It’s not every day that a phrase as vague and slanted as “junk fees” becomes an actual legislative term, but here we are. In various statements, the White House and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have defined junk fees as “hidden or unexpected fees” and “increasingly sophisticated tools to disguise the true price consumers face.”
Although President Biden highlighted hotel resort fees, concert ticket services, and airline surcharges in his State of the Union address, the CFPB has also pushed to lower the cap for most credit card late fees from roughly $30 to $8. Limiting or eliminating NSF/overdraft fees is also high on the agency’s agenda.
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Topics:
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
Overdraft,
CFPB,
Credit Cards,
Retail Banking
Stop me if you've heard this one before – a group of industry players creates a consortium to launch a digital wallet to participate in the payments process and exert control over the consumer experience.
Such an endeavor has been pursued in the past years by major U.S. retailers, like MCX, and telecom providers, through the unfortunately named ISIS.
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Topics:
Payments,
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Digital Wallets,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
Mobile Wallets,
Fintech Strategy
The SRM recently returned from Bank Director’s Acquire or Be Acquired conference. The event was well attended, provided great networking opportunities, and created a forum for sharing ideas on numerous growth strategies for financial institutions of all sizes.
While the event remains focused on the topic of mergers and acquisitions, this year’s sessions highlighted broader strategic initiatives that can differentiate winners and losers in the financial services industry. Naturally, fintech played a considerable role, as witnessed by the attendees and the topics.
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Topics:
Fintech,
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
Blockchain,
Strategy
The future is digital, and credit unions’ ability to deliver an exceptional experience will be a critical benchmark for success. Strategic questions abound. How do you harmonize the digital channel with the personalized in-branch experience? Should you partner with fintechs? If so, which providers and services should be prioritized? Do you understand what your members want and how you stack up against your competition?
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Topics:
Fintech,
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
Digital Map,
Strategy
In today’s digital age, credit unions must create an exceptional online experience for members across a spectrum of products and services. The ability to “humanize the digital experience” will shape how credit unions can anticipate and map out how members move across channels.
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Topics:
Digital Banking,
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
Onboarding
![CFPB-WP-Blog-Image[30]](https://blog.srmcorp.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CFPB-WP-Blog-Image%5B30%5D.png?width=829&height=475&name=CFPB-WP-Blog-Image%5B30%5D.png)
Shifts in the regulatory landscape carry significant impacts on banks, credit unions, and the fintech companies that are part of a growing ecosystem. The most-active agency in recent months has been the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). There's little reason to expect the CFPB to slow its pace in 2023, aggressively enforcing existing rules and angling to expand its jurisdiction.
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Topics:
Open Banking,
Fintech,
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
BaaS,
CFPB
Open banking gives third-party financial service providers open access to consumer banking, transactions, and other financial data through application programming interfaces (APIs). It allows for the networking of accounts and data across institutions for use by consumers, FIs, and third-party service providers, according to Investopedia.
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Topics:
Open Banking,
Digital Banking,
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
Embedded Finance,
Embedded Fintech
We recently released “Rising to the Challenge: SRM’s Seven Rules for Optimizing Vendor Contracts,” a report outlining ways banks and credit unions can ensure they receive services at fair prices and terms from third-party providers. As we enter 2023, these vendor relationships will receive even greater focus as FIs aim to defend their bottom lines and sharpen their internal processes amid an uncertain economic environment.
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Topics:
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management
The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently issued a joint statement that expressed the agencies’ concerns with banks that have business dealings tied to digital assets, including cryptocurrency.
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Topics:
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
Digital Assets,
Blockchain,
Crypto,
Regulation
Ask a bank or credit union executive to share their biggest challenge for 2023, and many will put gathering and retaining deposits at the top of their list. It is a remarkable reversal from previous years when FIs were awash in deposits and struggling to find optimal ways to put that liquidity to work.
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Topics:
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
Deposits,
Balance Sheet
