PayThink

Banks are increasingly focusing on smartphones and tablets as the primary platforms with which to engage customers. But do they really understand how Americans use mobile devices?

Former NCUA Chairman Michael Fryzel says despite changes ongoing within the credit union movement, most credit unions remain true to the original mission of "not for profit, not for charity but for service."

Congress should take the interests of small and midsize mortgage lenders into account as it weighs regulatory reform for community banks. Exempting smaller lenders from random CFPB audits would be a good start.

While business to business (B2B) e-commerce offers tremendous opportunities to drive business growth, it is a complex landscape filled with multiple currencies, languages, tax codes and regulations.

Millennials were rocked by the Great Recession and excessive student loan debt. Now older members of this generation are finally coming into their own — which means they're also getting mortgages, opening credit cards and saving for retirement.

Critics say the SEC uses too liberal a hand in granting waivers that allow firms that violate securities laws to be exempted from certain penalties. But the agency needs these waivers to adjust rules designed to be overly broad.

The payments environment is undergoing unprecedented change, yet many banks and payment companies are saddled with aging infrastructure which makes it costly to support new products and features. Additionally, fragmented governance and siloed business units running disparate payments operations can stifle innovation.

A recent Credit Union Journal story asked several credit unions that specifically avoid referring to themselves as credit unions why they made that decision and what sort of results they've seen from it.

The Fed was right to aggressively lower interest rates after the 2008 crisis. But continuing with zero interest rates and quantitative easing for seven years after the crisis is in conflict with the goal of increased employment and economic growth.

A two-tiered system of regulation could encourage small banks to maintain their relationship-based business model and prevent big banks from using insured deposits to conduct risky activities.