Opinions

Every year, the tech industry puts out sophisticated April Fools' Day pranks designed to look too outlandish to be real. But technology is advancing at such a rapid pace that one person's joke is another person's next big product.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

In order foster low-cost relationships, banks should offer free digital checking accounts to new and existing customers … then charge for paper notices or statements.

Rilla Delorier, SunTrust's marketing chief, says banks need to work together to promote financial health and change behavior. "We have to do this to save our industry," she says.

The Year of Mobile Payments will arrive only when all of the key players — providers, merchants and consumers —are sufficiently motivated to change.

Instead of tasking one team with developing new products, give everyone – from senior management to tellers – permission to innovate continuously. Tapping those with firsthand experience of what works and what doesn't on a day-to-day basis can spur big changes.

T-Mobile's flexible pricing strategy is forcing its major telecommunications competitors to change. Bankers should take note, given the carrier’s recent foray into financial services.

The recent security breaches at Nieman Marcus and Target remind us in the payments industry that as criminal efforts to steal cardholder data become more sophisticated, so must the methods we use to prevent these crimes.

A positive spin around branches will proliferate, as will talk about wearable tech. Oh, and expect tons of M&A -- between banks and nonbanks.

American Banker held its Retail Banking 2014 conference in Orlando, FL this week. Here, in tweets, are a few of its takeaways.