"To wake up one day and assume everyone in America is going to be above average at math and above average rational is crazy," says Ethan Bloch, whose app is designed to help people achieve financial health.

The German challenger bank said that its "several hundred thousand" customers in the U.K. have until April 15 to withdraw money or transfer it to another account.

It was Varo's second try with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., but it has now moved within a few steps of obtaining what has eluded fintech firms of late: a green light from banking regulators.

The digital-only bank found customers are anxious about their inability to set aside money, so it decided to offer automated savings tools, consumer chief Diane Morais says. It is one of the larger companies to do so.

Shifting to a seamless, customer-centric automation strategy can help credit unions better compete with the big banks while also meeting consumer expectations set by the likes of Amazon, Uber and more.

A new report from J.D. Power found that younger consumers increasingly believe the largest banks are better than regionals in providing financial guidance through digital channels.

Greg Seibly guided Sterling through the financial crisis before engineering its sale to Umpqua Holdings in 2014. He had most recently served as CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.

JPMorgan Chase is staking its consumer-banking strategy on digital technology. In 2020, that push will be spearheaded by a new team of executives.

The new features use automatic transfers to encourage account holders to build savings faster and with less effort.

Investors think the billions being shelled out to keep up with the likes of Amazon might be better spent elsewhere.