BankThink

Square and Starbucks Move to Take Over Payments World, StanChart Considers Countersuit

08/09/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Squarebucks: One small step for Square may turn out to be a giant step for mobile payments. The start-up has struck a mega-partnership with popular coffee chain Starbucks that could very easily revolutionize the payment space. Starting this fall, Starbucks will begin processing all of its debit and credit card transactions in the U.S. using Square technology. The deal also comes with a $25 million investment that places Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz...

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Bankers Should Want Customers to Know Their Names

08/09/12

Almost everyone has a bank. Fewer and fewer have a banker. Here's why that needs to change.

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Principal Forgiveness: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

08/08/12

The mortgage-writedown program that the FHFA rejected would have produced little benefit to the housing market. But principal forgiveness, done right, can do a lot of good while minimizing potential harm.

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Centralizing Overdraft Lawsuits Was an Expensive Failure

08/08/12

The multidistrict litigation process lumped together disparate overdraft cases in a "one size fits all" approach. As a result, it did not achieve the salutary goals the judicial panel set out to accomplish and must be judged an expensive failure.

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StanChart Strikes Back at Rebel Regulator; U.K. Examines Banking Culture

08/08/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ... StanChart Revisted: Remember how New York regulators were accusing Standard Chartered of helping Iranians launder $250 billion, but the British bank was only acknowledging $14 million in improper transactions? According to the FT, the discrepancy stems from StanChart's belief it used an exemption to U.S. sanction law, known as a U-turn. This exemption allowed banks operating in the U.S. to process transactions from rogue nations such as Iran so long as they...

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Should U.S. Tell Foreign Banks Who They Can Do Business With?

08/07/12

As Standard Chartered deals with the fallout over accusations it laundered money for Iran, some wonder if Washington has been overreaching.

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What Banks Need to Know About ATL's ATM Patent Infringement Claims

08/07/12

It is best not to ignore Automated Transactions' ATM patent infringement claims. Instead, take proactive steps to determine what course of action is best suited for your financial institution.

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'It's My Bank and I'll Deal with Iranians if I Want To!'

08/07/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Substandard Charter: Well, this is a bit of a doozy. New York regulators have accused Standard Chartered of leaving "the U.S. financial system vulnerable to terrorists, weapons dealers, drug kingpins and corrupt regimes" after discovering the British bank allegedly used its New York unit to launder at least $250 billion for the Iranian government. Among other things, the bank is being accused of "wire-stripping," or removing codes from money so Iranian transfers...

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Cloud Services Are Getting a Bad Rap

08/07/12

Financial institutions cannot continue to be hampered by costly, ineffective legacy data management systems that are not up to evolving needs. It's time for a change.

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Banks Are Being Punished, Again and Again, to No Avail

08/06/12

Despite the low number of prosecutions under Sarbanes-Oxley, crimes committed by banks have been punished with big fines. Too bad that's not enough to keep them from offending again.

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