Citigroup and other banks are increasingly looking to startups to help them compete in a world in which Google, Apple and other tech firms are rapidly becoming potential threats.

The ubiquitous coffee chain is making new inroads with its mobile payments app, and its success underscores how nonbanks can outdo banks at their own game and should be watched closely by banking industry participants.

The San Francisco bank has added three more young technology firms to its accelerator program, which is aimed at adapting products from outside the financial services world for creative uses in banking.

FIS has designated a permanent area in its San Francisco office to test and showcase mobile banking and payment apps, highlighting the pressure on traditional vendors to stay current on emerging technologies and recruit young tech talent.

D+H says it wants to help banks with the adoption and integration of new payment origination channels.

D+H in Toronto has agreed to buy the global payments solutions firm Fundtech.

SAS has launched a new solution designed to allow banks to rapidly test anti-money laundering scenarios, the business analytics software and services provider announced March 16.

Small business alternative lender Biz2Credit has added Fortis Payments to its roster of payment partners.

Let this be the year that the financial industry stops using the phrase "big data" and remembers that the goal of technology is to make people's lives simpler.

Capital One acquired Level Money, a startup with a budgeting app for consumers, on Monday. Level Money has approximately 700,000 users and claims to have helped users manage a total of $12 billion during its brief existence.

Lenda, a new mortgage company backed by Silicon Valley investors, wants to supplant the traditional loan officer with consumer self-service technology.

The cash register company turned ATM maker purchased online and mobile banking provider Digital Insight to better compete in digital banking and to let banks offer customers seamless interactions between channels.

Imagine a future where we access accounts or pay for groceries using a bracelet, a wristwatch or even a temporary tattoo. Disney's MagicBand provides a glimpse of what's possible for wearable devices.

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Faster lending, mobile app enhancements and seamless channel hopping are all priorities top bank tech executives have for the new year.

Leading financial services and tech execs say that in 2015, technology will change many things, from the way they hire personnel to the way they make loans to the way they package products. Upcoming projects — ranging from small to big — will improve the customer experience at a time when the lines between banks and technology companies continue to blur.

A Canadian startup, Koho, is poised to begin testing a mobile financial product that helps customers manage spending — think card controls that prevent late-night withdrawals to fund one round of tequila too many.

Earthport, a cross-border payments service provider, has partnered with the digital currency network provider Ripple Labs to allow enterprise businesses, including banks, to more efficiently transmit money worldwide.

Bankrate Inc., an aggregator and publisher of rate data and news related to personal finance, has acquired Wallaby Financial Inc., a firm that provides credit card reward apps to consumers.

A bank-backed platform for sharing information about cyber security threats has been released for general download.

A new partnership between Toronto-Dominion Bank and tech firm Moven underscores how banks are beginning to embrace the idea of personal financial management services for their mobile apps.