To identify fintech startups deserving of special recognition this year as part of the FinTech Forward program, a team of American Banker editors, BAI staff and industry members debated the merits of self-nominees and companies we know.

The collaboration between financial institutions and technology firms runs deep, but banks' recent criticism of lax regulatory oversight for nonbanks reveals fissures.

The marketplace lender is paying $30 million in cash plus an undisclosed amount of stock. It plans to use BillGuard’s apps, which come with detailed information about their users’ financial habits, to attract new borrowers.

The American Bankers Association has planned a financial literacy campaign to help seniors and their caregivers guard against financial fraud.

The smartphone can add significant security to payments, but it is also a tool that fraudsters can exploit. Researchers and scammers have already found several unique attacks that rely on mobile devices.

K2 Intelligence, an adviser on compliance and cybersecurity, has hired a former FBI cryptocurrency expert and a former regulator who worked on New York's digital currency regulations.

Buyout heavyweight Accel-KKR just bought a stake in Banker's Toolbox, a software company that helps community banks flag fraud. The PE firm says it was on the hunt for investments in the compliance space given the regulatory climate.

The fraud detection services provider Feedzai has raised $17.5 million in its Series B financing round.

A New York woman convicted of participating in an identity-theft ring was sentenced Thursday to two to six years in state prison. The ring stole more than $850,000 from hundreds of JPMorgan Chase customers.

As cybercriminals demonstrate their deep knowledge of banks' fraud and security rules, some institutions are deploying software that analyzes customers' and other entities' behavior for abnormalities.

Bank regulators plan to release their self-assessment tool later this quarter to gauge institutions' cyber readiness, but many see it as sign of more prescriptive measures down the road.

Jacob Dienelt, a former financial adviser at Morgan Stanley, has joined Factom, a cryptocurrency tech startup, as its head treasurer.

Malicious software that blows past antivirus software undetected, combined with sophisticated social engineering (i.e. tricking employees of bank customers into divulging information), have enabled criminals to steal $500,000 to $1 million at a time, security experts say.

A stolen company laptop has left customers of Pioneer Savings Bank vulnerable, according to a consumer alert from the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Decisions about when and how to implement EMV technology in credit and debit cards are difficult. Many banks have decided to slowly phase it in, despite the fact the delay will open them up to greater potential liability.

Hackers in several financial services industry data breaches targeted customer-contact information that is often thought of as less sensitive. But crooks can use that data and other bits of stolen info to do great harm.

Citigroup has agreed to change its policies that prevented low-income consumers from opening checking and savings accounts.

Fake identity fraud is growing, due to the plentiful array of consumer account and card data available in the wake of massive data breaches. It's a crime banks find almost impossible to detect and deter.

This year, electronic trading will finally come to the bond market and more banks will adopt technologies that harness social media to flag potentially fraudulent customers.

Regulators want banks to police MSBs for illicit activity, but they do not view all such businesses as high-risk, said David Cohen, Treasury's top AML official.