In order for the financial services industry to achieve its full potential in the digital age, Silicon Valley must work together with banks and lawmakers to build technology that can modernize banking infrastructure while addressing regulatory and cybersecurity challenges.

Financial institutions worldwide are exploring the possibilities for faster, cheaper, more transparent processing of global payments in near real time offered by distributed software solutions, including blockchains and distributed ledgers. Because this is a new field of study, these technologies are often misunderstood or mischaracterized.

Wells Fargo tapped the head of its wholesale services unit to lead a new research and development division.

JPMorgan Chase is set to launch its new homepage on Sunday, marking its first major overhaul of Chase.com since 2012. The new homepage aims to simplify language and makes the company's news and stories feature more prominent with the hopes of driving customer engagement.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including ways to make megabanks pay for their “too big to fail” subsidy and how banks can help put an end to human trafficking.

U.S. Bank's new "Your Community" app aims to give consumers the scoop on local happenings, including news and merchant offers. It's the kind of idea that may finally give consumers a reason to share their location information with a bank.

The health care system is riddled with excess capacity, huge legacy costs, out-of-control expenses and regulations even more onerous than those in banking. And just as in banking, high-tech startups are shaking up the system.

Banking experts are starting to look into cryptocurrency tech, and they are hedging their bets by finding uses for both the public blockchain models – like Bitcoin – and private models.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including ideas about how to improve disclosure requirements and ways to encourage banks and young tech firms to join forces.

While some predict that fintech startups will soon overthrow banks, a boom in partnerships between the two industries is far more likely. Startups will benefit from access to new markets and infrastructure, while banks will stay on the cutting edge of innovation.

There are plenty of opportunities for banks to collaborate with the tech startups that are driving rapid change in the financial industry. But first they need to find innovative ways to address systemic challenges like compliance as well as cultural differences.

Community banks that try to serve too broad an array of customers will wind up losing out to larger competitors. They would do better to focus on one or two customer segments and familiarize themselves with those groups' specific habits and needs.

You'll find many disruptors in banking, but startups like Moven aren't among them. In essence, virtual banks simply dress up web storefronts to look like banks but offer one-tenth the services.

Ally Bank has worked to capitalize on what other banks were doing wrong in retail ever since it launched. Now its newly departed CEO offers some advice to her fellow bankers on how they can do better.

Silicon Valley firms like Apple and Lending Club are happy to partner with banks — so long as they get to be the face of customer interactions. But banks may not easily give up that ground.

Bank Technology News has chosen five bankers to be our 2015 Digital Bankers of the Year. They’re creating apps and sites that are engaging, relevant and personalized.

Citi was one of the first banks to open its application programming interfaces to outside developers, leading a movement that's picking up momentum. For this and other efforts, Bank Technology News has chosen Heather Cox as its top 2015 Digital Banker of the Year.

As it continues to build innovative features in its digital apps, such as its own virtual assistant and biometric authentication, USAA is trying to make a one-on-one connection with its members, says Christopher Cox, head of digital experience delivery for the San Antonio company.

Jamie Armistead is focusing Bank of the West's mobile and online efforts on design principles.

Tom Ormseth has built a competitive strategy around digital banking, driving Wintrust to be an early adopter of innovative new features.