In this episode of "The Buzz" podcast, Bank Automation News hears from Seke Ballard, founder and CEO of Beta Financial Services , a Chicago-based holding company that has applied for a bank charter with FDIC and the state of Illinois. The resulting branchless digital bank, BetaBank , will offer basic products and services such as checking and savings accounts with a focus on automating its commercial lending process. Part of the goal is to address the costs of lending due diligence, which Ballar...
May 09, 2022•15 min•Ep. 177
Sixty-three percent of respondents to a recent survey think resetting their password is a huge inconvenience and 14% would rather be stuck in rush-hour traffic than reset their password. And ironically, at one institution, fraudsters were able to pass knowledge-based question barriers 92% of the time, while actual customers correctly answered the questions only about 48% of the time, according to a survey by voice-based security, identity and intelligence platform provider Pindrop. These passwor...
May 06, 2022•23 min•Ep. 176
The level of security and service that cloud infrastructures provide makes it an inevitable technology for banks and financial institutions. Questions around operational control and security capacity dominated the cloud conversation prior to the pandemic, but the ensuing upheaval caused many banks to reexamine their processes, Narendra Mistry, chief product officer, international digital banking at core provider Finastra, tells Bank Automation News in today’s episode of “The Buzz.” Finastra offe...
May 02, 2022•11 min•Ep. 175
Heang Chan, co-founder and CEO of low-code solutions provider Prelim, knows firsthand how manual and cumbersome customer-facing processes can be. It’s one reason he left banking seven years ago to work in fintechs. “I spent a considerable amount of time as a banker and realized that there were a lot of, I would say, places where we can improve the customer experience,” Chan tells Bank Automation News . “You would have customers at the bank have a certain level of expectation, even back when I st...
Apr 29, 2022•23 min•Ep. 174
Skyrocketing scams and card-not-present (CNP) fraud losses can be blamed on bad actors leveraging automation, experts say. Consumer scams reported by bank executives have risen by double-digit percentages since the start of the pandemic, while CNP fraud losses look poised to reach $9.2 billion in 2023, a 15% year-over-year increase, according to research firm Aite-Novarica. While the scale of these attacks is unprecedented, automation plays a surprising role, David Mattei, strategic advisor of f...
Apr 26, 2022•20 min•Ep. 173
Migrating legacy apps to the cloud is as complex as ‘a heart transplant’ Banks undoubtedly face challenges when transitioning to the cloud, including monolithic applications, a lack of resources, and legacy processes and workflows. Many also lack a clearly defined strategy shaped by business objectives, says Chinmoy Banerjee, corporate vice president and global head of banking at consulting firm Hexaware Technologies, on this episode of “ The Buzz” podcast. That can lead to problems like “cloud ...
Apr 21, 2022•17 min•Ep. 172
Tech and regulatory hurdles stand in the way of a fully interoperable payments environment in the U.S. Consumers increasingly expect an interoperable — seamless and friction-free — payments ecosystem, with several banks and fintechs leading the charge through embedded data sharing and real-time payments (RTP). However, the growth in payments digitization has left many financial institutions and their customers struggling to keep up, Ginger Schmeltzer, strategic advisor at research firm Aite-Nova...
Apr 12, 2022•17 min•Ep. 171
Sixty-two percent of banks say the complexity and risks associated with handling personal data for artificial intelligence (AI) often outweigh the benefits to customer experience. That’s according to The Economist Intelligence Unit survey sponsored by core provider Temenos. While data can be a challenge, there are three steps organizations can take to better manage that data, Sue Laws, executive vice president of Business Solutions for the Americas at Temenos, tells Bank Automation News in this ...
Apr 11, 2022•20 min•Ep. 168
Computer vision is a form of artificial intelligence that can help manage data, explains Tackle AI co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Sergio Suarez Jr., in this episode of “The Buzz” Podcast. Currently, the financial services industry’s use case for the technology is in mortgages, where banks are utilizing it to assess risk. Computer vision can sort through pages of documentation to pull out key information, Suarez explains. “[Bank have] got to look for a bunch of data points that will help...
Apr 08, 2022•14 min•Ep. 169
TD Bank’s U.S. strategy for commercial payments leans on back-office process automation. While the $450 billion U.S. arm of the Toronto-based bank has been digitizing its payments capabilities for several years, the pandemic accelerated the process for TD customers who may have been reticent to invest in automation. The bank’s commercial customers realized that existing “paper-pushing,” manual processes were not sustainable, Jo Jagadish, executive vice president and head of corporate products, s...
Apr 06, 2022•16 min•Ep. 170
Banks must shift their talent strategy from retention to productivity as the financial services industry struggles to keep up with demand for technology-focused employees. Training and retaining tech talent will be key for banks in 2022, with 54% of respondents of one survey listing staffing and retention as pressing needs, according to customer engagement firm Engageware. Banks should look to increase productivity and efficiency for remaining talent, CEO Bill Clark tells Bank Automation News in...
Mar 28, 2022•12 min•Ep. 167
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 Verma, CIO of personal and business banking at BMO; Daniel Seay, senior vice president and director of w...
Mar 25, 2022•17 min•Ep. 166
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 people think about this thing. You got to start with complexity first.” In this excerpt from the Bank Aut...
Mar 18, 2022•15 min•Ep. 165
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 implementation hinges on regulatory guidance, Anna Kooi, national financial services leader at Wipfli, tells ...
Mar 17, 2022•10 min•Ep. 164
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 this episode of “The Buzz” podcast. Tuyo now encourages other banks and credit unions to embrace AI-pow...
Mar 15, 2022•15 min•Ep. 163
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 TIAA, and Ananth Subramanya, senior vice president of digital business at HCL Technologies, each of w...
Mar 11, 2022•10 min•Ep. 162
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 regional bank is going to be investing into different type of fintech applications that help power their so...
Mar 10, 2022•16 min•Ep. 161
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 of “The Buzz” podcast. “Post-pandemic, there's even a higher demand to want to digitize and automate p...
Mar 04, 2022•20 min•Ep. 160
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 episode of “The Buzz” podcast. The “United States Strategy on Countering Corruption,” released by the White...
Feb 28, 2022•12 min•Ep. 158
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, check out BAN ’s list of 33 questions every banker should ask ahead of potential cyberwarfare. Other...
Feb 25, 2022•10 min•Ep. 159
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 more difficulty determining how many applications might come in the next month. When you couple that ...
Feb 22, 2022•15 min•Ep. 157
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 banking fintech Green Dot and $37 billion Commerce Bank, while FIS announced its acquisition of embedded fi...
Feb 18, 2022•9 min•Ep. 156
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, they must also take notice of the consumer push for open banking, Jack Henry Chief Executive David Foss s...
Feb 16, 2022•11 min•Ep. 155
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 David Albertazzi, director of Aite-Novarica Group’s retail banking and payments practice. BAN shares...
Feb 11, 2022•10 min•Ep. 154
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” podcast. “We were officially three or four months old when everybody went home,” Meyer tells Bank ...
Feb 08, 2022•21 min•Ep. 153
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 parties and increasing interaction value, Tony Lorentzen, senior vice president of intelligent engagemen...
Feb 07, 2022•10 min•Ep. 152
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 motivated cybercriminals which previously attacked the retail, hospitality and entertainment industrie...
Feb 04, 2022•9 min•Ep. 151
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 format, which could withstand the disruption of the pandemic and its ensuing fallout. However, there is ...
Jan 31, 2022•8 min•Ep. 150
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 technology-related spend increased 11% year over year. In addition, the BAN team looks at how the di...
Jan 28, 2022•11 min•Ep. 149
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 to facilitate anti-fraud measures for financial service companies. BNPL providers see most fraud occur...
Jan 25, 2022•11 min•Ep. 148
