What's Next for Debit Rewards?

At a time when banks are trying to catch their breath from the reduced fee income impact of Reg E, the government has proposed a cap on interchange income that could equate to a 70%-80% reduction in fees that a bank can collect as part of debit card transactions. In travels across the country, it is clear one of the first casualties of these regulatory changes has been the reconfiguring or elimination of Free Checking at the largest banks.

Will these changes also eliminate debit card rewards programs that are funded by interchange fees?

Worldwide Response to the Importance of Cross-Selling

Last July, I posted a question on the Retail Banking Network Group on LinkedIn asking how the goal of cross-selling is prioritized in relationship to the goal of new customer acquisition at banks today. Since my posting, I have had more than 80 comments from bankers representing large and small financial organizations all over the world.

For instance, Lance van Wyk, Regional General Manager at Nedbank Ltd in South Africa believes that education, reward and recognition of employees is needed to improve cross-selling. In addition, he believes the timing of cross-selling is important and states, "Proactive investments in cross-selling at the acquisition stage could prove highly rewarding".