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Strategic Planning Reimagined
Like many of today’s processes in banking, strategic planning is undergoing a dramatic shift. One of the core responsibilities of a bank board is to approve, support, and monitor its strategic plan.
Faster Payments: An Overview of Options for Community Banks
Faster Payments: An Overview of Options for Community Banks While all faster payments options have one thing in common—moving money and information faster—there are often distinct...
Navigating a New Decade of Payments
Navigating a New Decade of Payments From concerns about Libra to the development of the Federal Reserve’s FedNow real-time payments settlement service, policymakers are poised for action on behalf...
Digital Wallets: An Overview
Digital Wallets: An Overview As customer expectations continue to shift, digital wallets—or mobile wallets as they are sometimes called—continue to grow in popularity as a preferred...
New Driver of Payments Growth: Fed Study Shows Debit Transactions As Opportunity for Community Banks
New Driver of Payments Growth: Fed Study Shows Debit Transactions As Opportunity for Community Banks The latest iteration of the Fed’s triennial study showed that in 2018, noncash payments¹...
ThinkTECH Accelerator: Addressing Lending & Technology Pain Points
ThinkTECH Accelerator: Addressing Lending & Technology Pain Points Community banks continue looking for ways to grow loan volume and improve the customer experience in the process. In today’s...
Coronavirus Could Accelerate Decline of Cash
Coronavirus Could Accelerate Decline of Cash The coronavirus outbreak is raising concerns about the use of cash as more Americans embrace digital technology to pay and get paid. These ongoing...
ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator: Navigating the New Norm and Giving Back
ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator: Navigating the New Norm and Giving Back The technologies community banks have deployed over the past decade—from mobile apps to remote deposit capture to...
Supporting Customer Needs Through Digital Financial Literacy
Supporting Customer Needs Through Digital Financial Literacy With concerns over the cleanliness of paper-based payment options like cash and checks, and limited in-person branch offerings, digital...
Falls Fintech: A Case Study in Launching a Bank-Based Accelerator
Falls Fintech: A Case Study in Launching a Bank-Based Accelerator Central Payments, the payments arm of the $238 million-asset Central Bank of Kansas City (CBKC) never imagined that a few days into...
Using Payments to Attract and Retain Gen Z Customers
Using Payments to Attract and Retain Gen Z Customers Community banks have long served the small-business market, but given the pandemic impact, new opportunities have emerged to support these...
Cryptocurrency Primer for Community Banks
Cryptocurrency Primer for Community Banks Bitcoin’s market cap is larger than the economies of some of the world’s smaller nations. The prices of popular cryptocurrencies continue to soar to new...
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Primer
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Primer As you know, there are currently two forms of central bank money in America: paper currency and money held by institutions on deposit at the Federal...
How Community Banks Can Help Customers Evaluate Buy Now, Pay Later Offerings
How Community Banks Can Help Customers Evaluate Buy Now, Pay Later Offerings Buy now, pay later or BNPL, is the latest cautionary payments tale for community banks. Much like digital wallets, its...
Expanding Interchange Price Controls Would Put Fraud Protections at Risk
Maintaining strong risk-mitigation technologies has never been more important for the banking industry, but “big box” merchant lobbyists are attempting to disrupt advances in card fraud mitigation...
Faster Payments Have Arrived — Now What?
Faster Payments Have Arrived — Now What? Faster payments have arrived. Accelerated by the pandemic, the growth in digital and contactless payments has pushed consumer and business expectations...
The Rise of the Super App… and What Community Banks Can Do About It
Everyone, including big tech and social media players, want a super app. That’s according to a 2022 report, which underscores that the threat is real.
Why ICBA opposes flawed Marshall-Durbin Amendment expansion legislation
Despite ICBA’s persistent communications on the negative impact of Durbin Amendment interventions on payment card systems, its latest iteration furthers the misguided policies of the past that will...
Why Instant Payments Should Be on Your Digital Transformation Road Map
Even if you aren’t hearing the words “faster payments” or “instant payments” directly from your customers, trends and research show the demand is there – and rising. Recent Federal Reserve...
Three Financial Technology Trends Community Banks Should Consider for 2023
When I attended FinovateFall in September, I was struck by its palpable energy. Not only was it the most attended Finovate to date, it was a collaborative conference, converting what had once felt...
Faster Payments Have Arrived — Now What About Competition, Fraud, and Strategy? Part 2
Here's part two of a continuing conversation on faster payments, diving into Same Day ACH, competition, fraud, and strategic vision.
Seven Myths About Central Bank Digital Currencies
In the latest edition of our Digital Dollar Digest series, ICBA is here to help dispel CBDC misconceptions and debunk the most common myths.
Merchants and Consumers Benefit from Credit Card Rewards Programs
The first rewards credit card was introduced by American Airlines in 1934 to help it sell tickets. Ninety years later, merchants accepting credit cards and issuing co-branded rewards cards continue...
Four things to know about faster and instant payments
Consumers and businesses are increasingly using payment platforms that allow them to pay or transfer money faster than ever before, with U.S. faster payments transactions topping $900 billion in 2020.
Why Small Business See a (Use) Case for Instant Payments
According to the Federal Reserve, nine in 10 businesses (or 29.25 million) expect to be able to send and receive instant payments by 2023. Fortunately, in many cases, community-based financial...
ICBA Center for Innovation: The Next Chapter in Fostering Community Bank-Fintech Partnerships
It’s an exciting time for ICBA Innovation, culminating in the long-awaited opening of ICBA’s Center for Innovation—an initiative more than a year in the making with the promise to help drive...
Powering Potential through Community Bank Innovation
Bankers are operating in a fast-paced world, with solutions addressing customer growth and engagement. This technology can be a key driver to help them become more competitive; however, these...
Summit speakers: COVID-19 changed banking, payments
The COVID-19 pandemic altered customers’ expectations and the way they operate within the banking and finance sector, two presenters said Aug. 16 at the inaugural VenCent Fintech Summit held in...
3-2-1 We Have Contactless!
3-2-1 We Have Contactless! Tina Giorgio: Contactless transactions include everything from flashing your watch at the point-of-sale to paying for your groceries, via your refrigerator. As “smart”...
COVID-19: Considerations for Card Issuers
COVID-19: Considerations for Card Issuers Community banks are the stars of the financial services industry, and during times of crisis community bankers burn brightly to provide a guiding light to...
Three Steps to Support Customers in Today’s Digital Environment
Three Steps to Support Customers in Today’s Digital Environment We are in unprecedented times. “Shelter-in-place” acts help slow of the spread of coronavirus, but at the same time, they inject...
Agencies request information on targeting payments fraud
ICBA applauded the federal banking agencies for announcing a request for comment on potential actions to help consumers, businesses, and financial institutions mitigate risk of payments fraud, with...
ICBA seeks participants for cross-border payments group
ICBA is seeking 12-15 community bankers to join its working group on cross-border payments.
ICBA Payments and Mastercard Partner to Upgrade Customer Payment Experiences for Community Banks
ICBA Payments, the payments subsidiary of the Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA), announced today its new partnership with Mastercard to offer upgraded and enhanced card and payment...
Independent Banker: Faster payments don’t have to lead to faster fraud
Addressing real-time payments fraud requires a combination of techniques—there's no silver bullet—according to the latest Independent Banker magazine.
ICBA Celebrates Success of Regulator and Core Days in Advancing Community Banking Innovation
The Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) recently celebrated the successful conclusion of two important events during its current ThinkTECH Accelerator cohort (AP6), Regulator Day and...
ICBA seeking referrals for seventh ThinkTECH Accelerator
ICBA is now accepting applications for its seventh ThinkTECH Accelerator program, which promotes growth-stage companies that serve or wish to serve community banks and their customers.
Payments council releases instant payments operational guide
The U.S. Faster Payments Council released a new resource for banks working to implement instant payments.
ICBA urging outreach on 1071, credit card legislation
ICBA continues urging community bankers to reach out to their lawmakers on two key initiatives pending in Congress.
Senate preps for vote on resolution to reverse 1071 rule
With the Senate set to act as soon as this week on a resolution to block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Section 1071 rule, ICBA is urging community bankers to urge their senators to...
Key stakeholders join opposition to credit card routing bill
A key member of the House along with major airlines and transportation unions last week announced their opposition to legislation that would impose credit card routing restrictions, which ICBA...
Mid-year Checkpoint on Digital Payments Transformation
With over half of 2023 now firmly in the rearview mirror, we’re hoping community banks have put our digital payments transformation resources to good use—leveraging our whitepaper and...
ICBA opposing latest effort to advance credit card routing bill
ICBA continues calling on community bankers to urge their senators to oppose legislation that would impose credit card routing restrictions amid renewed efforts to attach it to government funding...
ICBA ThinkTECH Solutions Forum Spotlights Faster Payments Offerings for Community Banks
ICBA hosted its first ThinkTECH Solutions Forum yesterday. This forum, which was designed to foster industry collaboration in support of community bank adoption of faster payments, is the first of...
Financial Services Industry Opposes Effort by Senators Durbin & Marshall to Force Credit Card Routing Mandates into Military Construction, Veterans Affairs Funding Bill
Today, 11 trade associations representing virtually all banks and credit unions released a joint statement opposing the effort by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) to attach credit...
ICBA Commends House Committee Passage of Bill Barring Creation of U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today commended the House Financial Services Committee for passing ICBA-advocated legislation to restrict the ability of the federal government...
ICBA, groups oppose effort to slip credit card bill into military funding package
ICBA and other groups expressed united opposition to efforts by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) to attach their ICBA-opposed credit card routing bill to a must-pass...
Senator renews push to advance ICBA-opposed credit card routing bill
ICBA is calling on community bankers to voice strong opposition to renewed efforts by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to force Senate consideration of legislation to advance credit card routing...
Swift says its cross-border payments already meet G20 target
The Swift financial transactions and payments network said 89% of cross-border payments are processed over its network in less than an hour, placing its transaction speed ahead of the G20’s...
Fed hosting FedNow town hall this month
The Federal Reserve said it is hosting a town hall meeting this month on the FedNow Service.
N.Y. Fed says digital ledgers feasible for global payments
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York Innovation Center released reports on its research into an interoperable network for wholesale payments using a distributed ledger shared by multiple entities.
ICBA urging grassroots outreach on credit card routing bill
ICBA is calling on community bankers to urge their members of Congress to oppose legislation to impose routing mandates on credit card transactions.
FDIC revises guidance on re-presentment fees following ICBA outreach
The FDIC updated its supervisory guidance on multiple re-presentment nonsufficient funds fees to clarify that it will not ask institutions to conduct a lookback review absent a likelihood of...
Instant Payments and Digital Transformation Go Hand in Hand
At ICBA Bancard, we continue to arm bankers with information and resources to support their instant payments and digital transformation (icba.org/digital-transformation) journeys.
Entering the Era of Instant Payments
On March 15 during the final general session at ICBA LIVE, the Federal Reserve announced that it will launch its much-anticipated FedNow Service in July. With instant payments already a central...
Answering the most common FedNow-related questions
For years, we’ve been waiting in the wings, anticipating the launch of an instant payments service by the Federal Reserve, so it feels surreal to say we’ve arrived.
Credit-Push Fraud: Recognizing the Signs
If you feel like it’s hard to stay on top of payments fraud trends these days, you would not be alone. The introduction of any new payment instrument opens the opportunity for criminals to dupe the...
Chairman's Column: Flipping the Switch - It's Time to Receive Instant Payments
For years, we’ve been waiting in the wings, anticipating the launch of an instant payments service by the Federal Reserve, so it feels surreal to say we’ve arrived.
ICBA, groups urge Congress to oppose credit card routing mandates
ICBA and other groups called on congressional leaders to oppose newly reintroduced legislation to impose routing mandates on credit card transactions.
Playing Catch-up with FedNow – The Greatest Hits of FedNow Resources and Reference Materials
With the July launch of FedNow looming, are you feeling behind in terms of learning more about the service, its impacts on your bank, and the steps needed to implement it?