The Buzz

Bank Innovation sat down this week with Christian Kitchell, Bank of America’s head of AI solutions who also leads Erica. “Ultimately, what we want to do is be able to get to a universe of one, which is to say, every client will have a unique experience based on their situation, their needs, their relationship with us,” he said. Startups, meanwhile, are targeting customer relations management and c...

This week, Bank Innovation sat down with Don Cardinal, managing director of the Financial Data Exchange, to talk about the adoption of API-based data sharing. One way to get more small and mid-size banks to adopt API-based data sharing, according to Cardinal, is to get more core providers using the technology standard. Banks like Regions and Umpqua, meanwhile, are moving ahead with new technology...

Third-quarter earnings kicked off this week and, despite the acceleration in digital banking in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, year-over-year adoption of mobile and digital was relatively flat. Bank of America’s CashPro platform — used by businesses to manage payments, invest and receive funds — gained digital traction, with CashPro mobile app logins jumping 54% YoY and online users across commer...

Sibos 2020 took place this week in a digital format. During a conference on robotic process automation, industry leaders discussed both the challenges and the opportunities of this technology. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, meanwhile, is trying to get charters into the hands of fintechs through a proposed payments charter. “There’s at least an acknowledgment among some of the membe...

Affirm is pushing further into new loans after an initial pullback during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We feel there is in fact a broader product fit for e-commerce-based, point-of-sale lending across the entire consumer segment than what we used to see pre-COVID,” said Sandeep Bhandari, chief strategy and risk officer at Affirm. Fintechs like Nova Credit and CredoLab, meanwhile, are...

Contactless payments are here to stay in the post-COVID world, according to recent data from Amex, but cash’s staying power may hinder banks from fully realizing the efficiencies of digitized payments. Meanwhile, Bank of America filed a record 415 patent applications during the first half of 2020, with a clear focus on AI and machine learning, security and programming technology. Also this week, B...

It seems consumers need bank branches less than before. A Plaid study showed 80% of consumers now say they can bank without a branch. Banks like Citibank and Silicon Valley Bank, meanwhile, are launching new platforms out of internal incubators. “We have seen from the research we have done with our clients and investor partners that there is tremendous value in us developing new solutions and new...

Banking and fintech leaders came together for the fully virtual Bank Innovation Build this week. The conference featured speakers from Wells Fargo, Ally, TD and more, as well as a fireside chat with Vanessa Colella, chief innovation officer at Citi and head of Citi Ventures. Discussions revealed that banks and fintechs alike are not slowing down their innovation operations during the COVID-19 pand...

Some of the biggest banks in North America are integrating accounting into their online banking platforms for small businesses. It’s a strategy that eliminates manual data entry for small business clients and helps the bank own more of the client relationship. Bank Innovation also spoke with JPMorgan Chase CIO Rohan Amin this week. “Artificial intelligence, quantum computing and machine learning w...

Weekly Wrap: Credit card customer satisfaction falls, and tech jobs move inland Bank Innovation EditorsAugust 28, 2020 Customer Experience, Payments, Premium, Video Image via Pixabay Customer satisfaction with credit card issuers has dropped since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to card terms and a lack of communication, according to a report from J.D. Power. Tech jobs, meanwhile, are poppi...

More than 70% of executives predicted that spending on banking innovation will increase in the next two years and that the industry is poised for growth, according to a recent INV Fintech survey. Many financial institutions will be looking for fintech partnerships to accelerate that development, with 76% reporting that they will seek out more partnerships with fintechs in the same timeframe. Meanw...

American Express and Kabbage made headlines this week with reports the card company is looking to acquire the fintech for $850 million. Industry thinkers point out Kabbage could provide AmEx with a strong technology platform and the ability to reach new clients. Big banks, meanwhile, spoke with Bank Innovation about the spikes in mobile adoption they are seeing since the pandemic began. Find this...

Fintech funding rebounded during the second quarter. According to a report from CB Insights, funding increased 17% quarter over quarter to $9.3 billion from $7.9 billion in the first quarter. Fintech lenders, meanwhile, are trying to gain deeper customer relationships with bank accounts, while big banks are working to make their voice chatbots conversational. Find this and more in today’s edition...

Varo Money officially announced today it is shedding the “banking startup” title, as the company has finally received its banking charter after a three-year journey. Whether more fintechs will follow suit remains to be seen. “A banking charter comes with capital requirements and regulatory oversight that will not be appealing to all fintechs,” said Julie Hill, a professor at the University of Alab...

Banks may be losing their edge when it comes to CX, at least according to a new report from Sitel Group. “While the retail industry quickly implemented practical online solutions such as click and collect to meet changing customer needs, banking and financial services fell behind,” Sitel Group said in a financial services industry snapshot of the report. U.S. Bank, meanwhile, reported during its s...

Credit unions are rejecting some of the big core providers and instead choosing startups to overhaul their technology. Royal Oak, Mich.-based banking software company Bankjoy has grown its customer base by 50% since the start of the pandemic. Point-of-sale lending, meanwhile, is continuing its rapid growth trajectory. Afterpay announced it is launching in-store capabilities this week, while Visa a...

Zelle is moving beyond peer-to-peer and pushing into business-to-consumer territory. “Not only we, at Wells Fargo, but Early Warning and its network banks have seen a significant increase in businesses using disbursements with Zelle,” said Michelle Ziolkowski, head of global payables in treasury management at Wells Fargo. Big banks, meanwhile, are adopting fusion centers to enlist different depart...

This week, Bank Innovation took a look a Verint report that ranked some of the country's biggest banks based on their crisis customer experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Smaller banks, meanwhile, are pursuing standalone brands despite the fact that bigger banks have stumbled with their own digital offshoots. In startup news, Upgrade plans to move beyond its credit products by launching bank a...

In this episode, Bank Innovation sits down with Imran Khan, the head of global digital experience at TD, to talk about the bank's personalization efforts. Khan discusses how TD uses emerging technology to foster relationship banking in the digital age.

The Bank Innovation team sits down and discusses major news from the past week and what to look for in the week ahead.

The Bank Innovation team sits down and discusses major news from the past week and what to look for in the week ahead.

The Bank Innovation team sits down and discusses major news from the past week and what to look for in the week ahead.

The Bank Innovation team sits down and discusses major news from the past week and what to look for in the week ahead.

The Bank Innovation and INV Fintech teams sit down and discuss major news from the past week and what to look for in the week ahead.