Virtual reality

The Colorado-based institution is overhauling its training procedures by using simulated VR experiences to prepare new member service representatives for their roles without the stress of serving live customers while supervisors watch.

What good is a travel card when virtual reality eliminates the need to leave home? Amex's patent filings explore the possibilities.

Other banks soured on their AR experiments, but Ally Financial says the technology has yielded higher-balance deposit accounts — and heavier social media engagement — in marketing campaigns.

Retailers and merchant acquirers need to adjust to new media in the new year, says Zycada's James Brear.

As an early adopter of e-commerce in the 1990s, 1-800-Flowers.com is pushing the envelope again with 3-D and augmented reality technologies to sell floral arrangements with new payment options, including Venmo.

Even in mature markets, consumers may not feel very connected to their payment cards. This is making issuers more reliant on selling data-driven experiences over simple transaction processing.

Businesses need to shift focus away from millennials and toward the next age group, which is expected to be so demanding that business processes will have to be overhauled, says Julia Carreon, the bank's managing director of digital and fiduciary operations.

Capacity, formerly Jane.ai, originally designed its chatbot to answer consumers' questions, but when employees started using it, that gave the startup an idea for a new business line.

Leaders in bank innovation have ideas for improving financial services with high-speed, highly responsive 5G networks — ideas they say could be implemented relatively quickly.

Todder Moning of U.S. Bank scoured the 2.7 million square feet of the Consumer Electronics Show this week. Here’s what he liked, what he thinks bankers could work with ... and what he thought was weird.

A Colorado businessman's request for a preliminary injunction to stop the bank from using the name “Erica” has been denied. The overall case could still go to trial, but skeptical comments by the judge suggest BofA will likely prevail.

Even if used to decorate your home with ideas before you purchase anything, the technology will completely change your perspective on reality-altering technology, writes Michael Volkmann, an entrepreneur who focuses on business operations and finance.

The high-tech and visual user experience is getting set to take hold, giving merchants something to think about, according to Radu Spineanu, co-founder and CEO of Two Tap.

Working with technology developer Next Retail Concepts, Mastercard has connected to a virtual version of Los Angeles boutique retailer Fred Segal, where users may virtually pick merchandise on the shelves of the iconic store in West Hollywood, explore it from various angles, and make purchases with a discount for using Mastercard.

Augmented devices and automation will push banking services beyond the current mobile phone delivery model into a virtual world — but how, exactly? Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others are trying to find out.

As VR and AR mature, new possibilities open up for customer interaction in a virtual space.

TD Ameritrade's new virtual reality experience, an immersive video viewable through Facebook's Oculus Go headset, feels more like stepping onto a Disney ride than going into a virtual world. And that's probably the ideal approach for the current state of VR adoption.

Banks are still in their experimental phase of using virtual and augmented reality to interact with customers, and the key to their success will be embracing the technology's social nature. And sometimes that means making an app designed for non-customers.

By using the app, which will go live Monday in a pilot program, customers can point their phone at a vehicle and get an augmented reality overlay that provides all its critical info: the make, model and year of the car, as well as its price range and other information.

By using the app, which will go live Monday in a pilot program, customers can point their phone at a vehicle and get an augmented reality overlay that provides all its critical info: the make, model and year of the car, as well as its price range and other information.