PayThink

Organizations may be being misled about their security risk exposure, and are in serious danger of becoming victims of a security breach, which has become a major problem for merchants and payment companies.

EMV cards are moving payments security in the right direction. But if hackers tamper with the hardware or associated software on merchants' EMV-enabled equipment, they can silently spirit off customer data.

Small banks aren't disappearing-they're just getting bigger. Meanwhile, their large competitors are exiting business lines and selling off units. These changes suggest that regulators would be better off issuing rules based on lenders' level of complexity, relieving institutions that operate by a core banking model of unnecessary burdens.

It’s taken the U.S. years to embrace, but the migration to Chip and PIN payment technology and its associated “liability shift” will finally happen in 2015.

The CFPB should receive its funding from Congress rather than the Federal Reserve in order to increase its accountability. Lawmakers should also take steps to limit the power accorded to the agency's director.

Banks can be compliant with cybersecurity guidelines and still remain vulnerable to massive liabilities. One case in point: many financial institutions carry mandatory insurance policies that could leave them on the hook for six-figure losses from corporate account takeovers.

In taking on contingent acquiring liability, merchant acquirers risk substantial exposure to financial losses in the event of client insolvency.

Customers affected by cyberattacks frequently direct their wrath at financial institutions, whether or not a bank is responsible for the breach. Therefore banks need to have a strategic communications strategy in place.

Online lending marketplaces claim that they will revolutionize the financial services industry. But financial companies need a lot more than high-tech prowess to achieve sustained success.

On the heels of the recent barrage of payment card theft, banks are scrambling to roll out EMV based solutions, but is it enough?