At the start of 2015, there was a sense that Silicon Valley would soon rule the world of finance and that banks risked irrelevance. A year later, a more balanced picture has emerged.

CommonBond, a New York firm that makes student loans through an online platform, said Tuesday that it has raised more than $275 million in debt funding from Barclays and others.

The blockchain could move from testing to reality, APIs are likely to expand, and more functions will move to the cloud as banks look for ways to fend off fintechs in 2016.

Bitcoin Direct has a heavyweight behind its latest digital wallet – literally.

Lawmakers are expected to debate a number of key banking provisions this year, even with the November elections on the horizon.

Bruce Fenton, executive director at the Bitcoin Foundation, opened its Dec. 15 board meeting with a sense of urgency: "We need additional funds if we wish to retain employees." The numbers didn't look good. In two years, the foundation had seen at least $7 million evaporate. As of Nov. 30, its total assets stood at $12,553.06.

A new digital currency backed by gold is billing itself as a more compliant, liquid and ultimately reliable store of value than decentralized systems such as bitcoin.

Several organizations, such as Swift and The Clearing House, announced faster payments initiatives this year. Those initiatives will likely play critical roles in 2016 in helping the Fed plot ways to modernize the U.S. payments system.

Nasdaq Inc. said it used blockchain technology to complete and record a private securities transaction for the first time, as the exchange operator seeks to pull ahead of a crowded sector that so far has offered more hype than reality.

Despite increased investment and development in the consumer payments space around mag stripe, EMV and contactless payments solutions, there is still a huge concern when it comes to data theft.

Once billed as a safer alternative to traditional finance, the new crop of tech-powered lenders is starting to resemble previous generations of finance companies whose fortunes rose and fell with each economic cycle.

A London-based startup aims to allow consumers to use Bitcoin as a form of payment – even with merchants that haven’t started using the digital currency.

Everyday investors provide marketplace lenders a cushion in case institutional buyers find greener pastures. But regulatory hurdles and an addiction to fast growth are making it difficult for the platforms to lure those coveted savers.

A trip to London reveals how far ahead British and other European regulators are in streamlining the licensing process for payments providers and other fintech firms.

One of the more unusual financial crime stories of the year concerned two men who were charged with operating an illegal Bitcoin exchange through a now-shuttered New Jersey credit union.

BankMobile attracted 100,000 users in its first year and with the acquisition of a couple of business lines from collegiate servicer Higher One it is projecting it will have 2 million by July.

Lending Club, the nation's largest marketplace lender, announced Tuesday that it has raised interest rates on its new loans by an average of 0.25% in the wake of the Federal Reserve Board's recent rate hike.

Bank innovation has tended to focus on retail customers, but expect more technology for commercial customers in the coming year as those clients deman products that are easy to use and help them run more efficient enterprises.

Banks face immense challenges trying to keep up with technology, but they also must cater to older customers with big deposit accounts who still use their branch.

Banks have all the experience they need to remain relevant in the world of digital payments, but they must not sit idly by as a slew of disruptors look to snag the business.