Few topics in banking inspire as much commentary as branch-of-the-future concepts, since it’s now generally accepted in the industry that today’s branch model is fated to go the way of the typewriter after the word processor made its debut.

So, where are we with the much-ballyhooed digital wallets? If there’s an overriding theme to this technology space, it’s disagreement.

The question about rising deposit rates is not “if” but when and to what degree they will rise.

A new year is time for new resolutions.

The banking industry has sadly lost its small business banking mojo in the past five years.

With average branch monthly teller transaction volume for financial institutions (FIs) declining more than 45% in the past 20 years, according to FMSI’s annual Teller Line Study, banks are challenged more than ever to keep their branches profitable.

Robust digital channel adoption and rapidly changing consumer behavior have made the branch as we know it today irrelevant to many of us.

What do bank tellers, toll booth attendants and mail carriers have in common? Each group has provided decades of specialized manual service, yet is being overtaken by technology alternatives and changing customer behaviors.

Just as baby boomers are predicted to have a large impact on entitlement programs, so are they also poised to be a primary driver of small business formation in the next decade and beyond.

Earlier this year, Bank of America announced that it had surpassed one million small business mobile banking users, representing one-third of the institution’s three million small business banking customer base.

Statistics show that bank networks in the U.

First, the bad news.

It has been called one of the greatest intercultural exchanges in history – offshore call centers handling millions of customer calls for banks and other companies.

The banking industry has anxiously awaited a rising rate environment, anticipating that interest income from loans and investments will rise more quickly than interest expense on deposits and other funding.

As customer preference shifts from traditional branch and ATM transactions to easier, faster channels such as Web and mobile, it is becoming more and more difficult for banks to measure the impact this shift has on their organizations.

Why are so many banks struggling to adapt quickly to the trends driving the need for massive transformation in their business? The pressures of dealing with increased competition, operating with limited budgets and the need to enhance capabilities in order to establish and maintain strong relationships with their customers are just a few contributing factors.

When San Francisco-based Bank of the West recently looked into introducing a new mobile banking app, it adopted a project management method known as “radical collaboration,” which involves the participation of all relevant units across the company.

For the 12 institutions named as finalists in the 2013 BAI-Finacle Global Banking Innovation Awards, innovation means expanding the boundaries of traditional products and services in retail banking to improve the customer experience.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

It’s an old problem in banking but one that is hitting home now with increasing urgency: how do you boost sales in the branches? Part of the answer involves changing the roles and responsibilities of the branch staff.