You are here: Home / Archives for American Banker

What We’re Reading: Cybersecurity, Tablets in CUs and Consumer Spending

May 13, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

 

  • Cybersecurity Should Not Come at Expense of Privacy: White House

American Banker

The White House says the nation needs new laws to reinforce its cyber defenses but that the push should not come at the cost of privacy. The House of Representatives on April 18 passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA, which would encourage owners of financial networks, utility grids and other critical infrastructure to share information about digital threats with the government and one another. The White House has threatened to veto the bill, saying it lacks sufficient privacy protections. Civil liberties groups and other critics of the measure charge that it would allow companies to share people’s emails and text messages with U.S. intelligence agencies.

Read more

  • Small Business Owners Big on Mobile Technology

American Banker

A survey of 1,305 small business owners conducted by Constant Contact in March found that 66% currently use a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet in their work. Of the non-mobile users, 65% have no plans to use a mobile device in the future, many citing a lack of demand for mobile access from their customers. This segment is partial to Apple devices, according to the survey — 66% use iPhones, while 39% use Android phones. About 49% use iPads; only 15% use Android tablets.

Read more

  • Keep Wal-Mart Out of Financial Services, Bankers Ask

BusinessWeek

A group of bankers advising the Federal Reserve urged U.S. regulators to consider preventing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. from offering some financial services. The Federal Advisory Council, a body of bankers that includes PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and BB&T Corp., said at a Dec. 19 meeting that Wal-Mart’s sales of prepaid cards warranted greater federal oversight. Minutes of the meeting were obtained yesterday under the Freedom of Information Act.

Read more

  • Consumers spending nearly 10% more than in 2009

CNN Money

American consumers are spending nearly 10% more than they did four years ago when the country was reeling from the effects of the financial crisis, according to an analysis of the spending behaviors of millions of Mint.com account holders. In the first quarter of 2013, the average household spent roughly $4,220 per month — up from about $3,870 in the same period of 2009, according to the inflation-adjusted consumer spending index released Wednesday by Intuit, which owns personal finance site Mint.com.

Read more

  • Why CUs Can’t Afford To Be Left Behind On Tablets

Credit Union Journal

It’s estimated that nearly half of the U.S. Internet population will be using tablets by 2014, which means increasing pressure on credit unions to adapt and conform to the trend. “The proliferation of tablet devices in the U.S alone is impacting everyone who manages their finances via a digital channel, including credit union members,” said Kenneth Hans, executive director of Blackstone Technology Group’s Financial Services Practice. “Much like banks, credit unions are looking for ways to cater to this latest form-factor that offers the power of a laptop in a much smaller and convenient size.” Among credit unions encouraging members to use tablets is the $5.3-billion Suncoast Schools FCU, which has 549,303 members that it has traditionally served via its 53 branches, but mobile devices such as tablets have changed that equation somewhat.

Read more

  • Credit Cards – Game ON!

Gonzo Banker

Credit cards in circulation hit a peak in 2007 at 710 million cards, according to a 2013 Nilson Report. Then the crash of 2008 hit, the Card Act went into play in 2009, and consumer spending changed. From the low point in 2010, the number of cards increased by roughly 50 million in 2011 and continues to climb today, when we have 520 million cards in circulation. Credit card interchange has not been Durbin-damaged as of yet, and interchange is still high. In the United States, 10 issuers own 85.4% of the cards on the market (Source: The Nilson Report, February 2013).

Read more

  • New Fed Report: U.S Mobile Payments Landscape – Two Years Later

Payments News

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has just published a new report titled “U.S. Mobile Payments Landscape – Two Years Later.” Based upon ongoing meetings of the Mobile Payments Industry Workgroup (MPIW) convened by the Federal Reserve, the report updates an earlier paper from 2011. It examines changes in the evolution of mobile POS retail payments over the past two years, characterized by an expanding fragmented market environment and frequent technology innovations.

Read more

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With American Banker, behavior, credit cards, credit unions, mobile, mobile payments, payments, spending, tablet, Wal-Mart, what we're reading

Social Media Regulation – Part I: Adapting to New Policies

March 12, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

This is Part I of a two part post on American Banker’s “Banking Regulatory Update: New Social Media Rules” webinar. You can view Part II here.

Last week, the Banking.com team sat in on American Banker’s webinar, “Banking Regulatory Update: New Social Media Rules,” which detailed the current policies around social media use by financial institutions. Moderated by American Banker’s own Penny Crosman, the panel of presenters included:

With content ranging from how to establish a corporate social media policy, general best practices for social media, and analyzing the FFIEC guidance  and call for feedback on social media regulation, we wanted to take a deeper dive on the content and connect with some of the experts ourselves. We first spoke with webinar moderator, Penny Crosman, editor in chief of Bank Technology News and technology editor of American Banker.

 

Q: What social media policies have you seen banks and credit unions using that you think are effective?

Most of the social media policies I know of are dry, legalistic, and boilerplate. The policies drafted by large banks and Wall Street firms seem to be draconian – many don’t allow employees to even access social media sites (except for a few people who work in customer service and marketing). One reason for this is SEC rules that require banks to archive all emails – messages stored on social networks are difficult for a bank to monitor and store. The employees of these companies sometimes use their personal smartphones and tablets to access the sites. I know of Wall Street executives who have Twitter streams under aliases and protect their streams from being viewed by any but their close friends. Commonwealth Bank of Australia last year came out with a harsh policy that insisted that employees report “inappropriate or disparaging content and information stored or posted by others (including non-employees) in the social media environment” or risk being fired. These are examples of going overboard. Banks and credit unions need to find a way to comply with the necessary rules, yet encourage natural, positive engagement on social media. Citi, for one is finding success using software to identify and catch potential rule violations and route those to its legal group, while encouraging its customer services people to maintain friendly and helpful conversations with customers on Twitter and Facebook. I think more banks will turn to software to handle policy compliance, rather than expecting employees to keep all the rules in their heads.

Q: Do you think banks and credit unions are quickly learning how to adapt to these regulations?

Banks and their compliance departments are keeping a close eye on these regulations and are sure to have their own policies in place when the FFIEC publishes its final rules. They are already used to complying with the many existing consumer protection laws the FFIEC cites in its guidance. What some of them may end up doing is freezing all social media activity until they get their policies finalized and employee training conducted.

Q: What would you recommend as the first step for banks to develop social media policies and practices?

I think the logical first step would be to canvass all current social media activity – review all social media pages the bank maintains and ask employees what they’re doing on their own. The second step would be to hire or consult with a good lawyer who can parse out which aspects of the rules apply to the bank’s activities and help create a policy that would enable compliance.

Q: How do you think upcoming Facebook payments capabilities will affect banks’ interactions with social networks?

I think banks may eventually get involved with payments over social networks, but they may be the last to the party, largely because of the regulations they need to be careful of, such as the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. There are also security issues with social media payments, as social passwords are pretty easy to game. Authentication will be tricky and important. I expect banks will be very cautious about this.

 

Interested in hearing more? Check out Part II with our interview with Carl Pry, Senior Director, Treliant Risk Advisors who spoke to us about how he counsels financial institutions on their social media activities.

 

Filed Under Industry News, Social Media Tagged With American Banker, Facebook, FFIEC, payments, Penny Crosman, policy, regulation, social media

Social Media Regulation – Part II: Creating Your Social Media Policy

March 12, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

This is Part II of a two part post on American Banker’s “Banking Regulatory Update: New Social Media Rules” webinar. You can view Part I here.

Last week, the Banking.com team sat in on American Banker’s webinar, “Banking Regulatory Update: New Social Media Rules,” which detailed the current policies around social media use by financial institutions. Moderated by American Banker’s own Penny Crosman, the panel of presenters included:

Much of the content of the webinar dissected the implications of the FFIEC’s proposed guidance and how financial institutions can comply. As regulators are looking for feedback on the guidelines by March 23, we spoke to Carl Pry, Senior Director, Treliant Risk Advisors, to hear how FIs are currently reacting to the guidance.

 

Q: What have you seen as the number one risk management issue for financial institutions on social? Can you elaborate on a way to avoid this situation?

The most critical risk management issue for banks regarding social media is the lack of awareness and oversight. Many institutions are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to social media, to their detriment. Institutions that don’t address this issue in the present are missing an opportunity to connect with a demographic we all want to reach: the young and technologically capable. But the risk comes when taking a hands-off approach results in the illusion that the institution is simply not participating in social media. Chances are that you are – your employees are – using social media every day. Without a clear social media policy and procedures, without guidelines on what can and cannot be said, you may be violating certain laws and regulations without even knowing it.

Avoiding this situation means getting ahead of the curve by formulating and implementing clear company-wide policies and procedures addressing social media. They should be comprehensive and deal with both company and employee usage of social media. Also, set clear guidelines for consumers and your customers who utilized your bank’s social media sites, as well.

Q: Do you think banks and credit unions should use Twitter and Facebook as customer service channels at all? Why?

Absolutely, although within limits. These are channels your customers are already using in their everyday lives, so why ignore them? They have the advantage of providing more immediate responses than snail mail, that’s for sure. But be aware of the limitations of social media, such as the 140-character limit of Twitter. Can you say what you want to say within 140 characters? For customer service usage, also understand what different social media sites do. You might not want to broadcast specific responses to the masses. Know the way these channels operate and coordinate your responses accordingly.

Q: Do you have any tips for HR policies or training for employees using social media?

Most importantly, make clear to employees what the parameters of usage are. Not how much time they spend on social media, but content of postings. If an employee is posting anything on behalf of the bank, make sure it is subject to the same control and review mechanisms you’d employ for any other sort of communication (such as email). But also be clear as to the expectations of employees posting things on their own accounts regarding their employment or the institution’s products and services. They should know the limits of what not to say, and that if they discuss the bank’s business, all appropriate legal and compliance requirements likely apply.

 

To hear more, check out Part I and our interview with Penny Crosman, editor in chief of Bank Technology News and technology editor of American Banker who shared her thoughts on banks adapting to new guidelines and regulation.

 

Filed Under Industry News, Social Media Tagged With American Banker, Carl Pry, compliance, FFIEC, lawyer, policy, regulation, social media, Social media Policy, Treliant