Stories by MARIA TROMBLY

First Banks Go Live with B2B Online Payment System

A group of four major banks based in Europe and the U.S. Tuesday said they're going live with a system that's designed for use in processing large electronic payments between different companies.

FleetBoston Offers Virtual Safe-Deposit Boxes

Online bill payments, wireless banking capabilities and other new Internet-based technologies already give financial institutions jockeying for position online plenty to worry about. Now, FleetBoston Financial Corp. is raising the bar another notch when it comes to online banking services by adding a new feature: virtual safe-deposit boxes.

Nasdaq Adds Two New Technology Executives

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., which has been criticized for its handling of some information technology issues, Tuesday named two new IT executives who are expected to help it cope with upcoming initiatives such as the conversion to decimal-based pricing and the rollout of a new front-end trading system.

Nasdaq Changes Plan to Appease Critics

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. announced changes to its proposed SuperMontage front-end trading system after operators of private trading networks and other critics raised concerns about the technology.

Brokerage Firms Nervous About Conflicts

The new federal law giving digital signatures the same legal weight as written ones goes into effect on Sunday. But the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) already has guidelines in place for sending documents electronically, and the two sets of rules don't match.

Hopes for Third World Procurement to Go Electric

The Global View Network (GVN) hopes to bring the Internet to developing nations.

Nasdaq Changes Trading System Proposal

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. Thursday announced additional changes to its proposed SuperMontage front-end trading system in an effort to address concerns about the technology that have been raised by the operators of private trading networks and other critics.

Bank One's Wingspan Fails Online

Bank One Corp.'s WingspanBank.com, a stand-alone, Internet-only bank, will be downgraded to a test lab because it didn't attract enough customers, bank officials said this week.

Bank One Trims Its Wingspanbank.com

Bank One Corp.'s WingspanBank.com, an attempt to create a stand-alone Internet-only bank, will be downgraded to a test lab.

Top Banks Launch Joint Site for Corporate Clients

Seven of the world's leading investment banks this week announced plans to launch a joint financial information Web site for their institutional clients.

Banks Announce Release of Visa 'Smart' Cards

The U.S. has been lagging behind Europe when it comes to the adoption of "smart card" technology, with New York-based American Express Co.'s Blue the only credit card with an embedded chip on the market.

Citibank's Aggregation Portal a Big Draw

A month after New York-based Citibank launched its free online account aggregation service, some positive results have begun filtering in.

Top Investment Banks Team on Financial Web Site

Seven of the world's leading investment banks this week announced plans to launch a joint financial information Web site for their institutional clients.

Amex Unveils Disposable Credit Numbers

American Express Co. said this week that it will give out single-use credit-card numbers to customers worried about online security.

World Leaders: IT Can Ease Globalization Woes

At two forums here this week, world leaders said information technology could play a key role in ameliorating the most adverse effects of globalization and help emerging economies skip over some development stages.