Tina Giorgio: Vince Lombardi had it right when he stated that, “Leaders aren’t born, they are made.” Leadership is a process. And, like any process it begins by envisioning a desired outcome and creating a framework of the steps to achieve that outcome. Sometimes there are real obstacles that prevent us from achieving our goals. By conducting a personal evaluation, we can often identify and address things that are standing in our way.

Tina Giorgio: Contactless transactions include everything from flashing your watch at the point-of-sale to paying for your groceries, via your refrigerator. As “smart” devices get even smarter and more prevalent, payment has become part of their foundational fabric.

Tina Giorgio: With so many possible applications, it’s hard to predict the path that artificial intelligence will follow. In her latest blog post, ICBA Bancard President and CEO Tina Giorgio examines present-day use cases to see where things are heading.

Tina Giorgio: The opportunities presented by financial technology are ripe for the picking but sorting through them all to find the solution that delivers the most value for your bank and your customers can be challenging.

Tina Giorgio: With threats continuing to emerge, I sat down with ICBA’s cyber expert, Jeremy Dalpiaz, assistant vice president of cyber and data security policy, to discuss what community banks can do to thwart cyberattacks. Our conversation uncovered three important tips for banks in navigating today’s cyber landscape.

Tina Giorgio: There’s something about the start of a new year that breeds optimism and fresh perspective. Challenges give way to opportunities, and obstacles become puzzles to solve. That positive tenacity intensifies for me as I look at 2018, a year in banking like no other. From the digital revolution to the role of fintechs, a new day has dawned, and in its light, we see the sprouting progression of community banking.

Tina Giorgio: When I gaze back on my career, I see peaks and the valleys; the times where I knew where I was headed and the times where I felt I was driving at night without headlights. In my role as a community banker, in particular, things seemed to accelerate with lightning speed. Sometimes, I was clairvoyant, reading that market crystal ball like a road map, and sometimes, well, let’s just say that we adapted.

Tina Giorgio: My goal is not only to ensure that community banks stay relevant when it comes to real-time payments but ensure that solution providers are delivering affordable, integrated solutions for community banks that are easy for them to deploy,

Tina Giorgio: While we wait for the details on the Equifax breach, we have found the community banks are taking the lead in protecting customer information.

Tina Giorgio: According to a new Price Waterhouse Cooper digital payments study, 46 percent of bank customers interact with their banks EXCLUSIVELY through digital channels (e.g., mobile, tablet and PC). This staggering trend away from traditional banking methods begs this important question: “What products and services is my bank delivering to customers living a digital life?”