Opinions

Does an ATM-locator app need to have sex appeal? At first, the design of the new PNC Finder app for the iPhone seems like it might be overkill. But its main feature — an augmented-reality display — is winning over customers.

The Office of Financial Research, established by the Dodd-Frank Act to help regulators identify and thwart systemic risk events, faces a daunting task.

The G-20 held its summit in Cannes on managing risk in the global economy in early November. The group of heads of state covered the broad policy and political issues, financial ministers spoke on the difficulty of legislating rules and preventing unintended consequences.

Short-term disruption of the financial services industry will most likely come from within: when banks partner with financial services entrepreneurs and embrace innovation. It's happened repeatedly in the payments sector: PayPal and Wells Fargo ten years ago, Square and JP Morgan Chase Paymentech today.

Four reasons Verizon's smackdown of Google Wallet is bad for banks and consumers.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column describing the financial preferences and behaviors of underserved consumers by painting a picture of an archetypal consumer named Sue. Taking stock of the true needs of the underserved helps explain why traditional bank products and practices often miss the mark.

Imposing fees risks further alienation of consumers, raising the stakes on the “dare” to consumers to find other ways to meet their financial needs. And there are new and better ways for banks to make money.

The Defense Department is offering a year of credit monitoring to the nearly 5 million people affected by a data breach in September.

Banks and financial institutions have been sitting on vast amounts of customer transaction data for several decades now. The hardware and software technologies to make sense of this vast storehouse of data have been available for at least a decade now. Meanwhile the appetite for insightful data to help marketers target customers online has grown enormously, as has users' disdain for untargeted advertising.

Bank of America is running television ads depicting a son telling the story of how family loyalty to the bank is based on his parents approaching their local B of A branch manager some 71 years ago to finance selling hot dogs from their stand on a local corner. The piece notes that the parents offered no collateral but gained the confidence of the local manager of their potential success. This story is consistent with the history of the bank going back to its founder, A.P. Giannini who consistently worked to meet the needs of small businesses in developing areas and during difficult times.