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The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web. Today: Australian banks oppose open banking; Louisiana town plots its own currency; No more FOMO for bitcoin; Russia plans its own mobile payment system.

Bank of America Corp. hit a milestone in its years-long effort to get costs under control.

The cashierless Amazon Go concept is inspiring fear in traditional U.S. retailers, but the idea is already mainstream in China — with one chain opening 300 locations in just two years.

Financial institutions in the U.S. are not only under tremendous pressure to determine how they’ll become a part of the new Federal Reserve-driven faster payments ecosystem, but also what the shift to immediacy will mean to their current operating model, long-term strategy, and future relevance to consumers and corporates, writes Bruce Lowthers, COO at FIS.

Global policymakers are all over the map when it comes to regulating cryptocurrencies. But industry participants are eager to have some direction — and soon.

Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting took office only late last year, but he is wasting little time in tackling a series of hot-button topics, including easing anti-money laundering regulations and lowering national bank fees.

The bank revealed Friday that it is facing hefty regulatory penalties and will likely have to restate first-quarter earnings. Declines in loan balances and fee income and questions about upcoming stress tests are only adding to investors' worries.

Bankers hoped the tax overhaul would stimulate a boom in business borrowing, but several said this week that hasn’t happened yet. PNC’s Bill Demchak warned that the tax cuts could be encouraging lenders to underprice loans.

During earnings calls, bankers praised regulators' latest efforts to modify capital rules. JPMorgan Chase CFO Marianne Lake, meanwhile, called on policymakers to focus on overhauling the G-SIB surcharge.

The bank, which already offers mortgages through seven offices across North Carolina, is the fourth group to announce plans for a de novo in the state.