BankThink

Preventing fraud across multiple purchasing channels is the next major paradigm shift for bank card issuers and merchants.

Julio Alejandro, CEO of Humanitarian Blockchain in London, thinks so. Some of his projects, such as providing bitcoin Visa debit cards to refugees and digital identities for ex-cons, are ideas financial services firms could implement here.

Wells Fargo has been knocked off its pedestal, but it is imperative that the company move forward and put this episode behind it.

It's time not only to hold banks accountable for their security, but also to provide meaningful regulatory guidance on how to achieve security.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Out of the shadows: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed disclosure and consumer protection rules for prepaid debit cards. Under the proposal, which would take effect in a year, prepaid cards would be required to carry a standardized disclosure of the card's monthly fee as well as details on fees for cash withdrawals, customer service calls, overdrafts and reloads. The cards would also have to provide the same liability protection that applies to credit cards. "The rules bring prepaid cards out of the shadows, with protections that in many ways are stronger than those for traditional bank accounts," said Lauren Saunders, the associate director of the National Consumer Law Center, which lobbied for the rules. New York Times, Financial Times, American Banker

Fintech not only solves problems for banks and their customers, it also helped break a curse.

Online fraud is on the increase, but the good news is emerging technology can protect digital identities.

The bank's fake account scandal is further reason to make the results of Wells' 2012 Community Reinvestment Act exam public.

Male bankers are often unaware of how they benefit from a level of privilege that limits the advancement and contributions of their female colleagues, to the detriment of the entire industry.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...More pain for Wells: Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he plans to introduce a bill that would prevent Wells Fargo from forcing customers to use arbitration clauses if they challenge the bank for opening bank accounts without their permission, a move that would make it easier for customers to sue the bank for any damages they may have incurred as a result. "Giving customers back their right to take Wells Fargo to court gives them the power to ensure they are made whole and helps prevent cases like this in the future," Brown said in a press release.