Mobile banking

By linking mobile payments with money transfers, Western Union created a new use for Apple's mobile wallet. But it must still rigidly conform to the basic requirements of an Apple Pay transaction — without a bank account, there is no payment.

Fifth Third Bancorp and U.S. Bancorp say they will delicately approach expenses in 2015 — or at least until rates rise. They are investing where they must, but pinching where they can, and trying to manage expectations on loan growth.

The digital-only offshoot of Customers Bank combines edgier technology — like letting consumers snap photos of their driver's license to open accounts — with a new business model that counts on interchange revenue rather than fees.

In a newly created role, 14-year company veteran Andres Wolberg-Stok is helping Citigroup take its consumer technologies in new directions with APIs, wearables, the Internet of things and biometric authentication.

Regions Financial is testing gamification as a way to teach financial literacy to young people with a mobile app that simulates a sport more commonly associated with older generations.

In an era where businesses are increasingly focused on cloud computing, Citigroup is turning instead to souped-up hardware in the form of IBM's newest z13 mainframe, which it says can help it better deal with the explosive growth in mobile and online transactions.

The mobile platform most bankers had all but given up on is showing signs of life. But the changes seem unlikely to persuade financial institutions, many of which have quietly discontinued or abandoned their native BlackBerry apps.

Even is building a mobile money-management service for baristas, Lyft drivers, freelancers and others with unpredictable incomes. For $5 a week, users can draw advances on paychecks during rough patches.

With the availability of artificial intelligence and sophisticated risk algorithms that can run on mobile devices, some say there’s no longer a need for even stripped-down versions of the branch.

Moven has modified its personal financial management app to work on a smartwatch. Will millennials be more likely to heed spending advice delivered to their wrists rather than their phones?

The biggest bank in the country now lets opted-in mobile Android and Apple customers view their balances without entering their user names and passwords.

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.