PayThink

Regulators' power to order restitutions is meant to be limited, but some courts are taking a broad interpretation of a key statute.

Years ago, merchant services meant selling a terminal and writing the merchant account. It seemed easy, right? The problem is that some of us are still trapped there.

Community banks go against their own interests when they oppose regulations that mainly affect big banks and leave smaller institutions unscathed.

Borrowers who are being sued by lenders over the money owed on foreclosed mortgages are making novel use of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. They argue that they cannot be sued if they live in a state different from the one where the property is located.

2014 was an eventful year for the payments industry. Apple Pay launched, bringing legitimacy to NFC and much attention to mobile POS.

Incentives for companies aren't the same as incentives for people. The QRM risk-retention rule doesn't solve "IBG, YBG" — "I'll be gone, you'll be gone." Banks appear to have been slow to adopt clawback policies for individual lenders.

Innovations in payments and e-commerce are just getting started. The world of "New Finance" is one of endless possibilities.

2014 was a big year for the mobile payments industry with Apple Pay diving into mobile wallets, and Starbucks and other retailers gaining traction with apps that combine loyalty and engagement programs with mobile payments.

It has been nearly a year since the Target breach has tuned the world into what fraud managers have been dealing with for years.

It is unclear if the wave of state actions signals a burgeoning state scrutiny of consumer finance companies or if state enforcers will only employ this new approach on occasion.