- Education & Events
- Advocacy
- Products & Services
- Membership
- Resources
- SDBANKER Magazine
- SDBA eNews
- SDBA eNews Archives
- Legislative Update/Bill Watch
- South Dakota Bank Directory
- Women in Banking
- Scenes of South Dakota Calendar*
- Holiday Signs
- Regulatory Report
- South Dakota Banking Code
- Record Retention Manual
- Advertising & Sponsorship Guide
- COVID-19 Resources
- Mental Health and Crisis Prevention
- About
|
News
SDBA UpdatesSDBA EventsOnline EducationABA Banking Journal: House committee advances ABA-backed bills on bank supervision, fighting scamsMay 13, 2026
H.R. 8278, or Futures Act, sponsored by Reps. Martin Stutzman (R-Ind.) and Bill Foster (D-Ill.), would require financial regulatory agencies to assess how their existing technological systems prevent them from conducting real-time supervision of financial entities. They would also be required to identify any challenges created by procurement rules, and to report to Congress on what technological improvements they intend to make and the cost. H.R. 2978, or GUARD Act, sponsored by Rep. Zachary Nunn (R-Ga.), would expand the ability of state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to use existing federal grant funding to investigate elder financial fraud, romance scams and other forms of financial crime. It also strengthens coordination between financial institutions and law enforcement, supports the use of blockchain tracing and emerging technology tools, and requires federal agencies to produce more comprehensive reporting on the scale and drivers of scams and fraud in the U.S. The committee also advanced four other bills:
Back to TopABA Banking Journal: Digital debit: Table stakes for consumer paymentsTo ensure the highest level of security, what does the right level of friction in the process look like?May 13, 2026 | Steve Sievert
Issuers increasingly face a simple but consequential question: Is your debit card the one consumers use every day or the one they reach for only occasionally? As consumers use debit for digital wallet purchases, person-to-person transactions and card-on-file payments, banks’ continued success depends on delivering debit experiences that fit how people pay today. Digital capabilitiesDebit remains foundational to the relationship between financial institutions and their customers. While the physical card still plays an important role, digital form factors and CNP transactions are driving debit forward and reshaping consumer expectations for payments and banking. Consumers expect their debit card to work consistently across physical and digital channels, including in-store, online, in mobile wallets and as stored credentials on merchants’ websites. But sought-after digital capabilities are not limited to the point of sale. Account holders want to be able to request mobile wallet provisioning, lock and unlock their cards and manage their subscription payments via their bank’s mobile apps. Subscriptions and stored credentials now account for a significant share of debit spend. Many consumers set a card on file and rarely think about it again, until a decline occurs or a replacement card disrupts payments. Banks that give customers visibility into where their card is stored and which payments are recurring see fewer disputes and unnecessary declines, while making it easier for customers to continue using debit rather than switching to another payment option. Digital growth is reshaping fraud preventionAs digital debit use grows, fraud is evolving alongside it. Friendly fraud and sophisticated scams continue to rise, and artificial intelligence has made impersonation and social engineering more convincing. In this environment, traditional transaction-level signals often tell only part of the story. Increasingly, the most valuable fraud indicators appear before the transaction itself. Issuers are investing in behavioral analytics to better understand how customers interact with their accounts. These tools analyze device usage, navigation patterns, login behavior and changes in transaction frequency or velocity. These signals help identify situations where activity does not align with the account holder’s behavior patterns, even when the transaction appears legitimate on its surface. Timing also matters. Regular “always on” fraud and scam education is important, but banks should also strive to provide it in the moment. Customers respond far better to guidance that appears in real time, in context, when they’re in the midst of a transaction. Many institutions now surface scam warnings directly within the digital experience. Examples include:
Those moments of intervention can prevent losses and reinforce confidence that the institution is paying attention. Fraud prevention has also become more collaborative. Disputes and fraud cases move quickly, and card issuers increasingly rely on closer coordination with merchants, payment networks, law enforcement, telecom providers and other stakeholders. Faster access to order details, device information and fulfillment timelines improves decision-making and helps resolve issues more efficiently. In addition, social media plays a key role in investigation, asset detection and other aspects of fraud. The right level of friction builds trustConvenience remains important, but consumers do not want speed at the expense of security. In certain situations, a small amount of friction can be beneficial when it is applied thoughtfully and transparently. Asking account holders to confirm their intention or complete additional verification steps has proven useful for banks that offer Zelle P2P payments. Such extra steps are not always convenient, but they are reassuring. Other examples of appropriate friction include asking cardholders to confirm that a transaction is legitimate via text message or voice. Even asking an account holder to initiate a transaction a second time can send a clear message that the bank is actively protecting them. This is what the right level of friction looks like. It may involve step-up authentication, contextual warnings, confirmation prompts, or account alerts. When applied selectively, these measures reduce exposure to fraud without undermining the overall experience. In many cases, they strengthen trust by demonstrating that safeguards exist when risk is highest. Winning in a competitive landscapeWhile debit usage continues to rise, the number of issued debit cards is increasing much more slowly, as reflected in Pulse’s 2025 study. At the same time, competition continues to intensify. Fintech firms and digital banks have gained share from traditional institutions, and large consumer brands are increasingly introducing bank-like products to move closer to everyday spending. For traditional issuers, differentiation comes from pairing consumer trust with digital experiences that feel modern, intuitive and useful. Becoming an indispensable financial partner means helping customers manage money more effectively through tools such as spend analysis, transaction categorization, recurring payment insights, low-balance alerts, automated savings features and easy bill pay. Real-time communication — including SMS alerts for customers who opt in — reinforces the sense that the institution is actively looking out for account holders’ best interests. Issuers that want to compete effectively should prioritize implementation of the digital capabilities consumers desire most. These include improving card-on-file transparency, modernizing fraud detection and applying targeted friction where risk is highest. Institutions that treat digital debit as a core product, not a supporting channel, will be best positioned to drive everyday usage, protect customers and remain central to their customers’ financial lives. Steve Sievert is EVP for marketing and brand management at Pulse, a part of the Discover network. Back to TopABA Banking Journal: Fed’s Bowman calls for CECL repeal
Saying that the Current Expected Credit Loss accounting standard “clearly did not improve safety and soundness”, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman today called for a repeal, exemption or practical expedient to be available for community banks in estimating credit losses in their financial statements. Bowman’s comments came during a roundtable held by FASB in assessing the CECL standard. Roundtable participants included ABA members and staff, as well as FASB members, investment analysts, representatives from the banking agencies and auditing firms. Bowman’s position largely corresponds to comments made in the American Bankers Association’s letter to FASB on the CECL standard. FASB expects to wrap up its review of the CECL standard by the end of the year. Back to TopABA to Senate Banking: Refine Clarity Act’s stablecoin yield languageMay 8, 2026
The American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum, Independent Community Bankers of America and National Bankers Association warned that allowing interest-like yield on stablecoins could weaken bank deposits and reduce credit available to consumers, small businesses and farmers. In a letter to Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the groups expressed appreciation for recent efforts to improve Section 404 by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), while noting changes are needed to ensure the bill “clearly prohibits interest-like payments” on stablecoins and avoids “unintended loopholes.” “Our concern is that payment stablecoin yield, or incentives that act like yield, can reduce U.S. deposits and, in turn, banks’ capacity to extend credit across the country,” the groups wrote. The letter, which was also shared with other members of the Senate Banking Committee, said deposits play a critical role in supporting lending and economic growth, and that “ambiguities in the current language could incentivize customers to shift funds out of the banking system.” “Research indicates that deposit flight driven by the widespread adoption of yield-bearing stablecoins could reduce consumer, small-business, and agricultural lending by one-fifth or more, highlighting the stakes involved in ensuring that the statutory framework is both precise and robust,” the groups said. The associations urged lawmakers to make targeted revisions to clarify the prohibition on interest and yield, eliminate provisions that could be used to circumvent congressional intent, and better align the bill’s text with the goal of protecting consumers and financial stability. “Our goal in offering these recommendations, which we believe are consistent with Sen. Tillis and Sen. Alsobrooks’ critical policy goal of stopping deposit flight, is to ensure any final legislation signed into law ushers in a new financial market designed to fully accommodate digital assets and blockchain technologies, while also protecting the economic resilience of America’s consumers, small businesses, and communities,” the letter concludes. Back to TopCISA News: Researchers report Amazon SES abused in phishing to evade detectionMay 4, 2026 | Bill Toulas
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky reports that the Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) is being increasingly abused to send convincing phishing emails that can bypass standard security filters and render reputation-based blocks ineffective. Although the resource has been leveraged for malicious activity in the past, Kaspersky says the current spike may be due to a large number of AWS Identity and Access Management access keys exposed in public assets. Because it is a legitimate, trusted resource, phishing operations can leverage Amazon SES to send out malicious emails that pass authentication checks. Kaspersky researchers note in a report today that they've “observed an uptick in phishing attacks leveraging Amazon SES” to deliver links that redirect to a malicious site.
Finding the access keys is typically done in an automated way using bots built on the open-source TruffleHog utility, which is designed to scan for leaked secrets. Threat actors now rely on automated attacks that streamline secret scanning, permission validation, and email distribution, enabling unprecedented levels of abuse. “After verifying the key’s permissions and email sending limits, attackers are equipped to spread a massive volume of phishing messages,” Kaspersky explains. Based on their findings, the researchers say that the phishing quality is high, featuring custom HTML templates that mimic real services and realistic login flows. The observed attacks include fake document-signing notifications that imitate DocuSign to lead victims to AWS-hosted phishing pages, as well as more advanced business email compromise (BEC) attacks. Attackers fabricate entire email threads to make the phishing messages appear more convincing and send fake invoices to trick finance departments into making payments. By leveraging Amazon SES, attackers no longer need to worry about authentication checks such as the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protocols. Additionally, blocking the offending IP addresses that deliver the phishing emails is not an acceptable solution because it would prevent all emails coming through Amazon SES. Threat actors are no focusing on Amazon SES alone. They are constantly trying to find ways to abuse other legitimate email systems to push phishing messages. Kaspersky recommends that companies restrict IAM permissions based on the “least privilege” principles, enable multi-factor authentication, regularly rotate keys, and apply IP-based access restrictions and encryption controls. In a statement for BleepingComputer, Amazon pointed to its security guidance on exposed credentials and protect against unauthorized access to accounts. The company also stated that it is quick to react on reports of potential terms of service violations and take appropriate action. "If anyone suspects that AWS resources are being used for abusive activity, they can report it to AWS Trust & Safety," an AWS Spokesperson told BleepingComputer. Back to Top
Back to Top2026 South Dakota Bankers Foundation Scholarships
Award Details• Your bank may award up to $4,000 (you can split it among multiple students). Know a strong candidate? Select your recipient and submit the scholarship request form by June 30, 2026. This is a great way to connect with future talent, strengthen your community, and showcase the opportunities our industry provides. Questions? Reach out to SDBA's Foundation Executive Director, Halley Lee, for assistance. Back to Top |
The House Financial Services Committee today advanced two bills 
For many consumers, digital transactions are simply how payments happen. Card-not-present debit spend now represents nearly half of overall debit dollar volume, according to the 2025 Pulse Debit Issuer Study. This reflects a lasting shift in how consumers use debit and what they expect from their financial institutions.
A coalition of financial trade associations 
The South Dakota Bankers Foundation is once again offering 
