In 1957 the US market researcher James Vicary claimed he could get moviegoers to “drink Coca-Cola” and “eat popcorn” by flashing messages onscreen for such a short time that viewers were unaware they had seen them. The term “subliminal advertising” was coined to describe this unnerving practice and it was subsequently banned in many countries.
It didn’t take long for Congressional Republicans to pounce on the CFPB’s final rule on arbitration agreements, which the agency released on July 10. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling said he would support use of the Congressional Review Act to dismantle the rule, while Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.) already has drafted a CRA resolution and is working with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (Idaho) to introduce it “soon.”
Designing products with staying power starts with understanding consumers and then adapting uses cases to solve their problems.
Hello all and apologies it’s taken a little while to get to the third instalment of the series about “pet peeve statements”. For those who are new, I am talking about those bold, declaratory statements that puff up the chest and make people feel awfully progressive and far sighted – and as I have said before, all sound and fury, signifying stormy waters ahead!
The OCC’s latest risk report for banks highlights competitive pressure from fintech companies, loosening of credit underwriting standards, operational risks associated with third-party service providers, and compliance risks around Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and AML monitoring.
Nelson Holzner, newly appointed CEO of AEVI, talks to Banking Technology about the importance of innovation and simplification, and addressing real-life problems with working solutions. “Do more” is AEVI’s motto.
It’s difficult to say just yet who the ultimate victors will be in the battle over arbitration—trial lawyers, consumers, the financial services industry, Congressional Republicans or the CFPB—but the bureau fired the latest salvo by issuing its final rule on arbitration agreements on July 10. The move comes despite warnings from House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) that doing so could result in contempt proceedings.
A wide range of technology-driven sectors will be affected by the advent of universal quantum computing many experts say will happen by 2026, but the financial industry has particular reason to be concerned.
There is far more to regtech than regulatory technology, or at least there can and should be. Regtech, as it is coming to be understood, must be something qualitatively different from what it’s replacing and not just a faster and better version of the same thing.
Consumers wrote nearly two-thirds fewer checks per household in 2015 than in 2000, while total noncash payments per household, which includes checks, card payments and electronic transfers via ACH, expanded almost 95 percent, according to additional results released June 30 from the “2016 Federal Reserve Payments Study.” While the numbers are encouraging to those facilitating electronic payments, prepaid providers have some work to do to gain market share.
Nearly a decade after jumping from the public to the private sector, Green Dot’s Jeff Ross remains as enthused as ever by the new challenges and complexities he faces every day as compliance head for one of the biggest players in an industry with a constantly shifting regulatory landscape and technology that’s advancing at a breakneck pace.
A U.K. citizen living in New York is facing fraud charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to two bogus investment schemes. Renwick Haddow allegedly reaped millions of dollars from investors in his supposed bitcoin platform Bitcoin Store Inc. and in Bar Works Inc., which offers office space in renovated restaurants and bars.
Tax evasion and tax fraud have been affecting governments finances all over the world over the decades. It occurs within a country and across countries. Thus, a single country cannot solve the problem on its own. Countries need to work more together and internationally to combat the problem home and abroad.
Consumers prefer to use P2P payments for retail purchases, paying back relatives and friends, and settling bills—but not so much for contributing to group gifts or paying housing costs, according to a new report from NerdWallet. It also found that that while only 35 percent of U.S. consumers use such P2P products as Venmo, PayPal and Square Cash, 63 percent are interested in the payment technology.
After a frantic few days in Copenhagen for Money20/20 Europe, Paul Butterworth, strategic marketing director at Trustonic, used the time during his flight home to digest the discussions and presentations and come up with the key takeaways from the fintech event.
The CFPB receives more than 20,000 complaints every month, according to Director Richard Cordray, and the bureau’s latest installment of its Monthly Complaint Report highlights consumer complaints at the state level. As of June 1, the CFPB has received more than 1.2 million complaints across the country since it began accepting them in 2011. The top three states with the most complaints are California, Florida and Texas with 159,158, 111,559 and 93,472 complaints, respectively.
The CFPB on June 27 filed two complaints and proposed final judgments in federal court against four California-based credit repair companies and three individuals for “misleading consumers and charging illegal fees.”
On June 26, artificial intelligence captured the imagination of some at Money20/20 in Copenhagen. But during the June 27 sessions on the second day, it was like I had stepped back in time to November 2016, reported Deputy Editor Antony Peyton. Last year, at the Payments International conference in London, PSD2 left some in the payments industry confused as to where the risks and opportunities lie.
One-fourth of Americans say they have too much debt, with 96 percent of them reporting they are financially stressed, according to a survey by the Center for Financial Services Innovation to gauge Americans’ financial well-being. While those statistics are bleak, they should signal an opportunity for banks, credit unions, fintechs and other companies to provide products, services and guidance to improve consumers’ financial stability, according to Jennifer Tescher, founder and CEO of CFSI.
The U.K. needs more competition in its retail payments infrastructure. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the country’s Payment Systems Regulator.
Long-term growth will require the commercial banking industry to embrace digital transformation in a way that benefits the institutions’ stakeholder base and satisfies the needs of its end-user clients. And here are three reasons why a commercial bank should consider transformation.
Even when serving in senior manager and director roles with the likes of American Express and TSYS early in his career, Rick Oglesby, AZ Payments Group president, always felt he was destined to be a payments consultant. That vision came true in 2011, and you don’t have to spend too much time with him before his love of consultancy work—helping companies succeed while establishing and nurturing relationships—becomes apparent and likely is the reason why he was selected as one of the industry’s Top Payments Consultants.
Richard Steggall didn’t even set foot in the U.S. until he was approaching 30. So, what prompted the native Aussie by way of London to set up a fintech shop in New York—first as Waspit, then as Urban FT, the SaaS-based digital payments platform he now heads? It was, of course, American optimism.
No, cash is hardly sexy, not in this era of mobile payments, bitcoin and biometrics. But here’s some proof about its endurance.
The CFPB has issued a request for comment on proposed changes to its final rule on prepaid accounts that would adjust requirements for resolving errors on unregistered accounts and provide greater flexibility for credit cards linked to digital wallets.
ACH payments are on course for exponential growth in the government sector, reducing costs for agencies and appealing to younger consumers.
Probably not. Even so, the case for virtual prepaid accounts is growing stronger. A journey through the landscape—including a stop at a recent Apple conference—shows why.
When the self-described skeptic took over as global head of prepaid for Mastercard earlier this year, Andrew Buckley wasn’t quite convinced that the opportunities ahead were worthy of all the hype. Five months later and he’s among the converted, preaching the gospel of democratization—not just of payments but of innovation.
The Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 (HR 10), legislation to overhaul the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, was approved along party lines by the U.S. House of Representatives 233-186 on June 8. The legislation focuses on ending big-bank bailouts and supporters say it provides more accountability for Washington and Wall Street, while removing barriers to economic growth.
Craig James, founder and CEO of compliance consultancy Neopay, views compliance like a chess match—you have to know the board better than everyone else, so nothing surprises you.
Large-scale operational projects within asset management firms are notoriously ambitious, incredibly complex and extremely hard to deliver. Global system implementations are a common culprit, where often multiple applications (some legacy) are being replaced.
Anders la Cour, CEO of ground-breaking payments utility Saxo Payments Banking Circle, which is underpinning the service propositions of a growing number of payments businesses, reports on the payment pain points currently faced by merchants who have ambitions to trade globally.
The U.S. Justice Department may have dropped its antitrust suit against American Express, but 11 states want to press on in a case that started in 2010. At issue is the company’s push to prevent Amex-accepting merchants from offering shoppers financial incentives to use other card brands.
Ask most people about their experience with insurance, grudge purchase par excellence, and they’ll say it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Enter Lemonade, the New York-based insurtech combining the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and an approach founded on behavioural economics and customer centricity to offer homeowners and renters protection with a difference.
An explosive growth in data and information, coupled with advances in technology and a boost in methods of communication, have given rise to an empowered and aware global customer. And to provide legendary experience to their customers, maintain a competitive edge and to make better and sound decisions, organisations need to harness insights from this ever growing “big data”.
Earning top-of-wallet privileges from consumers requires deeper thinking about the what, when, where, why and how of loyalty rewards. But the most important ingredient is simplicity.
Breathless reports point to a terrifying increase in U.K. contactless fraud. Dig a little deeper, however, and the story changes.
All payment providers and merchants grasp the dynamic nature of fraud. But fraud prevention requires more than the latest software and security protections—it requires active collaboration. Here’s why.
I can scarcely believe we’re approaching the halfway point of 2017. But I can’t think of a better time for the year’s biggest prepaid industry event. On June 21-23, the NBPCA will host its sixth annual Power of Prepaid conference in Washington, D.C. The business of compliance—not to mention keeping up with technology trends—is keeping everyone on their toes, but it’s vital to stop and reflect with colleagues about the state of the industry and its future. It’s also critical to actually talk to those shaping the legislation and regulations that determine the rules of the road.
DLA Piper’s John D. McGonagle speculates on what the rise of blockchain technology might mean for the future of banking, the feedback which the UK regulator FCA may receive from interested stakeholders, and some of the regulatory and legal hurdles which blockchain technology may need to negotiate in the near future.
