Online banking

The estimated costs of recent digital glitches at BB&T, TD and Wells Fargo are in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but contractual and economic realities make it hard for banks to sue vendors for the money or fall back on insurance policies.

One problem is that banks are shifting to online and mobile channels for delivering advice, which is inferior to in-person communications, according to a recent survey conducted by J.D. Power.

The digital-only Ally Bank has taken several steps to deepen customer relationships through electronic channels, including use of personalized emails and websites that have yielded strong click-through and loyalty rates.

The North Carolina bank is the latest regional to experience a widespread outage.

The bank will allow its customers to apply for car financing online and receive a decision within minutes.

Scores of customers have been unable to use digital channels to access accounts for more than a week, and many have taken to social media to voice their displeasure with TD’s response to the outage. The lesson for other banks: Test new platforms, and test them again, before making them live.

As regulators look to update the Community Reinvestment Act, they should better integrate online and mobile banking activity as part of exam performance.

Webster Bank’s partnership with the national broker-dealer LPL is a reversal of its initial opposition to robo-advisers. It is the latest regional bank to enter a market first claimed by the biggest banks.

The bank joins a small group of companies that believe short-term forecasts will ultimately help customers build healthier financial lives.

Its latest partner, Mantl, has built software that lets consumers open accounts in four minutes. In such alliances Radius seeks expertise it lacks, gets heavily involved in product development, and tries to balance the spirit of innovation with the demands of compliance.

The pioneering brand re-enters a market where fintechs now account for over 30% of personal loan originations.

Elizabeth Warren takes acting CFPB director Mick Mulvaney to task over his decision on data collecting; B of A gets heat from harrassment reveal and free checking halt; and more.

The bank tweeted that website and mobile app service were restored after an outage that lasted much of the day.

Digital alerts for clients aren't new, but they can still provide small banks a platform to reach new markets and appeal to younger clients.

Executives point out while they are fixing the online lender's very public problems, loan originations are still in the billions and it has expanded into wealth management.

SoFi's experience shows that the most prominent names in fintech, while generating massive financial support, still operate in a very volatile world.

As customers become more tech-savvy, the bank said it no longer needs to prod them to use its digital products by offering discounts. Account holders can avoid fees by enrolling in direct deposit.

Providing the default card in digital subscription services is one way banks can win back bill-pay business, save customers time and help them manage their data.

Capital One became the latest bank to feel customers' online wrath last week after reports that some customers were being charged twice for debit card activity. But it was hardly alone.

Customers saw transactions recorded multiple times and experienced drained accounts and long hold times. It’s a warning to all financial institutions as they head further into mobile-only banking — glitches are more visible and painful and need to be addressed faster than ever.