Blockchain

JPM chief says digital currency “has no actual value,” but likes the blockchain technology behind it; lender will wait until “the time is right” before re-applying.

IBM plans to use blockchain technology to power real-time execution for international transfers, joining the push to streamline a traditionally cumbersome payment type.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) has issued a preliminary report stating blockchain can make cross-border payments more efficient.

Credit Suisse, State Street and several other banks are experimenting with a blockchain technology that could allow them to make corporate deposits more affordable to hold on their books.

Bankers need to set aside their post-crisis aversion to risk, recapture some of the magic they once practiced as innovators, fear fintechs less, and worry about the Googles and Amazons more, says Peter Memon, a bank IT veteran turned global consultant.

Hackers accessed driver’s license data on nearly 11 million people, the company says; the rally in bank shares may sputter out if third-quarter earnings reports disappoint.

Ripple announced several new customers Tuesday. The startup says its software, designed to compete with Swift, allows banks and others to send cross-border payments more quickly, transparently and cheaply.

Day two of Equifax hearing focuses as much on business model as on the data breach; Fed chair again says she supports bank rules that are not "unduly burdensome."

Banks that find true innovation hard to accomplish can take heart — it’s no picnic for startups either. To hear both sides share their challenges is an argument for collaboration.

The explosion of interest in digital assets this year, and the multiplying of their market value, are making cryptocurrency debit cards newly attractive. Banks could partner with intermediaries or issue the cards directly, but obstacles remain before that day can arrive.