Bank technology

In the wake of a successful pilot, Discover announced Wednesday that it is offering bank software vendor Fisoc's debit rewards program, Buzz Points, to its issuing banks.

NCR said its Skimming Protection Solution product can prevent so-called skimming attacks, in which a thief installs a card slot on an ATM with the goal of swiping data embedded on a card's magnetic strip.

They may look ridiculous, but phablets and superphones — mini tablets and extra-large phones — have a bright future, according to research released today by Transparency Market Research.

Consumer advocate Jennifer Openshaw is launching a new company that offers financial advisors a platform in which to build social media communities, with some compliance features built in.

Citi is adding a finance tool to its CitiDirect BE Mobile platform that will let suppliers check up on the status of incoming payments.

Nebulous security challenge questions like, "Who's the best man in your life?" have got to go.

MortgageKeeper Referral Services has introduced an online service to make it easier for homeowners to find assistance after a natural disaster.

BTN editors scoured their notebooks and identified six financial technology startups with strong products that are acquiring funding and, we think, will soon acquire more customers and bank partnerships.

With bitcoin in the media spotlight, everyone seems to have an opinion on the price. Few recognize the profound implications of decentralized money for the monetary system, society and government – not to mention the emerging business opportunities.

The economist Friedrich Hayek famously advocated competitive issuance of money. Dave Birch of Consult Hyperion says this may soon come to pass, with multiple currencies, public and private, serving as means of exchange and stores of value. Are you ready to pay for purchases in kilowatt hours?

ACI Worldwide (ACIW) has released a mobile-banking program for the iPhone and Android smartphones.

CipherCloud announced Tuesday that it's expanding its cloud information protection platform.

Financial services companies are dedicating a growing portion of their software budget to regulatory compliance, a new survey shows.

Companies know that data breaches can be costly but still struggle to prepare for them, a new survey by Experian and the Ponemon Institute finds.

Verizon has released its eighth annual Data Breach Investigations Report, and – no surprise – banks are at the top of the list of companies besieged by cyber threats.

Generations Bank in Seneca Falls, N.Y., plans to begin moving its critical banking applications to Compushare's C3 Cloud Computing platform.

Privacy in electronic payments is critical does not entail anonymity, argues Dave Birch of Consult Hyperion. Encryption technologies can protect privacy while allowing authorities to trace stolen digital money in break-the-glass situations, he maintains.

Processing payments is a costly activity for banks, one that nonbank businesses, such as telecommunications operators and retailers may be able to handle more nimbly and efficiently, says Dave Birch of Consult Hyperion. Rather than threats, banks should view these more lightly regulated outsiders as potential partners.

The recent public fascination with the digital currency Bitcoin taps into a latent frustration with the current inadequate banking and payments system, says Dave Birch of Consult Hyperion. While Bitcoin itself may not be the wave of the future, it shows how the next generation of payments technologies will work and bears watching by bankers.

Roughly two months after BBVA Compass launched its branchless bank account for basketball fans, the bank has about 10,000 NBA Banking customers, says BBVA's chief marketing officer John Wessman.