Key Takeaways
- The most popular tech stories of the past 12 months include articles about data breaches, outages, and fraud, as well as stories about the neobank Chime, Capital One, and Navy Federal Credit Union.
- Navy Federal Credit Union announced a new feature that allows members to build their credit scores through rent and utility bills.
- A North Carolina credit union sued Fiserv over allegations of insecure account processing systems.
- An AWS outage caused disruptions to web services across the internet, including at several banks and credit unions.
- The U.S. federal government is still combating fraud that exploited the Paycheck Protection Program.
- Citi is rolling out agentic AI to its developers to automate simple tasks.
- Experian released a new score that combines credit and cash-flow data.
- Chime debuted instant loans for direct depositors, and Capital One experienced a five-day outage due to third-party risk.
Introduction to the Most Popular Tech Stories
The past 12 months have seen a wide range of tech stories that have captured the attention of readers. From data breaches and outages to new features and products, the financial technology sector has been busy. In this article, we will summarize the top 10 most popular tech stories of the past year, including articles about Navy Federal Credit Union, Chime, Capital One, and more.
Navy Federal Credit Union’s New Feature
Navy Federal Credit Union announced a new feature that allows members to build their credit scores through rent and utility bills. This feature is made possible through the credit union’s partnership with Bloom Credit, a credit data infrastructure platform. The feature, called Bloom+, is available to Navy Federal’s 14 million members as a checking account feature. This new feature enables consumers to qualify for credit from lenders that accept the information, and it can help members build their credit scores over time.
Lawsuit Against Fiserv
A North Carolina credit union sued Fiserv over allegations of insecure account processing systems. The credit union, Self-Help, claims that Fiserv knowingly provided insecure systems and demanded exorbitant termination fees when the credit union attempted to leave. The lawsuit alleges that Fiserv failed to protect the credit union’s member data with the same safeguards it uses for its own corporate information. This lawsuit highlights the importance of security in the financial technology sector and the need for companies to prioritize the protection of sensitive data.
AWS Outage
An AWS outage caused disruptions to web services across the internet, including at several banks and credit unions. The outage was caused by problems at Amazon Web Services’ northern Virginia data center and served as a reminder of the financial sector’s dependence on centralized cloud infrastructure. The disruption affected several banks and credit unions, including Navy Federal, Truist, and Chime. This outage highlights the need for companies to have robust backup systems in place to minimize the impact of outages.
Paycheck Protection Program Fraud
The U.S. federal government is still combating fraud that exploited the Paycheck Protection Program. The program, which stopped accepting applications over four years ago, has been the subject of numerous fraudulent schemes. The government has secured several guilty pleas, including one from a co-founder of the fintech lender service provider Blueacorn. The statutes of limitations for various charges provide up to 10 years to open cases, giving prosecutors until 2030 to 2031 to file charges.
Citi’s Agentic AI
Citi is rolling out agentic AI to its developers to automate simple tasks like software patches and upgrades. The bank has selected Cognition’s Devin agent, which is capable of making autonomous decisions and taking actions with minimal human oversight. This deployment is part of a larger trend of banks adopting advanced AI technologies to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Other banks, such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, are also testing and deploying AI technologies.
Experian’s New Score
Experian released a new score that combines credit and cash-flow data. The score, called Experian Credit + Cashflow, brings four types of consumer financial information into a single score. The score ranges from 300 to 850 and is currently available in an early access version for testing by interested lenders. This new score provides a more comprehensive view of a consumer’s financial situation and can help lenders make more informed decisions.
Chime’s Instant Loans
Chime debuted instant loans for direct depositors, offering three-month installment loans of up to $500 at a fixed interest rate and without a credit check. The loans are available to Chime members who directly deposit their paychecks into their Chime accounts. On-time loan repayments will help customers build a credit history. This new product is part of Chime’s efforts to provide more financial services to its members and to help them build credit.
Capital One’s Outage
Capital One experienced a five-day outage due to third-party risk. The outage was caused by a power outage and hardware failure at Fidelity Information Services, which provides banking operations and payments services to more than 5,800 companies. The outage highlights the importance of technical resilience and third-party risk management in the financial technology sector. Companies must prioritize the protection of sensitive data and have robust backup systems in place to minimize the impact of outages.
Chime’s Partnership with Workday
Chime announced a partnership with Workday to expand the reach of its financial wellness solutions. The partnership will embed Chime Workplace directly into Workday’s Workday Wellness platform, allowing employers to offer Chime’s financial tools and banking products to their employees at no cost. This partnership is part of Chime’s efforts to provide more financial services to its members and to help them build credit.
The CFPB’s 1033 Rule
The CFPB plans to kill the 1033 rule, which would have required banks to share data with authorized third parties at a customer’s request. The rule would have radically reshaped consumer finance and led to increased competition for banks. However, the CFPB’s decision to set the rule aside means that banks and fintechs will continue to share data in the ad hoc way they have been for decades. This decision highlights the ongoing debate over data sharing and consumer finance, and it will be interesting to see how the financial technology sector evolves in response.
