PayThink

Banks can boost mortgage profits with the help of direct call centers and products like adjustable-rate mortgages and jumbo loans, writes Stratmor Group's Garth Graham.

The mortgage interest tax deduction is supposed to encourage homeownership among low- and middle-income Americans. But it primarily benefits higher-income taxpayers, according to a new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Hilton's updated mobile app, which lets guests use their phones as room keys, has almost nothing to do with payments. But it may be the catalyst the payments industry has long needed to get consumers to warm to mobile wallets.

Bank owners can make more objective decisions about whether it's the right time to sell by comparing the value of holding onto the bank to its private market price and instating an external review process, writes consultant J.V. Rizzi.

Community banks are disappearing and big banks' global power is on the wane. Regulators should take steps to reverse these trends so that all Americans have access to the financial services they need, according to the American Bankers Association's Wayne Abernathy.

With the increased proliferation and reliance on public cloud solutions, combined with the recent high-profile data breaches that have occurred in the past few months, cybersecurity should be a top concern for both issuers and retailers who handle sensitive financial data.

Payments startups may be fast and smart, but banks have compliance know-how, an established customer base and physical branches that will help them hook customers on new products.

Like the Internet of the 1980s, today's payment systems are a mishmash of disparate, closed networks that cannot communicate with one another effectively. Distributed ledger technologies can solve this problem.

The NFC tattoo is far different from the inked lettering and designs many people have. It's even a stretch to call it a "tattoo" – despite the branding, it's really more of an adhesive bandage with a high-tech spin.

Studies of whether big banks enjoy implicit funding subsidies should take into account the effect of post-Dodd-Frank legislation and regulation, write Aaron Klein and Peter Ryan of the Bipartisan Policy Center.