A concept that predated bitcoin itself is becoming more than a thought exercise as blockchains explore ways to harness smart contracts for greater uses.
At the start of 2015, there was a sense that Silicon Valley would soon rule the world of finance and that banks risked irrelevance. A year later, a more balanced picture has emerged.
Banks claim bandwidth and security concerns led to interruptions for personal finance apps, but institutions still resist a more secure and efficient portal.
Despite increased investment and development in the consumer payments space around mag stripe, EMV and contactless payments solutions, there is still a huge concern when it comes to data theft.
The United Kingdom has already seen the emergence of mobile-first institutions that have won regulatory approval for a banking charter. It is only a matter of time before they invade the U.S. market.
Branches using technology to issue cards on the spot leads to increased card usage, so banks should aim to maintain instant issuing capability with the EMV conversion.
The debate over whether signatures or PINs are a stronger security feature overlooks the fact that neither is the most important defense against fraud.
