Professionals focused on the strategic and operational aspects of digital assets such as cryptocurrency have learned to disregard the media cycles.
Last year’s breathless hype – driven almost entirely by a retail investor frenzy – has given way to a “crypto is dead” storyline that emphasizes volatility and fraudulent applications. Lost in the noise is the fact that Bitcoin’s price has been relatively stable over the past four months.
Topics: Payments, Vendor Contract Negotiation, Digital Assets, Crypto
Federal regulators continue to advise on how banks and credit unions conduct due diligence for digital assets solution providers.
A lapse in vetting could expose FIs to an array of risks, ranging from reputational impact to non-compliance with government sanctions and BSA requirements.
Topics: Fintech, Vendor Contract Negotiation, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Crypto, Regulation
Branch networks require significant investment, real estate is getting more expensive, and utilities and security costs are spiking. Offices can also be labour-intensive, assuming financial institutions can attract and retain the right frontline staff.
At the same time, branch traffic is declining, limiting opportunities for locations to generate revenue. If ROI is a primary consideration, it’s getting harder for banks and credit unions to justify having large branch networks.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management
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Financial institutions of all sizes are under pressure to find new revenue sources and solidify their status as customers' trusted financial advisors. One would think FIs would race to participate in a lending category projected to grow significantly in coming years – and one where 70% of consumers indicated in a recent survey that they'd prefer access through their bank.
That isn’t necessarily the case. Surprisingly, a study by IntraFi Network found that 80% of community banks and credit unions have no plans to introduce Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services. A new SRM report details why FIs should closely examine this opportunity – not only as a revenue generator but also to defend current and future business.
Topics: Fintech, Vendor Contract Negotiation, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Buy Now Pay Later, BNPL, Consumer Lending
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Fintech is helping a growing number of banks and credit unions reconfigure the communities they serve.
Historically, financial institutions have focused on clients based on geography, be that a neighborhood or city for banks or a local company or industry for credit union membership. Over time, those boundaries became more fluid as banks entered new markets and credit unions expanded their fields of membership.
Topics: Fintech, Vendor Contract Negotiation, Cryptocurrency, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Segmentation, Banking-as-a-Service, BaaS
Several high-profile banks, including Capital One, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, have announced plans to either eliminate or dramatically reduce overdraft (OD) and nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees. It could be argued that these banks made this leap before regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), required them to do so.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Regulations, Deposits, Overdraft
As summer approaches, bank consolidation has been steady but not as brisk as many thought.
There have been 37 transactions announced by March 18, 2022. If this pace continues, it would be about 25% below last year, though many of 2021's deals were in the works before the pandemic. As with many other business transactions, they were shelved as Covid-19 took hold.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Bank Vendor Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Expense Management, Credit Unions
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Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) has been one of the hottest areas in fintech for nearly a decade, with an array of startups executing on a vision originating from 1950s science fiction. Initially, the “conversation” was limited to text chatbots, but more entities, including financial institutions, have implemented voice-enabled chat, offering real-time responses and support for queries made over the phone and through devices like Alexa and Google Home.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Artificial Intelligence, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Conversational AI
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Standing-room-only crowds during breakout sessions at recent industry conferences nationwide are a strong indicator of financial institutions’ growing interest in cryptocurrency and other digital assets.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Cryptocurrency, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Digital Assets, Blockchain
The Biden Administration issued its anticipated executive order seeking to coordinate efforts among federal agencies to craft a national policy for digital assets.
While some pundits are worried about the impact of regulation, we assert that this effort brings digital assets, including cryptocurrency, into the mainstream, which should be a positive for financial institutions looking to operate in the space.
Topics: Vendor Contract Negotiation, Cryptocurrency, Bank Vendor Management, Credit Union Vendor Management, Cryptocurrency for Banks and Credit Unions, Digital Assets, Blockchain
