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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 whether consumers will embrace Apple Pay:

"Technology advances with smartphones have only increased consumers' dependence on them for daily activities. My twenty-something-year-old kids are so tied to their phones they would use them to heat up their macaroni and cheese if it was a feature."

Related Article: Why the New York Times Is Wrong About Apple Pay

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On the suggestion that Apple's tight control over its new mobile payments feature will drive banks to Android:

"Android is inherently insecure because they do not carefully vet the apps added to their app store. Any bank that wants to play in the Android space is insane since the cyber criminals will have a field day. The key advantage of the Apple iOS ecosystem is that it offers the potential, if done right, of having end-to-end strong security and encryption."

Related Article: Why Apple Pay Is Only a So-So Deal for Banks

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On the efficacy of using higher capital requirements to ward off future banking crashes:

"A regulator that offers higher capital levels as protection against the next financial crisis is akin to a car mechanic offering to make the horn louder because he can't fix the car's brakes."

Related Article: Why the U.S. Is Taking a Harder Line on Banking Regulation

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On banks' potential motivations for tolerating flawed legacy payment systems:

"You can build a very expensive system, or a system that users don't like, to lower loss costs. Or you can live with a small amount of losses. Which is cheaper? Usually not the higher-tech solution."

Related Article: Legacy Bank Payment Systems and the Internet: A Toxic Cocktail

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On why banks are sticking with their current, flawed payment systems:

"Actually having designed payment systems I know that you can build something easy to use, easy to adopt and highly secure. The issue is not a technology issue and hasn't been for 15 years now. The technology is there and sitting on the shelf. It is a socio-political issue."

Related Article: Legacy Bank Payment Systems and the Internet: A Toxic Cocktail

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On a banker's proposal for a more-secure Internet payment system that requires identification of all users:

"Banks are hosed, but are still enormously profitable and they might be able to roll out chip-and-PIN in the USA fast enough that these breaches such as those at Target become a memory. They have such a fetish for 'know your customer.' Ugh." (Via Reddit.)

Related Article: Legacy Bank Payment Systems and the Internet: A Toxic Cocktail

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On why Operation Choke Point is prompting banks to end relationships with businesses perceived as high-risk rather than simply supervise them more closely:

"The guidance requiring 'extra attention' is accompanied by subpoenas which act to intimidate banks into jettisoning the businesses in question -- whether or not there has ever been a problem."

Related Article: Small Institutions Could Be Hurt by Operation Choke Point: Lawmakers

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On how the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance fee hikes are affecting prospective borrowers:

"I'm a Realtor based on the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles ... My FHA buyers buy within their real-life budget, which has always been less than what the lender is willing to loan them. Even raising the [mutual mortgage insurance premium] they could still afford the loan but as soon as the MMI became for the life of the loan, that was the end of FHA loans for my buyers. And in my world as both a listing and selling agent, that's the number-one reason homes sales for first-time buyers have stalled, which has stalled the entire market."

Related Article: FHA Fees Are Holding Back First-Time Homebuyers

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On whether Dodd-Frank will keep government officials from stepping in to save banks in a future crisis:

Last time, [former Fed Chairman Ben] Bernanke had the guts, along with Paulson and Geithner, to facilitate (or mandate) bailouts for our largest institutions despite a shaky legal underpinning. After Dodd-Frank, however, that shaky underpinning is gone. Query whether during the next crisis (and there will be one), our regulators will have the guts to act decisively absent any legal authority to do so.

Related Article: Big Banks Headed Straight for Another Bailout

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On the competitive advantages of small, local businesses over sprawling corporations:

"Relationships often trump price disadvantages. Nimbleness and flexibility kill bureaucracy and rigidity in the real world."

Related Article: Why the Local Food Movement Is Good for Community Banking

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On a warning that banks should not prioritize hyped, cutting-edge tech over fundamental services:

"While all digital leaders should keep their eyes focused on the future, I have yet to meet the digital banker who prioritizes Facebook banking among their here-and-now digital initiatives! ... Bankers should stay focused on pragmatic areas of value such as convenience, control, advanced account management and safety, while avoiding baseless fads."

Related Article: Bank Customers Want Digital Substance Over Style

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