Credit cards + sustainability; here comes CRA reform; payments AI

The credit card climate crisis: The payments industry produces billions of cards each year, contributing to the massive amounts of plastic that end up polluting the planet. Key players have stepped up to adopt more environmentally friendly options.

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At long last — and over banks' protests — CRA reform is afoot: Banking regulators have been debating how to reform the implementing regulations for the Community Reinvestment Act across two presidential administrations. But despite banks' urging to slow down, regulators are poised to finish the job in early fall.

Read more on bank regulation: Fed ends enforcement action against HSBC for FX trading scandal; California bars unfair, deceptive practices in small business lending

Gen Z favors word of mouth over marketing: Forget special offers, ubiquitous branches and promises of convenience. Younger clients want to see state-of-the-art technology and hear good things from friends and family, according to a recent Arizent survey.

Are payment executives too hot on advanced AI? Investment in machine learning is outpacing consumer interest on the ground. Here's what companies like FIS and Marqeta are doing while waiting for demand to catch up.

Read more on tech: 5 ways banks use data science

BankThink: How to fix the biggest flaws in today's banking system. After the turbulence of the banking crisis, here are a dozen ideas experts have for keeping the financial system healthy, from American Banker's BankThink op-ed section.

Bankers: tell us how your bank is working with small businesses. American Banker is conducting a survey right now and we’d love your insights.?You can contribute to the survey here.?