Bank technology

Silicon Valley Bank is sponsoring workshops on both coasts to teach computer programming skills to middle school and high school students.

Banks continue to spend big bucks to develop secure mobile banking apps for various platforms. But some day soon the web browser may offer equal security at a fraction of the cost.

The smartphone blog Android Police has discovered several latent features buried in the code underlying the software for Google’s wearable computer. Among them are panoramic image capture (suitable for check imaging), a stopwatch, and commands to play music or games.

BB&T has introduced a contemporary twist on teaching leadership to employees and students: a mobile gaming app with medieval characters. The app is the latest example of how banks are deploying gaming tactics to engage an audience.

Zumigo, which detects fraud by authenticating mobile devices, debuted its Assure security products, this week.

SaveUp announced Wednesday evening the personal finance startup's first native app for iPhone.

BOK Financial Corp. (BOKF) in Tulsa, Okla., is launching an online mortgage sales channel that will allow the company to reach prospective home buyers in all 50 states.

An executive order in February called cyberthreats one of the most serious national security challenges our nation faces. Too bad most cybersecurity personnel were furloughed as part of the shutdown.

Citi announced Wednesday the tablet edition for its commercial banking portal, CitiDirect BE Tablet.

When Hampden Bank was converting to a new online banking provider, the Massachusetts community bank bought an app for its core to make online enrollment easier for customers.

Former Citigroup executive Gordon Baird plans to launch an application at Independence Bancshares that ties together mobile banking and real-time processing – a technology that some industry experts say could revolutionize banking.

The second generation of RBS Citizens' home-grown app for businesses adds useful cash management features.

Centier Bank in Whiting, Ind., is giving its customers access to an online database of community services.

Verizon has upgraded its user authentication service with an ambitious goal in mind: to be the steward of consumers' online identity, the gateway to every site with which a consumer engages.

These financially underserved individuals are far from disconnected. They are actually more active users of mobile phones and social media than the population at large.

Microsoft announced new hybrid cloud products this week. Banks have long taken to this mixed approach, in which they can keep sensitive data within their walls.

Lifetime Achievement honoree Ellen Alemany notes how the industry has evolved since the start of her career. Alemany, the recently retired head of RBS Citizens Financial Group, accepted the award at an American Banker gala celebrating the industry’s most powerful women.

Banks are notably absent from the list of top payments innovators these days. Instead, the freshest ideas are coming from start-ups and companies like American Express and PayPal, which each recently unveiled new technologies that pose threats to the established order.

So far, banks have skirted many data privacy issues faced by Walmart, the NSA and others. But as they make broader and deeper use of customer data, privacy problems emerge.

Former Citigroup chairman and CEO Sandy Weill has backed the personal financial management software startup.