PayThink

After a number of high profile security breaches in the past couple of years, consumer trust in the payments system is more fragile than ever.

Big banks have only grown larger and more complex since the financial crisis, and there is reason to doubt the efficacy of measures aimed at preventing the risk of another taxpayer bailout.

Paying for goods and services over the Internet in a variety of ways, from directly keying-in card details on ecommerce sites, to using online wallets, to paying with your phone, is more consumer friendly than ever.

The confirmation hearing for attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch suggested a shift in legislators' attitudes toward banks. Rather than the usual focus on banks' alleged misdeeds, lawmakers cast them as victims of government overreach in Operation Choke Point.

Many mobile payment companies in this space have had their struggles. Amazon most recently joined the club with the abandonment of its six-month old mobile wallet. The Amazon Wallet was launched in July 2014 and was sold pre-installed on the Fire smartphone.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

A bank's culture cannot be chosen. Its values and goals can be. And an appropriate combination of values and goals then creates the environment to achieve a positive and lasting culture.

Paying for goods and services over the Internet in a variety of ways, from directly keying-in card details on ecommerce sites, to using online wallets, to paying with your phone, is more consumer friendly than ever.

The Swiss National Bank's unexpected move to unpeg the country's currency from the euro serves as a reminder that central bank policies and actions can be hard to predict. Bank risk managers should stay on guard.

This week's White House Summit on cybersecurity at Stanford University comes at a pivotal time for payment and security professionals, who have an opportunity to cooperate to fight Internet crime.