3 Crucial Banking Challenges; CFPB Legal Battle Isn’t Over; Wells Fargo Partners With Fitbit: Essential Banking News

January 15, 2018|0 min read

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Last week in banking we looked into the 3 crucial challenges facing banks in 2018 and more on the CFPB legal battle.

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3 Crucial Challenges Facing Banks in 2018

'The future of banking will include a number of new ideas and methods for accomplishing tasks on a grander scale. And, perhaps most importantly, the customer will be at the forefront of that change. Today’s average banking consumer expects more, demands it faster, and expects better results. Banks unable to compete with those meeting these demands will likely struggle to remain viable in the long term.'

Despite loss, legal battle against CFPB's Mulvaney isn't over yet

Consumer groups are continuing their legal action against the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Linda Levy, CEO of Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union, says that Mulvaney is weakening the CFPB, which will in turn hurt low-income consumers. She added, 'I am concerned that there are changes being made that affect our everyday work. We just don't know where we stand anymore with regulations from the CFPB at this time.'

Wells Fargo Customers Can Now Pay With Fitbit Pay

Evidence of the fact that institutions are making the consumer experience a priority, Wells Fargo has made its payments available through yet another wearable device. In a press release announcing the partnership with Fitbit, Jim Smith, head of virtual channels at Wells Fargo, said, “Increasingly, our customers are choosing mobile to manage their finances and make payments... As customer behavior and preferences continue to shift, we’re pleased to provide more options to conveniently make payments from mobile devices and wearables like Fitbit Ionic.”

Doubling down on digital personalization, TD snaps up AI company

TD Bank has acquired Layer 6, an artificial intelligence company based in Toronto, for more than $100 million. As banks aim to personalize each experience for their customers, institutions have made AI a priority. Tim Hogarth,VP of Innovation Framework and Strategies at TD Bank, said, 'I think personalization of the customer experience is the most underutilized area of AI.”

Bitcoin Fund's 91-for-1 Share Split Is Another Dot-Com Flashback

'Greyscale Investments announced that its Bitcoin Investment Trust — an open-ended fund that provides the purest exposure to owning the most popular currency short of owning the underlying asset — will undergo a 91-for-1 spliton Jan. 26. That’ll turn the 1.9 million shares currently outstanding into a whopping 174.4 million. Based on today’s trading, it would cut the stock price from around $1,950, where it currently sits, to roughly $21.'

What AI can and can’t do (yet) for your business

'The promise of AI is immense, and the technologies, tools, and processes needed to fulfill that promise haven’t fully arrived. If you think you can let the technology develop and then be a successful fast follower, think again. It’s very difficult to leapfrog from a standing start, particularly when the target is moving so rapidly and you don’t understand what AI tools can and can’t do now.'

How to Design a Bank for Millennials

'In the coming years, winning consumers will become the driving-force of the global economy. This will be a successful task for the companies who have a better understanding of the needs of the younger generation and are able to design services which provide an outstanding user experience.'