S5 Ep6: BNC: The Debit Interchange Cap is Being Lowered Because … Reasons, Check Fraud, and the Implications of 1033

Nov 8, 2023

The podcast discusses the proposed lowering of the debit interchange cap, open banking and its impact, the persistence of check payments and its vulnerability to fraud, valuation challenges of banks and fintech companies, amusing coin-related stories, and the disappearance of coin counting machines and its inconvenience for customers.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

Preparing for the Federal Reserve Bank conference

02:32 • 4min

The Proposed Lowering of the Debit Interchange Cap

06:31 • 18min

Exploring Open Banking and its Potential Impact

25:00 • 8min

The Persistence and Vulnerability of Check Payments

32:43 • 16min

Valuation of Banks and Fintech Companies

48:43 • 15min

Coin Shenanigans and the Burden of Coins

01:03:16 • 8min

The Disappearance of Coin Counting Machines and the Inconvenience of Rolling Coins

01:10:59 • 4min

This week we’re back with the fabulous Kiah Haslett for another round of Bank Nerd Corner.

Alex and Kiah catch up on their recent conference experiences (pickup basketball! Bank nerd celebrity sightings!) before diving into the proposed changes from the Fed to the debit interchange cap. With the new interchange fee going from 24 cents to 17 cents per transaction, Alex can’t wait for the savings to hit his daughter's college tuition fund any day now. Just er… um… who’s gonna tell him the bad news? Someone’s gonna tell him, right?

Then, Alex and Kiah discuss some hot scuttlebutt from Money 20/20, including section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which gives the CFPB the authority to regulate consumer-permissioned data-sharing. Will this open sharing of pricing information drive more competitive price shopping behaviors?

And stay tuned, as Kiah and Alex debate whether or not anyone still knows how to use checks, if stock prices (and the valuation of fintech and banking companies) are simply based on vibes, and if coins are truly dead.

00:03:33 - Kiah Meets Fed Governor Michelle Bowman

00:07:25 - Federal Reserve Proposes Lowering Debit Card Fees

00:22:26 - CFPB Proposes Rules for Open Banking

00:27:15 - The Power of Open Banking: Account-to-Account Payments

00:31:20 - Financial Services Providers Share Pricing Information

00:38:21 - The Decline of Check Writing in America

00:54:17 – Wait… But Why?

00:59:27 - The Unique Funding Structure of Tech Banks

01:06:16 - The Unhealthy Obsession with Stock Prices on Twitter

01:08:40 – Go Off Kiah!

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Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

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Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson