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According to one analyst, the threat from fintech was overrated – but there are plenty of other tech trends credit unions need to be ready for.

Banks will need to evolve further and faster to reach consumers in an interconnected, always online world, according to industry leaders.

Virtual reality is seeing significant leaps in technology, with immediate applications to gaming and entertainment that foreshadow richer applications for VR in commerce.

Unless near zero-friction identity security is embraced, connected devices cannot be used for payments in a substantial way, according to Xavier Larduinat, manager for innovation at Gemalto.

Mobile technology can infer a user’s identity and make device-based decisions on the validity of a transaction, writes Kayne McGladrey, an IEEE member and director of information security services for Integral Partners.

Welcoming automation into our industry with less friction and fear happens when we understand its overwhelming benefit to our futures and the quality of our work, writes Lauren Ruef, a research analyst for Nvoicepay.

Synchrony Financial designed its first voice assistant technology for Amazon Alexa around Amazon’s store card, serving as a template for the private-label card issuer’s other retail clients.

PayPal is dusting off the idea of conducting commerce augmented reality glasses, a concept that fell flat five years ago. But a half decade is an epoch in technology time, enough to reevaluate the competitive necessity of AR payments.

The rise of digital options is evolving payments from infrequent large transactions to a constantly flow of smaller payments, and companies that don't adjust risk being left behind, according to Luis Valdich, managing director of venture investing at Citi Ventures.

Dubai-based ride-hailing app Careem Networks FZ has revealed a cyber incident in January where hackers gained access to systems that hold customer and driver account data.

The cashierless Amazon Go concept is inspiring fear in traditional U.S. retailers, but the idea is already mainstream in China — with one chain opening 300 locations in just two years.

Dominic Venturo, chief innovation officer at U.S. Bank, shares his vision for digital banking ten years from now. It includes ambient computing – interconnected devices, machines and sensors that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of people.

The rapid adoption of voice assistants only adds to the notion they could one day be disruptors in commerce, payments and financial services.

Voice assistants are on a fast track, with ownership of home devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home surging to between 20% and 25% of households from a mere 1% in about two years. The rapid growth is inviting keen interest in many circles about the potential for voice assistants to spark disruption in commerce, payments and financial services.

Starbucks has reported an impressive number of in-store sales in the U.S. coming through its mobile app, a figure that has climbed quarter after quarter since the 2009 introduction of the Starbucks Card app — until July 2017, when it reached 30% and has not budged from that number since.

Microchip implants could be considered the ultimate form of mobile payment — skipping the smartphone altogether in favor of giving people bionic abilities. And a small segment of the population is already lining up to try it out.

Many of the same protections for mobile payments, such as tokenization and single-use keys, can come into play to protect in-car payments, according to Jim Carroll, chief technology officer at Mobica.

The fridge, car, home assistant, smart watch, etc., will be able to initiate digital payments both online and on-location, and some will even be able to accept payment as well, and payment companies will need to respond, according to Michel Léger, executive vice president of innovation at Ingenico Group.

As Diebold Nixdorf continues its evolution from decades as a leading manufacturer of standalone ATMs to a maker of omnichannel-connected banking, it’s created a new service leveraging the Internet of Things.

A combination of software, operating system and development tools can turn in-vehicle "informatainment" systems into payment gateways, according to Jim Carroll, chief technology officer at Mobica.