American Banker Podcast

It's only a matter of time before U.S. banks are forced to cede control over payments the way banks in China already have, says Brett King in this week's episode, which was recorded live at the Mobile Payments Conference in Chicago.

Karen Mills, former head of the Small Business Administration, says the glut of online lenders can be a boon for entrepreneurs by helping them obtain funds quickly. But the lenders still need to be more transparent about their rates and fees, and regulations would help.

Banks have started dabbling in virtual reality, such as BNP Paribas' letting French customers tour homes and apartments through VR headsets, says Raja Bose, global retail banking consulting leader at Genpact. Some of the strongest use cases for banks, he says, are in wealth management, trading and mortgages.

Divine, a rapper from Brooklyn, shares how he forged a friendship with billionaire venture capitalist Ben Horowitz and went on to create financial technology company BLAK. Also in this episode: Ramy Serageldin explains how his Honeyfi app helps couples collaborate on their finances and Paul Walker at Q2 shares his company's work with fintech startups.

Some attempts to charge for basic banking services (e.g. Digit and Bank of America) have crashed and burned. Wei Ke, a partner with Simon-Kucher & Partners, explains how banks can help consumers get over their price sensitivity.

As the American working population ages and continues to be disrupted by technology, the U.S. needs to create skills training that will help them navigate the changing jobs landscape, says Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan. "Until we improve this, I think the workforce will not meet its potential," he says in the latest American Banker podcast.

At a time when many banks struggle to win over millennials, Ally Bank appears to be bringing them in: more than 60% of new customers are millennials. President Diane Morais explains how the bank is getting the attention of a younger generation. One popular product: debit controls.

The Faster Payments Task Force of the Federal Reserve just released its final report with proposals to be adopted by 2020. Today, Ron Shevlin hosts a member of that task force- Travis Dulaney, Founder and CEO of Push Payments. James Wester, Research Director of Worldwide Payment Strategies at IDC will also being joining to discuss the 10 different proposals, the future of banking, and the idea of virtual accounts vs legacy accounts. Also, we are talking about #VoicePay and #AmazonPay with Brian Roemmele. Julie Conroy, from Aite Group, talks to Ron about the new uses of AI and how it will enhance faster payments and assist fraud prevention accuracy.

Christine Duhaime, an anti-money-laundering attorney in Toronto, lays out the reasons banks should become early experts in and assist in initial coin offerings. She also lays out the risks, especially in the wake of the SEC's report suggesting some ICO tokens are really securities.

Former Comptroller of the Currency Eugene Ludwig shares stories from his days as a top regulator during the Clinton Administration, the reasons why bank rules should be reviewed and maybe rewritten, and why he thinks the revolving door between Washington and the private sector is ok.