerously elusive.

As consumers increasingly transact through digital channels, the Ohio bank is expanding its newer branch concepts to include so-called smart ATMs in a bid to free staffers from managing a cash drawer.

The Federal Reserve banks signaled Tuesday that they are pushing ahead with their efforts to encourage the construction of a faster nationwide payment system.

Lawmakers kicked off a week of investigations into recent data breaches on Monday and Tuesday, grilling bankers, retailers, government officials and consumer advocates about why the breaches occurred and what can be done to prevent future incidents.

Bionym, an identity technology startup and one of BTN's top ten fintech companies to watch, will launch its wearable device with a Bitcoin wallet app.

Keeping ATM locator apps up to date is a challenge, especially when multiple networks are involved.

In an increasingly commoditized industry, our people can be one of the few true differentiators left. But the model that has them forever sitting in buildings that fewer and fewer people utilize makes less strategic sense each year.

Cash will be with us for years to come, but also increasingly integrated with digital technologies, says Diebold chief executive Andy Mattes. With a half-year on the job, he says his company's goal "is to own the interface between digital and physical" money.

U.S. Bank is readying software for fashion brands and other companies to embed into their mobile apps in a bid to facilitate shopping through more traditional marketing channels like print. The initiative adds a wrinkle to the ways in which banks are working to innovate commerce.

Citigroup announced Monday a feature in pilot that lets customers check deposits, credit card balances and recent transactions on a mobile device without having to log in to the bank's app.

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Banks could eliminate delays when setting new customers up with online or mobile banking if they could better verify their personal information during the sign-up process, according to new research from Experian Data Quality.

The Federal Housing Administration's long-awaited decision to start accepting electronic signatures on mortgage documents will cut down on costs and streamline operations for banks and other mortgage lenders. But the industry still faces several hurdles before it can reap the benefits of this technology upgrade.

The consulting firm Promontory Financial Group has established an awards program to spotlight efforts by small financial firms to serve the underbanked.

In a long-awaited move that's expected to reduce origination costs and streamline lenders' processes, the Federal Housing Administration will immediately start accepting electronic signatures on all mortgage insurance endorsement and servicing documents, and will accept e-signatures on promissory notes beginning Dec. 31.

Benjamin Lawsky, New York's top financial regulator, rarely sounds ambivalent. But when the topic is something as unprecedented and complex as Bitcoin, the big questions appear to give him pause.

Microsoft is scheduled to stop supporting Windows XP, the operating system inside most ATMs, on April 8. Diebold chief executive Andy Mattes weighs in on the impact to the industry.

Open Bank Project is looking to partner with banks worldwide in a bid to have them distribute third-party apps to customers. This would give customers more choice in their banking experiences, and let banks offer services to differentiate themselves from the banking herd.

Big banks have discovered that mobile banking is their best bet for combating deep consumer distrust and rampant turnover. Small banks can overcome their lock on mobile by playing up the strengths of their existing business model.