With apps and growing demand for mobile payment options gradually pushing cash aside, banks face a conundrum on how to adjust to an ever-changing, competitive marketplace. It comes down to technology, what options the bank goes with, how effectively banks incorporate that into their culture, and how much they invest in it. [Continue]
Now is the time for the banking industry to unite behind an effort to level the playing field with credit unions. Consider what’s going on around the industry, and it is possible to perceive a “perfect storm” of factors that make now the right time. [Continue]
The National Retail Federation has predicted a strong holiday shopping season. In its October survey, consumers said they expected to spend an average of $1,047, up 4 percent from what they had planned to spend last year. It’s the 10th consecutive year of increased consumer holiday spending. [Continue]
Community bankers suddenly have a lot of tech to choose from when it comes to lending platforms. We talked to Snehal Fulzele, senior vice president and general manager for Cloud Lending, a Q2 company based in Austin, Texas, about what makes its digital lending platform a fit for community banks, and got his take on cybersecurity challenges. [Continue]
After 30 years as CEO of Frandsen Financial Corp., Rich Hoban refocused his role to grow the company through acquisition. When the Arden Hills, Minn.-based holding company closed on its acquisition of Peoples Bank Midwest, Hayward, Wis., Frandsen leaped across the $2 billion-total-assets threshold. Here Hoban reflects on the company’s acquisition strategy. [Continue]
As it weighed whether to build an electronic payments infrastructure, the Fed received strong encouragement from the community banking industry. [Continue]
Looking ahead with accuracy depends on getting a clear picture of the past. As 2019 closes, it is worth recalling some of the year’s developments in order to see where things may be going, from the economy and pot banking to technology and political leadership. [Continue]
There are banks engaged in newsworthy initiatives all across this country. Maine’s Bangor Savings Bank caught my eye recently, not only because it provides tuition reimbursement, but because it has partnered with Husson University to allow its employees to earn undergraduate credit for work done at the bank. [Continue]
Kathleen Kraninger, the Trump-selected director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is emerging as a very intriguing public official. Criticized early on as inexperienced, Kraninger has turned out to be refreshingly selfless. Confirmed by the Senate last December on a straight-line party vote, Kraninger is attempting to take partisan politics out of the CFPB leadership job. [Continue]
ClickSwitch is a Minneapolis-based fintech with a simple goal: Make it easier for people to switch banks. The company started with a focus on moving automatic payments between banks but soon learned the key was to move direct deposit information. [Continue]