BankThink

Even as mobile wallets continue to struggle with consumer adoption, yet another iteration of payments technology is rapidly coming over the horizon: the Connected Car.

If Wells Fargo employees were fired for trying to stop the bank’s improper account practices, as has been claimed in court, it shines a spotlight on the need for more whistleblower assistance.

Banks must work to attract a diverse workforce through recruiting efforts, and to close the retention gap that sees institutions lose a higher percentage of women leaders compared to those who are men.

Wall Street JournalRules for payment apps: Mobile payment apps like PayPal's Venmo and Alphabet's Google Wallet will be covered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new rules covering prepaid debit cards. While prepaid cards and mobile payment apps serve mostly different demographics and do different things, "the CFPB views the products as requiring similar types of oversight to ensure customers' money is safe," the Wall Street Journal reported. The payment app providers had objected to their inclusion after the rule was first proposed two years ago. Under the rules, which take effect in a year, prepaid card and mobile app providers would be required to more fully disclose their fees and provide the same liability protection as credit card issuers. The rule won't cover digital wallets that simply store payment credentials, such as Apple Pay. The CFPB has already received more than 500,000 comments on the proposal so far.

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.