The fact that fraud is on the rise is not new, nor is it surprising that banks are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to fight back. Banks are, however, revamping their approaches to these technologies on how they may be applied outside of their typical use cases, fending off cybercriminals who have a growing number of opportunities to access online banking platforms and customer data. In the latest Digital Banking Tracker, PYMNTS looks at how banks are currently approaching their use of AI and machine learning in fraud protection and technology innovation. Competing in today's digital banking space is not as simple as opening a fully digital bank, as U.K. institution Barclays found. The bank has shuttered plans to open such a service in the U.S., stating that the project was proving too costly. Barclays will instead keep up its co-branded card efforts in the country at this time, but may revisit the project in the future.

Amazonians and investors alike, rest assured: Jeff Bezos knows artificial intelligence is a big deal. The Amazon CEO took a few paragraphs in his annual shareholder letter to explain how the company is using AI throughout its business, having recognized and embraced the "external trend." The letter itself focuses on the idea that Amazon is still in "Day 1," still a startup that's well aware that irrelevance and excruciating decline begins when you reach Day 2. Bezos outlined three major categories that artificial intelligence falls into at the company: visible products and moonshots, core operations, and enterprise cloud. "The outside world can push you into Day 2 if you won't or can't embrace powerful trends quickly. If you fight them, you're probably fighting the future. Embrace them and you have a tailwind," Bezos writes.