Opinion
Amid the pandemic, banks should strengthen humanized services
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted global markets. Although the banking system is more robust than in 2008, external threats remain. Community banks should strengthen their personalized service advantages, demonstrating true value through humanized communication and professional advice amid customer anxiety and accelerated digital transformation.
How Community Banks Can Leverage the Evolving Definition of 'Community': Three Strategies to Reshape Growth Paths
Community banks are facing the challenge of the concept of 'community' shifting from geographical boundaries to interests and a sense of belonging. This article proposes three strategies: building a micro financial services ecosystem, deeply cultivating interest-based communities, and transforming physical branches into extensions of virtual experiences, to win the long-term loyalty of digital-native customers.
Industry-led alliances are only the first step toward open banking
The era of open banking has arrived. Although private-sector working groups in the U.S. have developed voluntary standards, these alone cannot achieve full openness. Policymakers need to update federal regulations, establish rules for consumer data access, liability, and accountability, and ensure that working groups include diverse stakeholders to promote innovation and fairness.
Mobile wallets help local markets leapfrog card payments
Over the past decade, fintech innovation has driven global commercial transformation, with local payment methods such as mobile wallets rapidly gaining traction in emerging markets like Latin America and Asia, helping the unbanked access e-commerce and achieve leapfrog development.
Digital banking no longer needs the word 'digital': Five major trends to watch in 2020
As banking becomes fully digital, the focus in 2020 will shift from 'whether to digitize' to 'why digitize.' Based on the views of Jeff Hindle, Global Head of Retail Financial Services Segments at Mastercard, this article outlines five major trends in banking worth watching in 2020.
Three Key Questions to Assess Fintech Partnership Fit
Partnerships between fintech companies and financial institutions are becoming increasingly common, but not all collaborations go smoothly. Based on industry practices and data, this article proposes three key assessment questions: whether the partner has a good relationship with regulators, whether its anti-fraud measures are mature, and whether its business model is sustainable in the long term. These questions help identify risks early in the partnership to ensure success.
Banks should use customer data more intelligently to enhance trust
The digital environment is inherently anonymous. Although banks lead other industries in trust, they still need to use customer data more intelligently and maintain transparency to consolidate customer relationships. Experian's report points out that 76% of consumers trust companies that can control the use of their personal information more.
Community banks should leverage local interpersonal ties to deepen cooperation with small and micro enterprises
Fintech companies are accelerating their penetration into the small and micro enterprise lending market, yet community banks still hold unique advantages through localized, personalized services. This article explores how community banks can consolidate their value amid competition and a potential economic downturn by leveraging deep customer relationships, advisory services, and prudent credit decisions.
Banks Serving Cannabis Businesses Bear Dual Responsibilities
The passage of the SAFE Banking Act by the U.S. House of Representatives marks a significant step toward the legalization of the cannabis industry and presents growth opportunities for financial institutions. Banks serving cannabis-related businesses must shoulder dual responsibilities in compliance and data management, and should position themselves early to secure low-cost deposits and a competitive edge.
AI in Anti-Money Laundering: More Than Compliance, a Smart Business Decision
The banking industry spends approximately $23 billion annually on anti-money laundering (AML), yet still faces fines of the same amount for inadequate supervision. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming the key to breaking this deadlock: they can reduce false positive rates from as high as 90% to 50%, allowing investigators to focus on genuine risks. Five U.S. federal agencies, including FinCEN, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have publicly welcomed such innovations, marking AI's transition from concept to practical application in the AML field.