PayThink

Critics of the regulatory relief bill proposed by Sen. Richard Shelby argue that will endanger the financial system and benefit big banks. But in fact, the changes offer sensible, nonpartisan fixes to some of the biggest problems with the Dodd-Frank Act.

Let Target's settlement with MasterCard over the retailer's massive data breach serve as a reminder of the need for all participants in the payments system to play by the same set of rules.

In the payments industry, it can often seem like there is a new innovation every hour of every day.

Although more than half of younger shoppers are already willing to use wearables to make in-store payments, we are still firmly in the age of the smartphone.

It's a good idea to raise the asset threshold at which financial institutions are automatically designated as systemically important financial institutions. But Sen. Richard Shelby's proposed legislation for regulatory relief does require one crucial change.

In the payments industry, the common practice is to equate mobile merchants with micro merchants, and to put them on a back burner for things like EMV upgrades.

All banks truly believe they provide spectacular, top-notch service. But the vast majority hover close to mediocre and lack the metrics to identify areas for improvement.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon defended his institution by arguing that size isn't necessarily an indicator of risk. But the truth is that the larger an organization gets, the more complex it becomes-and the more difficult it is for leaders to keep everything from customer service to fraud prevention working the way it should.

Apple Watch is and will continue to be a big hit for their loyal consumers, both in terms of sales and acclaim. But for payments, it's not what consumers are looking for now.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including the financial inequalities exposed by the Baltimore riots and whether the changes to Dodd-Frank proposed in Sen. Richard Shelby's regulatory relief plan go too far.