The Buzz

In this Weekly Wrap episode of “The Buzz” podcast, the Bank Automation News team discusses the recent Bank Automation Summit 2022 with recorded conversations from the panel “Modernizing Commercial Lending Through Automation.”  Listen to find out how technology experts are deploying automation for commercial lending success in the wake of disruption and digitization. This episode features:  Atul Ve...

To poorly automate a process, use technology as the starting point rather than the ideation process, Pepe Porrata, chief operating officer at $731.7 million bank Varo Bank, tells Bank Automation News in this episode of "The Buzz.”  This is because banks can “automate poorly designed experiences that are built to manage unnecessary complexity,” Porrata said. “So you got to really shift the way peop...

A growing number of community banks are considering adding cryptocurrency services, and it could give them an edge in the battle for digital customers.  Thirty percent of community banks expect to add crypto to their offerings over during the next 18 months, according to a report by financial consultancy Wipfli. Crypto gives community banks an edge in the battle for digital customers, but implemen...

University Credit Union saved nearly $2 million in expenses and revenue gains in the first 12 months after launching its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered virtual assistant Royce in August 2020.  The savings easily amounted to more than the cost of the technology and allocations made to support the bot, says David Tuyo, president and CEO of the $1.1 billion Los Angeles-based credit union, in th...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In this Weekly Wrap episode of “The Buzz” podcast, the Bank Automation News team pivots to an excerpt from the Bank Automation Summit 2022 held in Charlotte, N.C., March 1-2.  Learn how blockchain is being deployed at TIAA and other banks to both automate and solve unique business problems. This episode features Russell Schwartz, senior director of payments product management at...

While big banks mobilize billions in tech development, community banks are continuing their own technology journeys through fintech investment.  Fintechs provide community banks with unique opportunities to digitize the customer experience, Boyce Adams, senior vice president at payments fintech AvidXchange, tells Bank Automation News in this episode of “The Buzz” podcast.   “Your community or regi...

Citizens Commercial Banking surveyed 260 corporate decision makers and found that 85% are looking to banks to provide real-time payment solutions — ranking it higher than other banking priorities such as lowest-cost financing.  It’s a seismic shift resulting from the pandemic, Matthew Richardson, head of product solutions at Citizens Commercial Banking, tells Bank Automation News in this episode o...

The Biden administration plans to increase anti-corruption efforts in financial services with new anti-money laundering (AML) regulations in corporate banking and cryptocurrency.   The threat of government action against banks and cybercriminals is significant, Daniel Hazel, head of customer lifecycle management  at intelligent automation fintech WorkFusion, tells Bank Automation News in this epis...

In this Weekly Wrap episode of “The Buzz” podcast, the Bank Automation News editors drill down on what Russia’s threats to retaliate against U.S. sanctions could mean for the banking industry.   BAN spoke with experts who agree: Financial services companies, particularly regional banks, in the U.S. should be on heightened alert as cyberattacks are likely as the war on Ukraine escalates. To prepare...

That led to volatility in the system that became even more pronounced when the “Great Resignation” hit, Sam Bobley, founder and CEO of intelligent document automation company Ocrolus, tells Bank Automation News in this episode of “The Buzz.” “The Great Resignation” is what pundits are calling the high resignation rates and labor shortages that businesses have been facing since 2021. “Lenders had m...

In this Weekly Wrap episode of “The Buzz” podcast, the Bank Automation News team dives into the latest round of core provider earnings along with a look at a new acquisition for workflow automation vendor Nintex.   Temenos and FIS released their Q4 2021 earnings this week, revealing tech revenue growth and new expansion efforts. Temenos touted its U.S. expansion, mentioning partnerships with banki...

Core provider Jack Henry’s open banking strategy will facilitate a fintech-enabled digital ecosystem for community banks as a response to a widespread shift in the financial services landscape.   The fintech disruptions and digital innovation that have caused sweeping changes in financial services have pushed local and regional banks to adjust. As community banks manage the shifting landscape, the...

In this Weekly Wrap episode of “The Buzz” podcast, the Bank Automation News team discusses the big trend this week in banking technology: the shift to cloud services. The cloud-focused news started Monday, with news that Fiserv will acquire cloud-native digital banking solution Finxact. This is the first true cloud-native core banking solution running on Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Fiserv, said...

Truist Financial was formed through the 2019 merger of BB&T and SunTrust — the largest bank merger in the past 20 years — and is the first substantial merger with a full digital component. The Charlotte, N.C.-based Truist faced the added challenge of merging just before the pandemic started, Ken Meyer, Truist’s chief information officer of consumer technology, says in this episode of “The Buzz...

Conversational artificial intelligence (AI), such as chatbots and virtual assistants, should serve as a facilitator of enhanced communications between financial institutions and their customers rather than functioning as tech for tech’s sake.   Key to a successful conversational AI framework is the ability to “orchestrate” a conversation between an agent and customer, providing context for both pa...

In this Weekly Wrap episode of “The Buzz” podcast, the Bank Automation News team looks at a new type of ransomware attack on a U.S. bank, along with an FBI warning cautioning consumers on quick response (QR) code payments.   White Rabbit, a new family of ransomware, attacked a U.S. bank in December 2021. While details are lacking, the attack could have a connection to Fin8, a group of financially...

Banks must fully commit to the cloud in their digital banking strategies while also using cloud adoption as a rallying point for end-to-end automation, Paul Taylor, chief executive of cloud core provider Thought Machine, tells Bank Automation News in this episode of “The Buzz” podcast.  In the wake of COVID-19, many banks shifted their internal and external processes to a cloud-enabled digital for...

In this Weekly Wrap episode of “The Buzz” podcast, the Bank Automation News editors drill down on technology spending at banks. After the COVID-19 pandemic led to a holding pattern for IT budgets in 2020 and the first half of 2021, tech spending is on the rise again with large banks increasing or planning to increase technology spend. The $432.4 billion Capital One, for example, revealed that its...

The buy now, pay later industry (BNPL) provides an innovation rail for alternative lending processes and real-time fund access, but it is also opening doors for advanced fraud techniques.   Synthetic fraud poses an especially dangerous risk, Featurespace founder Dave Excell tells Bank Automation News in this episode of “The Buzz” podcast. Featurespace uses machine learning and behavioral analysis...

The $653.6 billion Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on Jan. 13 became the latest of the Bix Six Canadian banks to select the nCino Bank Operating System for its business clients.    Half of Canada's largest banks now use the cloud banking and loan automation firm, Cameron Sterrett, managing director of nCino's Canadian business, tells Bank Automation News in this episode of "The Buzz" podcast.  ...

The BAN team covers JP Morgan Chase's report that revealed the $3.7 trillion bank is increasing its 2022 technology spend by 20% to $14.4 billion to improve cloud capabilities, data centers, data and analytics, and digital consumer experience.   Meanwhile, Wells Fargo has seen a nearly 50% year-over-year increase in digital payments through Zelle, and the $1.95 trillion bank plans to build out its...

The most common mistake that companies make with the data when de-biasing artificial intelligence models is to remove obvious indicators such as race, gender and age, and then assume they’ve eliminated bias, David Van Bruwaene tells Bank Automation News in this episode of “The Buzz” podcast.  Van Bruwaene is the founder and CEO of Canada-based Fairly. AI, which provides an artificial intelligence...

Bank Automation News digs into a study from digital banking solutions provider Infosys Finacle that surveyed more than 1,165 executives at banks of all types regarding their use of retail digital banking technology.    "Almost 36% of bankers believe that the big tech players like Apple and Google or leading consumer technology companies like Amazon will lead the way in terms of payments business a...

In this Weekly Wrap episode of “The Buzz” podcast, the Bank Automation News team talks findings in Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Frontline Workers survey, which found that more than 40% of the global workforce plans on quitting their job this year. The survey also revealed that two-thirds of banking and financial services employees feel supported and pleased about workplace technology.   The BAN te...

Financial institutions should prepare for widespread use of real-time payments in the coming months, as well as the resulting security risks, group president of enterprise banking at core provider Computer Services Inc. (CSI) shares in this episode of “The Buzz” podcast.  CSI’s Giovanni Mastronardi discusses how the Federal Reserve-backed instant Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions, along...