BankThink

Financial services IT teams must think like cybercriminals and develop an offensive approach to security at a time when threats are growing in frequency and sophistication.

A compliance-at-all-costs mentality, which is the overarching attitude in many banks, results in overspending and overallocating valuable resources to meet both real and perceived compliance standards.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Another day, another woe: The pressure on Wells Fargo continues to increase. Eight Democrat senators Thursday asked the Labor Department to open an investigation into the bank's workplace practices. Specifically, the senators, led by Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked the department's Wage and Hour Division to examine whether Wells "aggressively skirted" overtime laws and failed to properly compensate its lower-level employees. Labor said it was taking "very seriously" complaints about how the bank may have treated its employees.

In e-commerce, merchants strive to achieve a 100% checkout conversion rate but find it elusive because shoppers encounter many obstacles during the payment process.

We haven't heard from Carrie Tolstedt yet, but she has been in the spotlight all week, as seemingly everyone wants an explanation from Wells Fargo. JPMorgan Chase puts even more focus on digital channels, and Politico has a piece on the opportunities fintech offers women, especially female bankers, with a caveat. Also, the B of A bros' club suit has been settled.

The Wells Fargo scandal is more reason for officials to tighten policy on anti-tying measures to put a stop to overly aggressive sales methods.

In 2010, lawmakers passed reforms to bring transparency and competition to a swipe fee market that had been devoid of both. Now, they want to undo that progress.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Round Two: Congress isn't through with Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf just yet. Following his pummeling before the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday, Stumpf has been asked to testify before the House Financial Services Committee next week on the bank's phony accounts scandal.

Automating accounts payable (AP) and payments is not high on the IT list of new ventures, but business growth can result in a paper glut.

Paper-based marketing — not digital communication — remains a more promising way to reach customers 50 and older, who also tend to be a bank's wealthiest client segment.