Digital Banking Strategy Is Not an IT Project Digital banking has matured past “channel upgrades” and vendor implementations. Today, it reshapes how value is created, how risk is controlled, and how resilience is maintained. Industry perspectives...
Passing Isn’t Proof: The Hidden Gap Between “Compliant” and “Effective” By Heather Williams, Director of BSA/AML Risk & Compliance, NEACH Payments Group For many boards and executive teams, a clean exam result brings relief. No findings. No major issues. No immediate foll...
Compliance, Audits, and Advisory Services | What’s the Difference — and Why It Matters In the payments and risk environment, the terms compliance, audits, and advisory services are often used interchangeably. While they’re closely related, they serve very different purposes. Understandi...
You’re Not a Bank — So Why Is Your Bank Asking About AML & OFAC? Payroll providers are not banks—but they play a critical role in how money moves through the financial system. In this brief, practical overview, NEACH Payments Group explains why banks request AML an...
Revenue, Reputation, and Regulatory Risk: Why Strong BSA/AML Governance Starts at the Top In NEACH Payments Group’s first quarterly client town hall, industry leaders explored the direct connection between BSA/AML governance and an institution’s revenue, reputation, and regulatory standing...
What I Wish Institutions Understood Before Their Next BSA/AML Exam I’ve spent more than two decades working inside financial institutions and alongside them—as a banker, a BSA officer, an auditor, and an advisor. I’ve supported institutions preparing for exams, respo...
Why “AuditFirst” Thinking No Longer Works in Payments & Risk For decades, financial institutions have relied on annual audits as the cornerstone of payments risk management. Audits provide reassurance. They confirm compliance. They satisfy regulatory requiremen...
What Boards and Executives Actually Need from External Advisors (And Why It’s Not a 200-Page Report) Financial institutions don’t hire external advisors because they want more information. They hire external advisors because they need clarity, confidence, and control. Yet too often, advisory relation...
Key Compliance Lessons from the Back to Basics - Setting the Foundation for Compliance Event Recently, I had the absolute pleasure of participating in a panel discussion at an industry conference. While that experience was amazing on its own, the other panelists shared such valuable insights ...
2025 Year in Review from a Nacha Rule Making Standpoint I just can't or don't want to believe we are coming up on the end of 2025. This has been a very turbulent year for the world in many ways, and it has been no different in the world of payments. We had...
How Financial Institutions Can Safely Explore Fintech Partnerships — Join NPG’s Q4 Townhall The fintech landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace, offering community banks and credit unions unprecedented opportunities to expand services, enhance customer experiences, and generate meaning...
Independent Testing Is Now a Make-or-Break Exam Factor: What OCC’s New Bulletins Mean for You Yesterday, the OCC issued two important bulletins—OCC Bulletin 2025-37 and OCC Bulletin 2025-38. What both have in common is clear: regulators expect community banks to rely on high-quality, knowledge...