PayThink

While Google may be the behemoth in web search, its payments initiatives leave a lot to be desired.

Mortgage lenders are stressed about how the CFPB's new mortgage disclosure rule will impact their business. But the new forms may give them a chance to improve business performance.

Some industry observers argue that bank consolidation is driven by economies of scale rather than by the regulatory burdens imposed under Dodd-Frank. But the two factors actually go hand in hand.

In the payments’ context, establishing an inclusive process is easier said than done, since the majority of stakeholders interact with payment systems at the periphery without much awareness of its inner workings. While payments are often compared to a "plumbing system" or rails, it's actually more helpful to see the ecosystem as a "highway."

The world needs a financial system that moves money with real-time transparency while upholding the highest level of security and privacy. Digital currency and mobile money services can help get us there.

The banking industry as a whole will survive startups. But many individual banks will fail to make the changes necessary to stay relevant in a rapidly changing market.

With ample fueling from mobile transactions, the potential for converting point of sale data into CRM and marketing data is massive. But as full of potential as this merger is across all retail purchases, it's particularly strong down market—and the smaller the business, the better.

Marketplace lenders are aggressively marketing their loans as a way to refinance expensive credit card debt. And with more affordable interest rates and faster loan application processes, there's reason to believe that firms like Lending Club and SoFi will beat out banks.

Google's announcement of Pony Express, a bill presentment and payment service, has caught the attention of many financial service providers including credit unions and banks.

The Basel Committee needs to measure the efficacy of recently implemented rules, strengthen banks' operational risk requirements and make banks' risk models less variable. Luckily, secretary general William Coen has vowed to do just that.