Bank technology

U.S banks — with PNC and U.S. Bancorp being only the latest — have been the targets of cyber attacks all week. How can they protect themselves?

Both PNC and U.S. Bancorp said Wednesday that customers encountered delays when trying to bank online, bringing to at least five the number of banks that have experienced Internet slowdowns since a cyber-threat against American banks emerged last week.

New authentication techniques such as biometrics are being developed rapidly in labs. Traditional usernames and passwords are showing signs of vulnerability. A future where palm prints and complex cryptography are part of bank logins is fast becoming more science than fiction.

LendingQB, the maker of a mortgage loan underwriting system, is adding the ability to electronically produce loan documents to its platform.

Scivantage has hired Andrew Haines to be its new chief information officer. Haines joins the software company from online forex trading company Gain Capital, where he served in a similar role.

Swift, the interbank messaging organization, plans to hire more than 100 employees for its new corporate services center in the Asia-Pacific region.

Wells Fargo (WFC) said Tuesday that some of its customers had trouble logging on to its website, roughly a week after online customers of Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) encountered similar delays.

Mercantile Bank of Grand Rapids bank is exploring how to make the most out of its content on a touch-screen kiosk. One idea? Use it as a photo booth.

Banker sentiment echoes Google research suggesting consumers expect sub-five-second mobile app downloads.

Senior Vice President and Marketing Group Manager Susan Brown discusses how the bank is upgrading services for both businesses and consumers.

Ellie Mae is adding support for automated good faith estimates to its mortgage handling software.

Firms like Digital Risk and Corelogic are experimenting with software that uses behavioral analysis to determine which homeowners will repay and which will default.

New Jersey payment messaging software company is helping a coal producer handle international payment messages.

TD Bank relaunches its U.S. banking website in a bid to make it easier to use.

Scotiabank in Canada has started issuing cards on the American Express (AXP) network, the companies said on Monday.

Accenture is bringing across London its fintech incubator concept, which it has run for years as a New York partnership with city officials and several large banks.

Portal provider upgrades ability to sort through documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

Ann Cairns, MasterCard's head of international markets, was optimistic about the company's prospects abroad Thursday, even as MasterCard warned that its revenue growth is slowing.

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Facebook added software tools to make it easier for developers on its system to accept payments made from mobile devices.