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PCs have been through a number of evolutions in terms of form factor, transforming from big, heavy, and quite ugly beige boxes that took up a lot of desk space to something no bigger than a hardback book that packs enough power to handle all but the most demanding of workloads. This article reviews 5 mini PCs: 1) Intel NUC 13; 2) Apple Mac Mini; 3) GMKtec Mini; 4) Beelink EQ13; and 5) AceMagician AMD Ryzen 9.
Lenovo Unveils New AI-Driven Devices
Lenovo recently announced its latest product advancements, unveiling a series of AI PC devices, including ThinkPad, ThinkBook, Yoga, and IdeaPad laptops. The company states that AI PCs are set to revolutionize computing as their relevance grows, with 60% of PCs shipped by 2027 anticipated to be AI-capable. They say that they are leveraging natural interactions, personalized large language models, and advanced computing architectures in their new machines.
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How Conversational and Generative AI Are Shaking up Financial Services
The financial services industry is more likely to benefit from generative AI (GenAI) than any other industry, according to analysis from Accenture, with a potential productivity boost of up to 30%. But how are conversational AI (CAI) and GenAI really shaking up financial services and what can consumers expect from their experience in the future? This article attempts to answer these questions.
According to J.D. Power, it seems that consumers generally are encouraged at the prospect of further implementation of generative AI (GenAI) tools and solutions at their respective FIs. While consumers are confident that AI tools will provide some added convenience, they are a lot more skeptical about the positive impacts to their financial situation. While 72% of consumers agree or strongly agree that AI tools will provide easy, convenient self-service in the near future, only 42% believe AI will improve personal finances. The research fimr concludes that given the fact that consumers are clearly open to AI tools, the onus is on FIs to communicate to their accountholders a clear understanding of how AI works and its benefits.
In AI, Smaller, Cheaper Models Are Getting Big Attention
Rather than try to do everything ChatGPT can, Arcee’s software helps accomplish a more limited set of day-to-day corporate tasks. Miami-based Arcee is one of a growing number of companies rethinking the conventional wisdom in the tech industry that bigger is always better for AI. The momentum around small models is driven by a number of factors, including a market opportunity to offer businesses a more diverse - and affordable - range of AI options for different uses.
The Perils and Promise of Using Generative AI for KYC Screening
The author is convinced that the rapid advancement of AI, particularly generative AI (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, has opened up exciting new possibilities for enhancing KYC screening. He says that the pros of using LLMs for KYC screening are: Speed, Efficiency, Consistency, Accuracy, Scalabity and Cost Reduction. However he admits that their also risks and concludes that FIs must adopt a cautious and controlled approach, integrating robust data governance practices and regulatory compliance measures to safeguard the integrity of their KYC processes.
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Average total ATM fees continue their climb to $4.77 this year, according to Bankrate’s 2024 checking account and ATM fee study. This reflects an increase from $4.73 last year and the highest annual amount since Bankrate began tracking ATM fees in 1998.
Diebold Nixdorf Supports Windows 11
Diebold Nixdorf announced that it is the first ATM solution provider ready to support the Microsoft Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 operating system. They claim that this is the first long-term support channel version of Windows 11 IoT Enterprise Edition. It includes a range of new features that are designed to enhance security, speed and usability, and is available with any DN Series devices equipped with the latest processor.
The Strategic Value of Closed Cash Ecosystems for FIs
A closed cash ecosystem is a system where cash is efficiently circulated within and between branches and ATMs without manual handling, eliminating the need to manage ATM and branch cash separately. It involves hardware, such as interchangeable cash cassettes between Teller Cash Recyclers (TCRs) and deposit-accepting ATMs. It also involves software, including automated cash forecasting and integrated monitoring and servicing. This article posits that a closed cash system can positively impact branch operations and the experiences of accountholders and employees.
Rain Technology Delivers ATM Switchable Privacy Display Technology
Rain Technology announced the availability of ATM Switchable Privacy, designed to protect consumers against visual hackers and snoopers at ATM. ATM Switchable Privacy is a thin, proprietary layer embedded within the liquid crystal module of an ATM screen. The static reflective design is compatible with standard LCDs and is visible when this layer is activated by a hardware or software trigger, electronically switching an ATM display from share mode to private mode by controlling the viewing angle. The company says that being able to switch between modes provides security during the transaction and also enables widescreen advertising and promotion possibilities when the ATM is not in use.
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J.D. Power Launches a Certification Program for Mobile Banking Apps
J.D. Power recently announced the launch of a mobile-banking app certification program. The program is intended to recognize app providers that deliver an exceptional user experience, the company says. The certification process rates mobile apps using a set of 146 best-practices benchmarks, including app development, design, and operational functionality.
Apple to Open up NFC Payments Access to Third Parties
Apple is opening up the NFC chip technology that enables iPhone users to make contactless payments to third-party providers in a host of countries - including the US - but will charge associated fees. Until now, Apple Pay has been the only mobile payment service that may access the NFC 'tap and go' technology embedded on iOS mobile devices for payments in stores, a process that has been damned by some FIs in a number of jurisdictions for preventing competition from their own proprietary apps.
Most Consumers Use a Tech-Based Mobile Wallet as Retailer Ones Lag
Mobile wallets vie for consumer attention, but tech-based ones are most favored as 54% of credit cardholders use one of the big three—Apple Pay, Google Wallet, or Samsung Pay—finds new research from Auriemma Group. Tracked by the New York City-based advisory firm since 2016 in its Mobile Pay Tracker, mobile payments services from the technology giants have jumped in use by 20 percentage points since the first quarter of 2019. Auriemma found that usage of Apple Pay (67%), Google Wallet (54%), and Samsung Wallet (35%) hit all-time highs in Q1-2024.
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AuthenticID Unveils Enhanced Smart ReAuth for Instant Biometric Reauthentication
AuthenticID announced the newest release of Smart ReAuth which is a reauthentication solution that leverages a selfie to re-confirm an identity. Smart ReAuth is part of AuthenticID’s identity verification technology suite that offers automated verifications. The firm claims over 99% accuracy in detecting counterfeit IDs, and 98% first-time pass rates.
Resecurity Unveils New AI-Driven Fraud Prevention Platform
Resecurity unveiled its advanced AI-driven Fraud Prevention Platform. They state that their platform is powered by actionable big data providing unique risk intelligence insights on the latest fraud indicators, money mules, politically exposed person (PEPs), merchants involved in illegal activity, enabling financial crime investigators, fraud prevention and compliance teams to perform enhanced KYC screening and conduct deep dive investigations.
Ransomware Recovery: 8 Steps to a Successful Recovery from Backups
According to a Sophos survey of 5,000 IT and cybersecurity leaders released in April, 59% of organizations have been hit by a ransomware attack in 2023, from which 56% paid a ransom to get their data back. This article recommends eight steps to ensure a successful recovery from backup after a ransomware attack: 1) Keep the backups isolated; 2) Use write-once storage techniques; 3) Keep multiple types of backups; 4) Protect the backup catalog; 5) Back up everything that needs to be backed up; 6) Back up entire business processes; 7) Use hot disaster recovery sites and automation to speed recovery; and 8) Test, test, and test again.
Stellar Strengthens Security for Remote Teams
Stellar has launched enhanced remote wiping capabilities within its Drive Erasure software. This feature is designed to address the complexities of managing data security in today’s distributed work environment. The Remote Data Sanitization Solution includes the ability to erase multiple remote Windows machines via MSI package deployed locally, in silent mode, or through Endpoint Management Systems like Microsoft SCCM, Ivanti, and ManageEngine. This enables IT admins to perform data erasure when devices need upgrading discreetly; employees are off-boarded, projects are completed, etc.
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Taking Generative AI to Marketing in Financial Services
Many observers think that generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) is set to transform marketing and communications within the next couple of years. In fact, one leading research and advisory firm predicts that by 2026, the technology will automate 60 percent of the work that goes into designing new websites and mobile applications, as well as 50 percent of their code. This article says that an exciting gen AI use case in FI marketing is campaign management and goes on to cover this topic in-depth.
Four Strategies to Grow Deposits
The author states that gathering low-cost core deposits is a foundational activity for successful banking, especially in these times of high interest rates. She recommends these 4 deposit-capturing strategies: 1 – Data mining with the latest data analytics tools; 2 – Provide effective training and establish a sales culture; 3 – Offer treasury management services for small businesses; and 4 – Provide digital products that help secure deposits.
How Personalization Can Make Loan Payments Easier and Less Risky
The author suggests that with the right payments platform in place, FI lending divisions can remove loan repayment barriers by using automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to create personalized payment experiences. She is convinced that when you streamline the steps through technology-enabled personalization, you’re likely to see improvements in on-time, independent payment. She goes on to layout the numerous benefits of personalization in this article.
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Online Banking/E-Commerce/Website Design
National Digital Currencies: A New Era of Digital Money
While there have been a series of controversies since the launch of Bitcoin and many other digital currencies, global acceptability continues to increase. Digital currencies are the direct opposite of the traditional banking system. There are no tangibles like notes and checks. Instead, it represents programmable money that is available and accessible electronically. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a recent emergence in the money revolution. While it is also a digital form of money, it is fronted by a country’s central bank as a fiat currency. The technology behind CBDS is similar to that of cryptocurrencies. Most countries adopt the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), which allows for synchronized and simultaneous access by multiple parties. This accounts for its numerous benefits, which include transparency, immutability, and resilience. The article concludes that the future of national digital currencies is expected to follow an upward trend, especially as most countries continue to encourage and enforce cashless policies.
A new study from Juniper Research has found the volume of global transactions via A2A (Account-to-Account) payments will rise from 60 billion in 2024 to 186 billion by 2029; an increase of 209%. Their research found instant payment roll-outs are creating A2A-based opportunities, even in card-dominated markets like the US. For instance, FedNow, the US’s newest payment rail launched in 2023, has an average transaction fee of 4 cents; making this solution advantageous when compared to cards, with an average fee of 3.5% per transaction. Therefore, as adoption and use cases develop, cost-efficient A2A payments are likely to disrupt the card-dominated US market.
With Two Major Providers of Real Time Payments, the Request for Payment Takes on a Higher Profile
When the Federal Reserve’s FedNow real-time payments service debuted commercially 13 months ago, the story mainly focused on the general concept of immediate money transfers. But since then the payments industry has been busy refining that concept and working on service-ready applications. One of the most talked-about of these applications is a service called request for payment (RFP), which enables a party to send a “bill” digitally to another party to trigger an immediate digital payment in return. Now, with the commercial launch of FedNow, and with more than 900 FIs participating in the new network, that concept is quickly taking shape. The article notes that RFP may be among the most likely applications for real-time payments, now that there are two major networks offering the service.
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Versa Delivers High-Performance SASE Connectivity
Versa is expanding its SASE family with new boxes for high-performance WAN routing, stateful firewall processing, and SD-WAN direct internet access. The Versa CSG5000 boxes run the Versa Operating System (VOS), which integrates networking and security services into a platform that supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments. Versa SASE includes VPN, secure SD-WAN, edge compute protection, NGFW, firewall as a service (FWaaS), secure web gateway (SWG), advanced threat protection, data leak protection, zero-trust network access (ZTNA), and cloud access security broker (CASB).
4 Reasons Why You Should Really Use Copilot in Microsoft Edge
The author says that if you're a fan of Microsoft's Copilot AI, there are some very good reasons why you should also be using the company's Edge browser as your default. But what about using Edge with Copilot makes it special? He goes on to layout four reasons behind his logic.
Fortinet Expands Security Lineup with Sovereign SASE
Fortinet unveiled a sovereign SASE technology that it says will provide organizations with more control than a typical SASE deployment. The basic idea behind the new Fortinet Sovereign SASE offering is that it provides a SASE delivery option that enables organizations to maintain local control over inspection and logs. With Sovereign SASE, users can determine how their data is routed and where security inspections occur.
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Gridspace Unveils Emotional Intelligence Capabilities for Virtual Voice Agent
Voice technology and AI software provider Gridspace unveiled new emotional intelligence capabilities for its virtual voice agent Grace. They say that new capabilities enable Gridspace’s voice agent for business to respond faster and more empathetically to the speaker’s emotions. The enhancements also improve Grace’s ability to express its emotional states.
RingCentral Adds New AI-Powered Features
RingCentral announced new features for its AI-based contact center offering, RingCX, that included what the firm said is a “real-time AI powered assistant for both agents and supervisors.” New features include AI coaching insights that the company said leverage AI to review all interactions automatically, and a conversational AI platform that allows customers to integrate their preferred intelligent virtual agent (IVA) for customer self-service across both voice and digital channels.
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