Few industries have been affected by technology disruption as much as retail banking. Despite banks having the reputation for being “slow to change,” it is phenomenal how fast the industry is evolving. For more established banks, though, transforming to serve the changing habits and requirements of today’s consumers continues to pose challenges–while also creating new, untapped opportunities.

I’m often asked for recommendations for innovative features and capabilities for various financial institutions, so I compiled a partial list of my top features. These are the things I would love to build for a bank or credit union if I owned the digital product for that institution.

Financial services has long been one of my top areas of interest (followed by healthcare) and so I love spending time with banks and credit unions to understand their current technology challenges and help them define a robust Digital Transformation and mobile strategy.

At last month’s Digital Banking Summit, hundreds of people in the banking industry and vendors that serve the industry, gathered in New Orleans to talk about the future of digital banking. We had several opportunities to attend sessions and talk with fellow attendees, and the primary topic on everyone’s minds was user experience (UX).

The wealth management (WM) industry is in the midst of significant change. As the industry is re-shaped, one positive outcome will be that more people will have access to a greater quantity and quality of investment strategies and advice that was traditionally reserved for high net worth individuals. Two drivers that will accelerate this democratization of wealth management are a shift in investor preferences and advances in technology.

You’ve probably heard the saying “mobile is eating the world.” It’s also creating tremendous opportunities for enterprises today. Leading organizations across the globe are adopting mobility to drive transformation within their organization and competitive advantage in the market. In addition, we have seen many organizations successfully use mobility as a catalyst for business process innovation. Today, enterprise mobile apps are no longer a “nice to have.” It has now become a strategic imperative for businesses to effectively compete in this new mobile era. It’s not surprising that mobility has become one of the top five priorities for investment to help enterprises better engage with their customers and empower their employees to be more productive.

The next report in our Kony Innovator series features the CIO for Channel Strategies at a non-US retail bank, and highlights the familiar path along a multi-channel journey. As part of its branding and corporate culture, the bank seeks to maintain its leadership as a technology trendsetter. To do this, it developed and launched its first mobile banking app for iPhones shortly after Apple began the countrywide iPhone roll out. Eighteen months later, with Android-powered devices rapidly gaining popularity, the bank launched a second development project, this time for a native Android app.

This week’s case study comes from Regions Financial Corporation, a U.S. bank and financial services company based in Birmingham, Alabama. Regions faced a variety of challenges implementing its mobile strategy, including the cost of development and maintenance for multiple channels, scalability, and meeting its customers’ needs for an excellent user experience.