Merrill Lynch is launching a new enhanced mobile app that allows clients to scan paper documents and send to their advisors, among other features, says the firm. The new scanning feature uses the device’s camera to capture images of each page and converts them into a single PDF file. Clients that have Bank of America accounts can now also use the Zelle person-to-person payments service directly from their MyMerrill mobile app. “Our clients are on the move, and they take their financial lives...

Digital isn’t just a subset of products or services offered by banks and investment firms, but something that is central to how firms must do business now and in the future. That was the message from Kelli Keough, global head of digital wealth management for JPMorgan Chase, who spoke Tuesday at SourceMedia’s In|Vest conference in New York. “Digital is everything, and will continue to transform the industry,” she said. “We know clients choose firms based on the digital experience. If we don’t...

Today’s expense technology is transforming travel processes from beginning to end Technology marches inexorably onward, and for corporate travel and expense programs, that march is increasingly away from physical plastic cards and toward virtual forms of payment. Virtual cards – card numbers generated for specific limited uses – are gaining traction but so far mostly for applications such as non-employee travel or one-off payments. While travel programs still haven’t eliminated plastic cards...

Lisa Welander led Heritage Financial through a successful core replacement in the midst of a heavy M&A period. For banks going through a merger or acquisition period, IT staffs can be overwhelmed with the preparation and work that needs to be done in integrating different systems. If you throw in a core conversion during that same time, things can get really tricky. But Heritage Financial Corp. of Olympia, Wash., successfully did just that last year, merging two acquired financial...