A man walks past an automated teller machine outside Bank of America Corp. headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., May 2, 2016. Chris Keane/Bloomberg News

Since 2013 large financial institutions have applied for at least 2,700 patents in hot areas such as blockchain, analytics and cybersecurity, a surge of 83% from the prior three years. “Fintech companies are threatening” to established financial firms, George Koomullil, founder and chief executive of patent researcher Relecura tells CIO Journal. “They see that there is change coming.”