Technology

The Birmingham, Alabama, bank has developed artificial intelligence-based systems that can flag suspicious activity and guide customer service representatives. Amala Duggirala, the bank’s chief operations and technology officer, describes the AI work she and her team have been doing.

Europe has encouraged adoption with rules that put consumers in control of the way their data is shared among banks, fintechs and third-party vendors. Whether the U.S. can make similar progress without its own rules is unclear.

Distributed ledger projects in banking are few and far between — many have stalled and others remain experiments. Robert Townsend, who has worked with banks around the world and written a book about blockchain technology, explains some of the ways financial institutions could be using it, for instance in small-business lending and supply chain finance.

What are the most exciting trends in financial technology today, and which startups are poised to win?

Juliet Weissman of New York City's Cornell Tech campus discusses the role of higher education and partnerships in luring startups and their workforces.

The digital transformation of payments has reached its next phase — with banks and fintechs leading the way. Avoiding the one-size-fits-all approach to deliver the experience customers want is key.