U.S. Bancorp partners with Microsoft to integrate payments, apps

U.S. Bancorp is doubling down on its growing digital-banking operations by partnering with Microsoft Corp. to improve offerings over the internet and on mobile apps.

The multiyear partnership is meant to help business customers more easily generate invoices and handle payments, the Minneapolis-based lender said in a statement. Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing business will become U.S. Bancorp’s primary cloud provider, though the bank said it will continue to rely on other firms as well. Terms weren’t disclosed.

Banks are boosting spending on digital capabilities to better compete against industry rivals and financial-technology firms encroaching on their territory. The Covid-19 pandemic added urgency to that effort by speeding up a digital transition among bank customers that was already underway. U.S. Bancorp said in the statement that 81% of its consumer transactions in 2021 were done online or using its app, compared with 70% in 2019.

“More and more financial services will get built into other experiences” to expand customer acquisition and reach, Dilip Venkatachari, U.S. Bancorp’s global chief information & technology officer, said in an interview. “We think this is a critical part of our next journey.”

–By Max Reyes (Bloomberg Mercury)