Compliance

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators released a document summarizing their general findings from recent cybersecurity assessments at community-size financial institutions.

The New York Department of Financial Services will likely institute an on-ramp for new Bitcoin businesses — and possibly any other kind of money transmitting startups — as a way for them to launch without being burdened by costly licensing requirements.

New York may offer transitional licenses to small virtual-currency firms and startups to let them grow before facing the full burden of new regulation, the state’s top financial watchdog said.

NCUA said in a press release Friday that it has barred three former credit union employees from working at a federally insured financial institution.

As regulators heighten their scrutiny of Bitcoin businesses, several digital currency supporters are looking for business models that do not subject them to the cumbersome requirements they would face as money services businesses or money transmitters.

The "marriage" that Apple's CEO and Alibaba's founder are hinting at could create a mobile wallet with a global reach that well exceeds that of most banks, telcos and other mobile-wallet developers active in either company's home market.

What initially appeared to be a listening session by a key federal regulator about access to checking accounts has sparked concerns that the agency may be seeking to go much further in dictating how and when credit unions and banks open accounts for consumers.

The Fed's hotly-anticipated road map outlining plans to speed up the U.S. payment system will call for the creation of several industry-led task forces and recommend building a new infrastructure to facilitate real-time payments.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — NCUA is set to receive more than $17,000 in fines from 44 credit unions that have agreed to civil money penalties as a result of filing late second-quarter call reports.

The Apple Pay effect on m-commerce should result in more attention for mobile-heavy Bitcoin transactions, but virtual currencies are still being held back by unclear regulations, according to payment executives.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule Monday that will allow institutions that limit the amount of customer data they share to post annual privacy notices online rather than by paper delivery.

New York regulator Benjamin Lawsky may use the cybersecurity rules he's proposed for virtual-currency companies as a model for traditional banks. That would subject the financial institutions his agency supervises to the most stringent data-security rules anywhere.

An executive order signed by President Obama on Friday that mandated the adoption of chip and PIN technology in government cards and enabled its use in facilities like Post Offices is a "meaningless gesture" that smacks of politics over substance.

The White House is slated to unveil a major package of initiatives on Friday to increase data security for financial transactions, including an executive order to add chip-and-PIN technology to government-issued credit and debit cards.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court could have a say in how regulators issue guidance on interpretive rules that are not subject to notice and comment, which could have ramifications for NCUA and the credit union community.

Bitcoin adopters in Ohio have been some of the most vocal about how state laws need to evolve to encourage the use of digital currency, but the Ohio government seems to want that change to come from the courts rather than the legislature.

SAN DIEGO — Volunteer directors have many duties at their credit unions, but according to NCUA Vice Chairman Rick Metsger one of the most important is being a watchdog for the CU.

Next year's updates to the Payment Card Industry data security standards will give compliant retailers better protection, but hackers will be targeting the weaknesses of companies that don't put in extra effort.

Credit unions and banks are having pressure complying with regulatory requirements when it comes to managing risk, according to a study from Wolters Kluwer Financial Services.

Regulators recently offered a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of what areas they are targeting for enforcement, saying that potential fair lending violations and how mortgages are priced and serviced remain top priorities for the future.