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American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.

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On the argument that cash may be the wave of the future, given recent data breaches and consumers' security concerns:

"With my third replacement credit card this year and identity monitoring my new hobby, cash has now become my medium of exchange. The real trend might well be using cash to protect one's financial assets and identity. That makes ATMs cash-distribution machines, not an on-ramp to putting more of one's life on untrustworthy devices and in the custody of data leakers."

Related Article: Fintech CEOs' Candid Advice, Bold Predictions for 2015

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On the news that industry group Nacha has proposed a plan for a same-day payments system that would require banks that originate transactions to pay a fee to receiving institutions:

"Meanwhile [the Motion Picture Association of America] proposes fees to make VHS look and sound more like YouTube." (via Twitter)

Related Article: Nacha Proposes Fee as Part of Faster Payments Plan

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On the suggestion that banks consider appointing chief ethics officers to affirm their commitment to making principled decisions:

"The CEO is the ethics officer; delegating this role to another is admitting a lack of commitment to sound business practices. Why not appoint a leadership officer as well, to handle that tiresome responsibility."

Related Article: To Restore Trust in Banks, Build Ethics into Business Decisions

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On the reasons why ethical considerations can't be formally built into banks' decision-making processes:

"An organization is the shadow of its leaders. Ethical culture reflects the values and actions of senior executives. This isn't displayed in 'major decisions on products, programs and business initiatives,' but in myriad, often mundane, individual choices."

Related Article: To Restore Trust in Banks, Build Ethics into Business Decisions

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On why big banks dominate the market despite getting lower customer-satisfaction scores:

"One must be very careful in interpreting satisfaction scores. The well-known halo effect would explain that when we dislike the politics or behavior of an institution, we will have a lower assessment of its products as well. However, in the absence of action by the consumer, such as moving her accounts, one can safely assume that the low opinion is due to institutional image and not dissatisfaction with financial products and technology."

Related Article: Down the Rabbit Hole, Megabanks Thrive and Community Lenders Crumble

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On how regulations can be used to prompt megabanks to break up or slim down:

"I still believe the best way to [encourage] banks to operate at optimum size is raising capital requirements with the size of the organization. It will be interesting to see how the capital surcharge works, but it clearly should start in the $10 billion range, not the few biggest banks. It would enforce a discipline that would require efficiency and service."

Related Article: Down the Rabbit Hole, Megabanks Thrive and Community Lenders Crumble

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On an alternative reason why community banks lag behind their large competitors:

"Unfortunately the majority of community banks are terribly inept and incompetent when it comes to business processes, client services and innovation. The things big banks do really well, especially when it comes to technology. I know of one community bank that is terrified of customer telephone calls to the extent they are afraid to publish a phone number for clients to contact for service."

Related Article: Down the Rabbit Hole, Megabanks Thrive and Community Lenders Crumble

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On the argument that banks should be their own knights in shining armor rather than relying on regulators to tell them how to handle risk (<a href="https://twitter.com/MRVAssociates/status/542387962059563008" target="_blank">via Twitter</a>):

"Armor, maybe. Shining? Hardly. What savvy risk management have you seen lately amongst [too big to fail] banks?"

Related Article: Financial Industry Should Be Its Own Knight in Shining Armor

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