The issue of immigrants is a hot political potato in the US. While on the one hand banks do not want to miss out on a large market, its clear from the under-noted, that some are dancing on the edge of legal issues by opening accounts for, in effect non-residents. SUSAN TOMPOR: Hispanics live on fringe of U.S. banks Unlike some banks that require a Social Security number, Chase allows Hispanic immigrants to use a Metricula Consular, a document of identity issued by the Mexican government, as one piece of identification to open a banking account. Continue reading Hispanic immigrants pose difficulties for US Banks

Bank of America CEO continues the dialogue about the option of independence from Visa.  Analysts point out the scale of the MBNA acquisition adds to the estimated 20% of US Visa business owned by Bank of America. Finextra: Bank of America CEO fuels Visa break-away speculation Some analysts suggest that the bank is just sabre rattling as part of a negotiating tactic to lower charges. Others point out that BofA’s recent $35 billion acqusition of MBNA Corp has given it added scale, making a bolt for independence more plausible. Technorati Tags: visa, bank_of_america, credit_card_branding Continue reading Bank of America CEO fuels Visa break-away speculation

In what was earlier referred to as the Citibank ATM fraud, the sheer scale of this fraud is only now coming to light. Banks scramble after cyber-breach | Chicago Tribune Exact figures are unknown — some banks have reported numbers; others have not. It is thought that at least 350,000 accounts across the country were defrauded, involving more than $10 million in losses, according to some experts.…. “In terms of financial damage, this is definitely the biggest documented case of debit-card fraud we know of,” said Avivah Litan, a banking analyst and online-fraud expert for Gartner Inc., an information-technology research … Continue reading The biggest cyber-heist of customer debit-card numbers to date

Pilot timing details are becoming clearer. NACHA’s payment pilot to launch in early ’07 | ATM Marketplace News NACHA’s long-expected pilot project to test Internet payments to retailers and billers is expected to launch early next year. The pilot will run for 12 months. NACHA officials expect to sign most participating banks, merchants and billers by Aug. 30, 2006, though the pilot will accept additional participants after that date. Continue reading NACHA’s payment pilot to launch in early ’07

Commerce Bancorp of Cherry Hill, N.J which bills itself as “America’s most convenient bank” is branch centric, with 7 day opening. Banks branching out in region Commerce, whose branches are open seven days a week with extended hours on weeknights, unveiled its first offices in the District and Northern Virginia last year. The company has 378 branches with assets of $40.7 billion as of March, a 28 percent increase from a year ago. Net income for its 2006 first quarter was $77.3 million, about the same as a year ago. They understand their strategy and are sticking to it.  Its … Continue reading Branches as a core strategy