Disruptors

Banks around the world have spent the past few years preparing for competition from small, nimble technology startups. It turns out the real threat may be Jeff Bezos, according to McKinsey & Co. In its annual banking report.

Trading on Friday afternoon pushed the cryptocurrency's market capitalization above $100 billion for the first time ever.

With online retailers beginning to challenge the dominance of brick-and-mortar grocery stores, CRE loans to strip mails anchored by them look riskier.

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.

When Apple or Google releases a new version of its operating system, banks are forced to respond by updating their mobile apps—running just to stay in place. Next month's release from Apple is especially challenging.

A San Francisco startup working with Swift plans to launch a network that would tie self-executing contracts to independent data sources.

Readers react to USAA teaming up with Amazon’s Alexa, how a new Wells Fargo’s scandal could affect arbitration rules, a digital identity startup’s ambitions, and more.

Startups and open-source software projects have raised $1.3 billion this year through initial coin offerings. The real boom may still lie ahead, fears of a bubble notwithstanding.

New entrants don’t pose a disruptive threat to the incumbent cohort of issuers, credit card networks and acquirers primarily because the incumbents — Visa, Mastercard and First Data — are prepared to compete in all segments of the market.

There is too much customer and regulatory inertia for banks’ business model to become irrelevant overnight. The real danger is banks will fade out of the picture over time.

Apologies to those yearning for escapism, but it is hard to escape turmoil — in financial services, in the economy and in civilization — in this year’s reading list. That said, these weighty topics promise to stimulate the mind: How AI will disrupt employment; dystopian imaginings and real-life histories of societal shifts; the necessity of collaboration; bitcoin’s path from obscurity to relevance; the need for leaders to make sacrifices; and more. Recommendations are courtesy of American Banker readers, editorial staff and BankThink contributors.

Lindsey Argalas will push innovation throughout the Spanish bank and encouraging collaboration across businesses and markets.

The following are some of the noteworthy things we heard at American Banker’s Digital Banking 2017 conference held earlier this month in Austin, Texas.

Compliance, security and data analytics were the themes at this year’s New York FinTech Innovation Lab demo day.

Operational changes may be enticing to investors, but they threaten the very foundation of marketplace lending, potentially shutting out those the burgeoning sector was meant to serve.

The CEO of Citi’s innovation group says she and her staff of industry outsiders are driving change within the 215-year-old bank.

Future Family plans to differentiate itself by tying financing with a suite of products women need as they pursue fertility treatment.

Zack Gipson, USAA’s chief innovation officer, also discusses the challenges of bringing a human touch to digital channels in a brief but candid Q&A.

Vault and Retiremap are launching products this week that are designed to help people stash cash where they can.

First Federal Lakewood has teamed up with the largest banks in Ohio on a fintech accelerator and invested in Eastern Bank’s tech spinoff, with the goal of staying relevant.