PayThink

Consumers throughout the U.S. are embracing online shopping, shifting a significant portion of their purchases from retail stores to the web at an ever-increasing pace.

Until Congress gets around to GSE reform, the FHFA could at least make Fannie and Freddie less expensive to run. Combining the companies would reduce the threat that they will need more support from the Treasury and perhaps lower the cost of obtaining a mortgage.

Research suggests that women in leadership positions are most successful when they develop flexible management styles and pay attention to some uncomfortable truths in today's workplace-even if they reject them.

In the payments security industry, tokenization initiatives have started to emerge, which would have important ramifications for retailers if they were to take off.

Banks are hiring armies of lawyers, accountants, compliance consultants and IT vendors as they prepare to comply with the Volcker Rule. Ironically, their attempts to fortify themselves with outsourced knowledge could expose them to more operational risk.

Until U.S. authorities can prove they have a better idea about how to provide short-term, small-dollar loans and other alternative financial services to people in need, they should stop trying to drive from business the lawful companies working to serve this market.

The recent announcement from Apple, that it is now diving head long into mobile commerce, was universally embraced by many of us in the industry.

Thanks to the rise of online and mobile banking, some banks now have significant customer bases in areas where they have little branch presence. The solution is to carve out a category of virtual banks that have tailored CRA responsibilities and examination standards.

The payments industry has long been creating new innovations to combat fraudsters in order to create a secure environment for financial transactions.

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