PayThink

Artificial intelligence is on the cusp of solving some of the most chronic problems facing bank managers. They need to embrace it.

From hidden fees to misleading marketing, small businesses face too many challenges when making and receiving cross-border payments.

The Federal Reserve has been reducing its liabilities steadily since last March, and those effects are starting to be felt. But how low it should ultimately go — and how long it can stay low — is a tricky question.

Legislation before Congress would violate individuals' digital privacy by requiring digital wallet providers to intrusively gather and report highly personal information.

Despite regulatory efforts, applications for traditional new banks often now require lengthier review periods for approval than in the last several decades. Here are some key ways to lighten this burden.

Banks in the U.S. tend to exist for about half the life span of the average human being. It doesn't have to be that way.

The National Credit Union Administration is addressing two of the main reasons why new institutions aren't being formed — making it easier for the organizers to raise the required capital and easing the burden of the application process, says Todd Harper, the agency's chairman.

Edward M. Lamont's biography of his grandfather, Thomas W. Lamont, who advised presidents and extended credit to foreign nations as JPMorgan & Co.'s chief executive in the first half of the 20th century, will be rereleased in paperback this fall. Given that more concise, analytical histories of the banker have been published since, this long tome may have been better left collecting dust.

Banking crises always recur. But time and again, bankers have been shown to operate on the assumption that good times are permanent.

If capital requirements are increased, they must be constructed in a way that doesn't unduly burden smaller banks and their fintech partners.