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Banks that join such social-media Web sites as Facebook or Twitter may help their payments divisions down the line, Dominic Venturo, chief innovation offer of U.S. Bancorp, told attendees during a keynote address at the ATM, Debit & Prepaid Forum hosted by SourceMedia Inc. in Las Vegas this week. U.S. Bank follows emerging trends in technology and social media to evaluate how they might help in the development of payment products. "We follow trends; it's not enough to focus on payments" to anticipate products of the future, Venturo said. "We absolutely keep ideas for a long time." And some of those ideas are finding their way into pilots. This summer alone, the bank unveiled tests of an instant-issuance, contactless debit card service and a multiple-account card, which has both magnetic stripe and contactless-payment features. The card also can serve as an identification and access-control device to unlock doors (CardLine, 9/18). U.S. Bancorp's attention to emerging trends, however, does not end with the latest smartphone or laptop. The bank also is evaluating changing consumer preferences, particularly how they assess immediate information, Venturo said. "Customer expectations of quick information are increasing, and that's something we need to think about," he said.
