Skip to content
Tips for Tech

Tech Talk: An OCC review of digital activities, smart lockers, a digital wallet boost, and more!

  • OCC reviews digital activities rules
  • Bank ordered to share breach report
  • Self-service smart lockers
  • A banker, a billionaire, and small businesses
  • Varo Bank coming soon
  • A digital wallet boost
  • A mega money transfer merger
  • Mastering digital banking demand
  • A little KYC help from fintechs
  • Spam, Scams & Breaches
  • Updates, Patches & Alerts
  • and on the lighter side...

OCC reviews digital activities rules
To ensure that the banks it supervises have a regulatory framework that enables them to adapt to evolving technology in the financial marketplace, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is reviewing its regulations pertaining to digital bank activities. The OCC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit comments on issues related to digital technology and innovation, such as hurdles to bank innovation, DLT (distributed ledger technology), cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, new payments technologies, and digital banking activities not covered by existing regulations. OCC.gov has the details.

Bank ordered to share breach report
A misconfigured web application firewall (similar to the flaw that was exploited in the massive Equifax breach) was determined to be the cause of a July 2019 data breach that compromised the personal information of up to 106 million Capital One customers. Just days after disclosing the breach, lawsuits were filed against Capital One. The bank has resisted providing the plaintiffs of those lawsuits with access to the forensic analysis of the breach conducted by cybersecurity firm Mandiant. Despite the bank's protests that the report is a protected legal document, a court has ruled that the bank must provide a copy of the forensic report to the plaintiffs, reports Banking Dive.

Self-service smart lockers
As the country slowly and cautiously emerges from pandemic-induced shutdowns and quarantines, financial institutions are exploring ways they can safely and securely serve their customers – and keep their employees safe. Branch and digital transformation solutions provider FTSI has launched a contactless self-service locker for bank customers to access debit cards, cashier checks, and documents without coming in contact with branch personnel. Smart Lockers for Banking can be integrated within the branch location, outside the branch or at a hub location. Customers receive access codes from the bank, which are used to track and maintain audit trails when customers retrieve their items from the locker, reports ATM Marketplace.

A banker, a billionaire, and small businesses
What does a community banker and a self-made billionaire have in common? A desire to see COVID-stricken small businesses survive and recover from the devastating impact the pandemic has had on their businesses. "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban and the CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond, Jill Castilla, have launched ppp.bank, a free site for businesses who have applied for relief through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act Paycheck Protection Program and are eligible to apply for loan forgiveness. S&P Global Market Intelligence has the details.

Varo Bank coming soon
On its way to becoming a bank in the foreseeable future, fintech challenger Varo has received additional funding that will boost its ability to provide innovative services that include predictive insights and "virtual communities" of customers. In February, Varo received FDIC approval to provide deposit insurance and is currently undergoing a pre-opening examination with the OCC. With a focus on retail customers, the startup aims to launch credit cards, loans, and additional savings products. TechCrunch has the details.

A digital wallet boost
Financial institutions are seeing the writing on the post-pandemic wall with the seismic shift that has occurred in digital banking and consumer spending since the COVID crisis began. Fintech firm OnDot has partnered with Visa to provide its financial institution customers with the ability to connect their payment cards to their mobile apps and authenticate the cards during the purchases with tokenization services for an added level of security.
Via Ondot’s Card App, card issuers can provide accountholders with instant signup, digital wallet provisioning, spending insights, safety controls, and self-service capabilities, reports Finextra.

A mega money transfer merger
Along with the exponential growth in mobile and online banking during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital transactions increased 99 percent in May – reflecting the biggest increase in a decade. Western Union has noted that its C2C (consumer-to-consumer) money transfers are back on the rise following steep declines related to the pandemic, reports ATM Marketplace. To bolster its digital and physical remittance capabilities, Western Union is reportedly making a play to acquire MoneyGram in a takeover that would combine two of the largest money-transfer companies in the U.S. Finextra has the details.

Mastering digital banking demand
Digital banking has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 crisis hit, forcing banks to shutter many of their physical branches and customers to depend on online and mobile banking to access their finances. Mobile banking app downloads have increased 60 percent and online account openings at U.S. community banks have increased 14.5 percent. Now more than ever before digital technologies that can be quickly developed and integrated into banks' platforms will be critical for banks to remain competitive and master the digital banking demand that is expected to remain even after the pandemic has subsided. PYMNTS.com has the details.

A little KYC help from fintechs
The pandemic has presented many challenges for consumers and businesses in all sectors. For financial institutions, one of those challenges has been providing digital services quickly and seamlessly – and securely. With government relief programs rapidly deployed to help financially distressed businesses and individuals, banks and lenders must adhere to stringent KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations to ensure that funds are not intercepted by fraudsters. A new report highlights how fintechs and open banking can help financial institutions accelerate KYC processes. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Spams, Scams, and Breaches

Updates, Patches, and Alerts...

See what other current hot cyber and technology topics affecting financial institutions BOL users are discussing in the Technology Forum.

And on the lighter side...

Scammers have figured out countless ways to cheat unwitting victims out of their money over the phone. This young lady scammed a scammer who thought he was talking to an Amazon Alexa.

First published on 06/05/2020

Briefing type: 

Banker Tools View All

A collection of useful resources for various areas of the bank which have been developed by members of the BankersOnline staff or have been created and contributed by users of the BankersOnline site.

Banker Tools

Penalties View All

Search Briefings

Briefing Archives