Presidential Candidates, Twitter Wise Guys Tackle Dodd-Frank

Here are our top five tweets from the week that was. Keep tweeting, and we may feature you next Friday.

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@MichaelIanBlack: Yeah they understand Dodd Frank an Bowles Simpson, but I’d like to see how either of these candidates does on Cash Cab.

We see what you did there, Michael Ian Black. But those who watched the presidential debate Wednesday night did catch a brief but interesting glimpse into how the two candidates view the Dodd-Frank act, with Governor Romney fairly criticizing its delays and lack of clarity and President Obama emphasizing the need for regulations. Those of us in the payments industry would love to see the two go deeper into the subject, but Romney and Obama will probably instead delve into more pressing topics such as dog transportation methods and teleprompter dependency.

Read the original tweet here.

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@gzornick: Romney’s claim that Dodd-Frank “designates” TBTF banks is like saying oncologists give people cancer: bit.ly/RDlvSk @thenation

Well then, I guess we know where The Nation’s George Zornick weighs in on the issue. After making light of the issue above, we figured it’d be best to give readers a chance to make an informed stance on the issue, because it really is a pretty big deal. Here’s Zornick’s take, as well as one kinder take on Romney’s stance. PYMNTs.com: Fair and Balanced.

Read the original tweet here.

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@JimMarous: Is Market Saturated? #Amazon Rumored To Have @Square, @PayPal Competitor In Works Pymnts.com/briefing-room/… via @PYMNTS

That’s a fair question, Jim. We’re seeing the mobile POS swipe-and-dongle field becoming increasingly inundated with competitors both in the U.S. and abroad, and this week added to the industry crowding. It’s true that Amazon hasn’t confirmed that they have a mobile POS product in the wings, but they didn’t flat-out deny the rumor either. Sometimes we forget how huge this industry is in the midst of arguing about NFC, QR codes, mobile wallets, etc, but businesses are still clearly intent on adopting the Square method of payment.

Read the original tweet here.

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@DavidSherry36: Square making big moves these days “@pymnts: @Square Purchases New York Design Firm ow.ly/e9sBb”

Speaking of Square, you didn’t really think Jack Dorsey’s company would let Amazon take all the headlines this week, did you? Square finally put some of their $200 million in funding money to good use, buying design firm 80/20 and opening an office in New York. Now that the industry is getting plenty crowded, as we mentioned above, it will be interesting to see what the progenitor of the POS dongle industry does to further differentiate itself from its newfound competitors.

Read the original tweet here.

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@ABWashBureau: @Amex fine broken down: $85M to customers, $14M to CFPB, $9M to Fed, $3.9M to FDIC and $500,000 to OCC. bit.ly/PGGwKk

Rob Blackwell gives us this helpful breakdown of the fines and restitutions American Express will need to pay following its settlement with the CFPB and three other federal regulators over “deceptive” banking practices. AmEx joines Capital One and Discover as the third major U.S. financial institution to be hammered by the CFPB and friends, but it likely won’t be the last. If regulations and the Dodd Frank act are your cup of tea, make sure to check out our Durbin Amendment one-year anniversary podcast here (http://www.pymnts.com/regulations/debit-checking/one-year-later-the-durbin-debate-continues/).

Read the original tweet here. 

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Have a good weekend, and happy tweeting!