Tech Talk: Electronic Treasury payments, an SBA fintech proposal, BNPL, and more!

• Treasury: out with checks, in with e-payments
• SBA's fintech proposal blasted by banks
• Frictionless cross-border payments
• Millennials want BNPL from banks
• Customizable BNPL product for banks
• Fintech collaboration: The heat is on
• Traditional banks vs/ embedded finance
• What's trending for bank technology in 2023?
• The ghostly effect of digital transformation
• Spam, Scams & Breaches
• Updates, Patches & Alerts
• and on the lighter side...

Treasury: out with checks, in with e-payments
Businesses and government agencies have increasingly moved to electronic payment options, which are faster, less expensive, and safer than paper checks. To align with its goal to create a modern, seamless, and cost-effective federal payment experience for the millions of Americans who receive federal benefit payments, the Treasury Department has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would reduce federal agencies' use of checks. PYMNTS.com has the details.

SBA's fintech proposal blasted by banks
In the wake of a recent House report that highlighted fintechs' lax anti-fraud standards and PPP fraud among nonbanks, bank industry trade groups are strongly opposing the Small Business Administration's (SBA) proposal to invite fintechs to participate in the agency’s 7(a) loan program. The SBA says their goal is to increase small business lending in underserved markets. The trade groups say the move threatens the integrity of the program and could unintentionally harm the very borrowers the SBA is trying to help. Banking Dive has the details.

Frictionless cross-border payments
At a recent financial conference held in Amsterdam, global financial services firm J.P. Morgan showcased the world’s first bank-led, production-grade, peer-to-peer blockchain network designed to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments. Confirm, powered by LIINK and running on J.P. Morgan's ONYX platform – the firm's blockchain division – is a global account validation service that has the ability to verify over 2 billion bank accounts from over 3,500 global financial institutions.   Technology Magazine has the details.

Millennials want BNPL from banks
Looking to gain a competitive edge over neobanks and digital-only banks? Give today's fastest growing customer base what they want. Millennials are the largest adult generation in the U.S. and are outpacing baby boomers and previous generations in spending, earning, and lending needs. While BNPL fintech firms are growing in popularity (and number), research indicates that nearly three quarters (70%) of current BNPL customers (who are primarily Millennials) are interested in BNPL plans offered by their banks. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Customizable BNPL product for banks
With more consumers choosing BNPL solutions over credit cards for the benefits of set payments, easy approval processes, and to avoid high interest charges, non-bank BNPL providers who offer the service have operate with limited customer data, putting both the provider and the consumer at higher risk. This is one area where banks can leverage embedded finance to offer these products to customers directly from their existing bank systems. Fintech firm Galileo has launched a customizable BNPL product for banks with issuance of single-use virtual cards and complete loan servicing. PYMNTS.com has the details.

Fintech collaboration: The heat is on
While the move toward bank-fintech collaboration has been gaining traction, there are still some banks who haven't decided if fintech firms are friends or foe. According to a recent survey of nearly 800 senior banking leaders in 50 countries, the changing regulatory landscape and increasingly high consumer expectations are the compelling forces driving banks to collaborate with fintechs in order to remain relevant. Fintech Magazine has the details.

Traditional banks vs. embedded finance
The exponential rise in embedded finance in recent years poses a challenge for traditional banks. Embedded finance is projected to reach nearly $230 billion in revenue by 2025 (an increase of more than 900% since 2020). While this recent Forbes article and other experts predict that embedded finance threatens the stability of traditional banks, it can actually achieve the opposite by enabling traditional banks to provide more customer-centric banking services through integrated fintech products and services. Forbes has the details.

What's trending for bank technology in 2023?
We rang in the New Year, stored the seasonal decor, and it's back to business for 2023. The beginning of a new year is traditionally predictions/trends/forecast season. While the Chinese Lunar New Year 2023 will be the Year of the Rabbit, Cornerstone Advisor's Chief Research Officer, Ron Shevlin, predicts that 2023 will be the "year of the chatbot" in banking, and shares four other banking and fintech trends he foresees for this year. Forbes has the details.

The ghostly effect of digital transformation
With the growing consumer demand for financial services that are personalized and seamless, banks and credit unions are increasingly turning to fintech firms and third-party solution providers for digital transformation strategies, reports The Financial Brand. But what happens to the once vital bank branches that become ghost banks as customers increasingly do their banking on mobile devices or online? PYMNTS.com has the details.

Spams, Scams, and Breaches

• Help Net Security: 4 identity security trends to watch in 2023
• Reuters: Hackers hit websites of Danish central bank, other banks
• Bleeping Computer: SpyNote android malware targeting financial institutions
• PYMNTS.com: Scam websites prey on consumers' hunger for retail discounts
• PYMNTS.com: Godfather banking trojan deploys fake banking and crypto websites
• Bleeping Computer: Scattered Spider hackers use old Intel driver to bypass security
• Finextra: APP fraud victims in the UK lose again under new fraud reimbursement rules
• Dark Reading: AI-enhanced cyberattacks lead to better phishing, easier malicious implants
• Krebs on Security: Identity thieves exploited Experian security weakness to bypass security measures
• Security Week: Third-party administrator of insurance products hit with data breach impacting 251k individuals

Updates, Patches, and Alerts...

• US-CERT: Current Activity
• Security Week: Chrome 109 patches 17 vulnerabilities
• TechCrunch: Microsoft ends Windows 7 security updates
• Security Week: SAP's first security updates for 2023 resolve critical vulnerabilities
• Krebs on Security: 100 security flaws fixed in Microsoft Patch Tuesday, January 2023 Edition
• Bleeping Computer: CISA orders agencies to patch Exchange bug abused by ransomware gang

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...

What did Steve Jobs get when he combined an iPod, a phone, and an internet mobile communicator? He called it an iPhone when he announced it on January 9, 2007.