PayThink

Beyond offering a buzzworthy new payments app or automating exhausting mortgage applications, for example, traditional payment providers and fintechs need to ensure that their business is resilient against increasingly sophisticated cybercrime and ready for a hyperconnected world, writes Malte Pollman, CEO of Utimaco.

The regulatory relief law passed this spring contained a measure to stop synthetic fraud, but the provision is incomplete.

The payment landscape is highly regional, based on historic, economic, technical and political factors. Top payment methods in Europe, or even Southeast Asia, are generally unheard of in many other parts of the world, according to Steve Villegas, vice president of partner management for PPRO.

The chairman of the Federal Reserve is testifying before Congress this week, where he will likely face tough questions about the agency’s decision to let two banks slide on their exams late last month.

Despite some criticisms of the strategy, community banks should continue to pair up with fintech companies that can help them expand their digital offerings.

Rather than ban screen scraping, financial institutions should improve secure account connectivity so that consumers can share data with the apps they want to use.

If fintechs can prove effective at overcoming fraud challenges as they scale their customer base, they’ll be able to better capitalize on their unique position of operating independent of legacy platforms as they create a more financially connected consumer experience, writes Dave Excell, founder and CTO of Featurespace.

The industry is slated for another busy week, with more bank results on the horizon, plus a nomination hearing for Trump’s pick to head the CFPB.

Attempts to legislate or regulate innovative payments treat consumers, who have affirmatively selected to use prepaid accounts or some other emerging access device to access their money, much differently than consumers who have decided to open a traditional bank account with an associated debit card, writes Brian Tate, president and CEO of the NBPCA.

Bankers should resist the urge to skirt financial regulations, including know-your-customer and lending standards, to make a sale. The danger of penalties and a possible reputational hit is too great.