In the movie All The President's Men, Woodward and Bernstein meet their informant in a parking garage and are told: "Follow the money." If you want to know which technologies are hot in banking, you should do the same. The truly "hot" technologies in banking are the ones that financial institutions invest in--which are not always the ones the pundits talk about. At the end of the past six years, Cornerstone Advisors has surveyed financial institutions to find out where their technology dollars will go in the coming year. In the new What's Going On in Banking 2020 study, the top five technologies for 2020 are: 1) Digital account opening; 2) P2P payments; 3) Video collaboration/ marketing; 4) Cloud computing; and 5) Application programming interfaces (APIs).

Almost all traditional banks and credit unions have been hampered by legacy technology that has made it difficult for them to compete with new tech-driven competitors. But options are now available -- and being used, in a few cases -- that free up institutions to compete in a far more agile, consumer-focused manner. The change could be liberating -- but only if banks and credit unions embrace it and make the necessary staff and cultural adjustments to take advantage of more modern technology platforms. Other than the largest financial institutions, to date very few banks and credit unions have deployed advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, according to Cornerstone Advisors research. Although the numbers are beginning to move, particularly among credit unions, modernized core platform technology now available should speed adoption.

Here are the six biggest trends identified by Synechron in their annual forecast. Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!2018 promises to be the year we see the culmination of some key technologies -- from blockchain and intelligent AI, to design thinking and the cloud. Here are the 10 biggest trends identified by reports from Synechron and Capgemini. Experiences with non-banking industries such as retail and communications have shaped consumers' expectations from banks and credit unions. As customers become more digital, more demanding and more tech-savvy, legacy bank infrastructure is strained to support new modes of engagement and grow digital efforts significantly.

IT-related expenses account for about 10% to 15% of financial institutions total expenses. However, many banks and credit unions question whether their investments in financial technology are providing a good enough return on investment. Are banks and credit unions destined to be usurped by fintechs with the capital and the know-how to reimagine banking for today's mobile-first world? Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!Financial institutions in the U.S. have -- thus far -- been able to stave off the threats posed by fintechs. According to a report commissioned by Citi, only about 1% of consumer banking revenue has moved to newer digital models.

The 2018 Retail Banking Trends and Predictions report provides an excellent analysis of what the industry believes will occur in 2018. But, what do banks and credit unions need to do immediately to benefit from upcoming digital technology trends?