Bank technology

Kenya is proving to be a hub of mobile finance innovation in the developing world, even as mobile-payment systems in the U.S. struggle to build an audience.

Combining core banking with workforce management intended to help banks stay in compliance with labor laws and improve customer service.

Discover Financial Services more than doubled its third-quarter net income to $649 million, as its customers increased their spending and its credit card loan portfolio grew for the first time in over two years.

Arkelis, the former Sungard division that produced Ambit messaging technology, has upgraded the platform and created an on-demand option.

In a forum called The Bench, the Swedish merchant bank is building a community among formerly lonely trade finance people and cash managers.

Traditionally demand deposit account origination has followed a fairly standard process. Enter the application, check OFAC and "closed-for-cause" databases, open the account. Lather, rinse, repeat. However, with banks looking to shore up deposit account profitability in the wake of the Durbin Amendment by cutting costs and reducing fraud losses, the standard origination process just won’t do it anymore.

Banks, credit card networks and technology companies like Google could be wasting money on developing mobile wallets and other smartphone payment systems. A Lightspeed Research survey found that the ability to make mobile payments is "very unimportant" to about half of credit card customers with smartphones.

When fraud happens, consumers complain constantly — to their banks, to their friends, and to anyone on the Internet who will listen. BillGuard, a New York company founded last year, pools these complaints to help flag fraudulent transactions that affect multiple consumers at once.

Banks are increasingly using mobile devices as an added layer of authentication for online banking, but messages sent to a phone can be intercepted. A security method developed in South Africa may close that security hole.

Ecommerce software company Rearden Commerce has raised $133 million in new funding from investors Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and American Express Co.

Payments firm S1, jilted by Fundtech, needs to find a new merger partner to stay competitive and please shareholders. A long line of prospective suitors awaits.

Consumers are sharing more personal information online than ever — but they don't want to share it with banks. A few companies are trying to find a middle ground, helping consumers connect to lenders without exposing even basic contact information until absolutely necessary.

Australia and New Zealand Bank will implement Fundtech's Global CASHplus for cash management in 11 countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

American Express has purchased Sometrics, a company that facilitates payments within electronic games using virtual currency, in a deal worth $30 million, the company confirmed Tuesday.

Diebold claims its rival's single-slot ATMS, which mix cash and checks in a single deposit, are more prone to malfunction than Diebold's dual slot model. But the new NCR machines have won big deployment deals with Wells Fargo and BMO, and Wells has reported no problems.

Smaller banks have systems work to do, and a company called WebEquity is trying to fill in the niche. Upgrading to a unified system helps prevent inadvertent discrimination and stop making lending decisions based on excel spreadsheets.

Search giant now has both major card associations on board with its mobile payment application, as well as First Data and Citi.

At Sibos today, Microsoft announced an ISO standard message initiative it's been working on with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi and SWIFT.

Google Inc. may launch its much-hyped Google Wallet as early as this week, according to a number of reports.

The payments technology firm Fundtech can still expand but spend more on R&D and invest for the long term, an executive explains.