http://www.bankdirector.com/committees/lending/is-this-the-end-of-the-road-for-credit-scores

Some highlights:

“Some of the holiest tenets of consumer banking are being questioned. Newer players with a totally different attitude toward their customers who understand technology and the Internet are winning market share and earning customer loyalty.

With the growth of digital wallets, mobile payments and the generational shift away from paper checks and brick-and-mortar bank branches, is it time for a new credit score or new metric to enable the next revolution in lending? Or will current providers embrace a “different strokes for different folks” attitude as the millennial generation overtakes the baby boomers as the single largest customer segment for a banks’s services and products?

Are we headed for a new world where a micro finance credit bureau will emerge and manage all interactions of less than $500? With the convergence of telecom, tech, banking and retail industries during the next few years, it will be interesting to see the demise of the credit score as we know it and the growth of a new medium of rating consumer credit.”

Will mobile banking fees turn away consumers?

How To Get What You Want From Your Business

Teaching Kids Money and Compound Interest

Steve

Federal Reserve’s Duke Sees Bright Future For Community Banks (Trinovus website post):

Such a strong “balance sheet” will be comprised of steadily building financial assets, along with the “right” kind of credit – resulting in a steadily growing family net worth.  This “household balance sheet” does not need to become an obsession, but rather a process:

1)      Gaining clarity – i.e. coming to terms with your financial behavior and understanding whether or not your money-making activity meets the needs of you and your family both now and in the future.

2)      Spending plan – know what you actually spend – not just “sort of think” you do.

3)      A “forward focus” – though the future is unpredictable, through a little planning, it’s possible to have a good idea of impending financial events.

This is not designed to be all-consuming, but occasionally stepping back and asking “how’s this working for me?”  Working “on” your life once in a while, rather than “in” it.

Savings is also a major component – and there are three basic kinds.  I’ll save this topic for later.

Credit, credit, credit….this is the “900-lb monster in the room” – and nothing good will happen if you have bad credit.  Education and support is critical – and I will discuss this in later posts.

Many financial services are not available to this group – and they also pay a lot more (up to eight times as much) to do simple things such as getting access to their money and paying bills.  It is also more time-consuming – and risky, when cash is involved.

And for the record, their access to credit is limited and expensive too. This all adds up to a more expensive cost-of-living and less discretionary consumption by this underserved group.

Folks are starting to understand that more complete participation – “inclusiveness” – is good for all of us.

From Dave Nicklaus of the Post-Dispatch this past Sunday writing about the new focus of the Saint Louis Regional Chamber:

“..the group will speak proudly and unapologetically for the region’s businesses. What it won’t do, Chamber President Joe Reagan promises, is gloss over problems or hide from difficult issues.  Education and economic inclusiveness (emphasis added) are at the top of his list of priorities. A 21st-century chamber of commerce is not a booster organization,”

Reagan said. “It’s a group of leaders who say we’re going to change our situation and make this a better place.”

In the past, transaction risk has been an issue. But now there are new technologies and payment practices to address the challenge.

Now there is no reason that all segments of our society should not have full, affordable and convenient access to multi-channel delivery of financial services.