The Best AI Tools Right Now

There are so many new AI-powered programs out there. Deciding which ones to try can be overwhelming. But worry not! 

WSJ personal-tech reporting assistant Cordilia James put together a list to get you started. She joins host Julie Chang for a quick rundown of the best AI apps.

Customers Demanding Enhanced Mobile Banking Apps

It is more important than ever to deliver a significantly better digital banking experience than is delivered today. Customers want an experience that is fast, easy and secure. More importantly, they want control of their finances at their fingertips.

Find out more from The Financial Brand. Click HERE.

CBDC Digital Yuan Deployment To Massively Impact Cross-Border Policy Regulators' Decisions

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has been a global front-runner in its creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) through the digital yuan's inception.

Also known as the e-CNY, the PBOC recently released the pilot version of its e-CNY app in China's Apple and Android app stores. The release of this app to selected users is particularly interesting given the app's current "research and development pilot phase", as indicated in a notice displayed when the app is downloaded. 

Nevertheless, the timing of this app release gives the world excellent insight into China's e-CNY ambitions, particularly with the 2022 Winter Olympics and the Chinese New Year holiday around the corner. 

Want to find out more? Click HERE. 

How to Build Blockchain Financial Services Applications

Are you a start-up founder or an enterprise leader with plans to launch a financial services application? You might be wondering whether, and indeed, how to use blockchain for this.

Industry observers highlight the steady growth of blockchain in the financial services market.

A Markets and Markets report states that the FinTech blockchain market will grow from $0.23 billion in 2017 to $6.2882 billion by 2023. The report projects a CAGR of 75.9% during the 2018-2023 period.

You are no doubt wondering how to build blockchain financial services applications?  Find out how, HERE.

 

What are the most important Mobile Banking features?

More than three-quarters of Americans who have a smartphone are now mobile banking users.

Mobile banking adoption is now very common among Gen Zers and Millennials (ages 21 to 40) with 88% of each of the two generations accessing their bank accounts using a mobile device.

The adoption rate dips slightly to 78% among Gen Xers (41 to 55 years old), and then drops to 57% of Baby Boomers and 41% of smartphone-owning Seniors.

So, with Mobile Banking's huge and growing popularity what features are folk using?

Well—an overwhelming majority of mobile banking users use the app to check their account balances. Nearly two-thirds transfer money between accounts and pay bills, and roughly four in 10 deposit checks, send money to other people, and view their statements.

Find out more in Ron Shevlin's "The 12 Most Important Mobile Banking Features (And Why No Bank Can Have Them All)" HERE

 

What’s Trending with Debit Card Controls?

A look at the trends surrounding debit card controls

What happens in a single minute on the Internet?

Should banks build or buy their payment apps?

Banks at a crossroads: Build or buy mobile payment apps

From Mobile Payments Today –

“Commerce has evolved over the 10,000-plus year history of society. The Internet age introduced online banking 20 years ago and now 80 percent of bank consumers in the developed world are using it. In addition, in the span of just the past four years or so, mobile banking has grown to 52 percent of smartphone owners. And now, mobile payment applications have taken the market by storm and are the hottest area in commerce today.

Today, most bank and major card issuers are at a crossroads and asking themselves a question, whether to launch a standalone payment app or add mobile HCE payment capabilities to an existing bank-branded app. Although this integration may not necessarily bring instant success for mobile payments, it does offer some indication as to how mobile payments are evolving. In the midst of all this mobile-banking hoopla, some of the banks are contemplating whether they have to participate in third-party wallets such as Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay and CurrentC.”

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What It Takes to Build a Top-Rated Banking App

From American Banker –

“When they rate and review mobile apps, users typically aren't shy. The very reason they bother to type in a review is due to strong emotions — they love or hate something about it (and their feelings easily shift from one side to the other).

Keeping users happy is critical for banks as they increasingly compete for business in app stores, rather than on the street with their branches or in people's homes with direct mail pieces.”

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8 Hot Mobile Banking Security Developments

From Bank Systems and Technology –

“Integrated biometrics and specialized mobile banking apps are working in tandem to bring two major benefits to financial institutions and their customers.”

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McDonald’s Order-Ahead Mobile App Falls Flat

From Bank Innovation

“Many in the restaurant and fast food space are looking to cash in on the success Starbucks has seen with its mobile wallet app. Starbucks, as of Q1 2014, has 12 million active users (active = Nirvana in the mobile wallet space) spending $6 million a week on skinny non-fat with an espresso shot lattes (I’m not sure if that is a real selection or not but the data points are impressive). All in all, Starbucks’ app accounts for 15% of Starbucks’ transactions.

Howard Shultz, the dynamic CEO of Starbucks, recently announced the addition of an ‘order/pay-ahead’ feature allowing mobile wallet users to skip the queue. This is an obvious and welcome addition to the app, and one already in play by multiple players in the space including Chipotle, White Castle, and Five Guys.

The perennial king of fast food, McDonalds, is currently facing multiple challenges. Newer competitors such as Chipotle are taking market share, millennials aren’t flocking to buy a Big Mac (research by Technomic found younger millennials in the U.S. traffic to McDonald’s has fallen almost 13% on a monthly basis since 2011), and their longtime rival Burger King is making significant business model changes under CEO Daniel Schwartz (who at 33 years old just happens to be a millennial).’

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