Dark portrait card headed THE BOARD QUESTION, with BOARD and the numeral 07 in blue. Below it in small capitals: FOR COMMUNITY BANKS · ASK THIS ONE AT YOUR NEXT BOARD MEETING. The question reads, "What does our board actually see about the debit program?" with "see" in blue. A closed leather board binder with a pair of reading glasses on it rests on a dark table. THE POINT reads, "A total tells you what happened. The program tells you why." The PDEX Payment Data Exchange logo appears at bottom left and pdex.com at bottom right.

Here's a question for community bankers to ask at their next board meeting: what does the board actually see about the debit program?

If the answer is one line inside noninterest income, the board is seeing a total. It isn't seeing the program behind it: how many cards are active, how often they're used, what share of transactions get approved, and what each one earns.

Much of that starts in reports the processor already sends. Pulling it together clearly takes time.

This week's Board Question:

"What does our board actually see about the debit program?"

A total tells you what happened. The program tells you why.

Giving the board a clear view of the program, not just the total, is what PDEX does.

Originally posted on LinkedIn, October 22, 2026.