Resources

There's a reason Bitcoin startups have such a hard time getting or keeping bank accounts. Providing banking services to firms that exchange the digital currency requires a higher level of due diligence than banking traditional money services businesses, says Henry Balani, a managing director at Accuity. The anonymous (or pseudonymous) nature of Bitcoin addresses presents higher risk, he says.

Community banking representatives met with hostility a recommendation that the U.S. Postal Service consider offering financial services. The proposal raises questions about whether the Obama administration is trying to circumvent Congress and replace payday lenders with a government entity. American Banker staffers discuss.

Data breaches may be impossible to prevent, but there are ways to block card fraud from following. Andy Mattes, chief executive of ATM manufacturer Diebold, shares his views on how to secure ATMs and POS terminals.

Regulators have been investigating a broader range of offenses that can trigger money laundering charges than a few years ago, says Henry Balani, a managing director at consulting firm Accuity. In addition to traditional predicate offenses (such as sanctions violations), banks now must guard against potential laundering of proceeds from tax evasion, bribery and corruption, and securities and mortgage fraud. Also, global banks that hope to grow by financing trade, particularly in newly opened markets like Shanghai, must make sure that the goods transported under their letters of credit are not used for nefarious purposes, Balani says.

The massive Target data breach has reignited the debate over whether banks should do more to improve the security of the cards they issue in the United States. American Banker editors discuss why financial companies have been reluctant to upgrade their magnetic-stripe cards to the more secure chip-and-PIN cards used internationally, and what — if anything — the Target breach changes.