BankThink

Banks charge merchants a quarter each time customers swipe their debit cards — even though the mean cost of processing debit-card purchases has fallen to 4.4 cents. The Federal Reserve should ensure that the falling cost of debit-card processing is matched by lower fees.

Countries including Brazil, Nigeria, Malaysia and India have proved that there are viable ways to find alternatives to branches, use mobile devices to increase the reach of financial services and roll out government-supported financial inclusion projects.

Banks in Energy Loan Pickle; Fed Flexible on Rate-Hike Timing

The Mandarin Oriental hotel chain recently became the latest big business to suffer a data breach, sounding a call to the hospitality business to shore up security posture.

Branch closures can prompt online blowback as community members worry about employee layoffs and stranded customers. A bank's best move is to get in front of the issue and respond directly to locals' concerns.

When financial firms emphasize the need to put customers first, they offer employees a simple way to navigate daily dilemmas while short-circuiting self-interest and tribal behavior.

Facebook Readies Money-Transfer; Citi, Barclays to Settle Forex Suit

Technology is rapidly changing payments, turning it into something that more closely resembles a layered ecosystem like an electrical grid than a traditional financial service.

A new book by the American Enterprise Institute's Peter Wallison reveals how a government push to lower credit standards brought about the housing crisis — and why a new effort to expand homeownership could inadvertently set the stage for a fresh disaster.

The smaller banks in the FDIC's deposit insurance fund are subsidizing the activities of the largest banks. A two-tiered approach would go a long way toward addressing moral hazard and the too big to fail problem.