Industry Comment


Watch out EBA, Swift and Visa – here comes Masterlink!

MasterCard’s planned acquisition of VocaLink has the potential to create a new payments powerhouse in Europe and beyond. Tom Hay, head of payments, Icon Solutions, explores the possibilities. The news of the planned acquisition broke a few days after the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) recommendation that banks divest their ownership of the company. I’m sure […]

Labs’ labour lost: forget fin, forget tech, focus on the client

Not a day seems to go by without another innovation of fintech announcement from a bank. While most have now dabbled in an incubator, accelerator or a lab here, and a fintech investment there, they all have one thing in common, argues Leda Glyptis, director at Sapient Global Markets. And that is a lack of tangible […]

PSD2 reforms: innovation in payment predicted

The Payment Services Directive (PSD) legislation was adopted in 2007 with the objective of making cross-border payments across the EU as easy, efficient and secure as “national” payments within a member state. With the arrival of PSD2, the trend of digital innovation in payment will accelerate, states Antony Bream, UK managing director at Crealogix. The original Directive […]

Challenger banks must strike the right balance between mobile and card

NFC mobile payments continue to grab headlines, but to really drive uptake and ensure full market coverage, combining contactless cards with next-gen mobile banking apps is surely the right way to go for 2016’s challenger banks, says Paul Underwood, MD of Thames Card Technology. Much has already been said about the opportunity for challenger banks to […]

Viewpoint: What’s the Best Route to Market in Europe?

Europe is the largest single market in the world and an attractive proposition for most payments businesses looking to expand, but you do need to look at the different options available and determine the best route to market for your own firm.

Marketing banking products with API: now a reality

Promoting financial products is a very challenging task. Konstantin Rabin, head of marketing at Kontomatik, suggests how a bank can improve its marketing efforts by leveraging API technologies. A financial services marketer needs to at least combine the benefits of the offer with a sense of security. Needless to say, the larger the offered benefits are, […]

Fundamental Review of the Trading Book: analysing the impact

Exactly who is affected as a result of the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB)? Xavier Dubois, senior risk and finance specialist for EMEA at Wolters Kluwer, explores the subject. Earlier year, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) set out the long awaited revised standards for minimum capital requirements for market risk. We […]

Digital banking can be fun

Less than one in three customers now trust their bank or insurer, according to a 2014 research by PwC Financial. Banks are not only suffering from deep consumer mistrust, but they are also seen as stuffy, slow-moving relics of the pre-digital era. Antony Bream, UK managing director at Crealogix, argues that all that can be changed […]

Big data analytics and its many uses

There are many uses of big data analytics by financial organisations to meet evolving regulatory and compliance requirements, Swift Institute reveals in its recent paper, “The Role of Big Data in Governance: a regulatory and legal perspective of analytics in global financial services”. The paper cites two case studies as examples of how these analytical […]

Mine that data to keep that customer

What does the future of loyalty hold and what is the role of big data in it? Christopher Evans, director at Collinson Group, shares some key insights. The fervour for big data analytics sweeping through retail bank boardrooms at a global scale is intensifying as corporate strategy prioritises a shift towards true real-time intelligence. This […]

Turning financial messaging data into business profit

Long considered an impenetrable space dominated by a few, the financial services industry is currently riding a giant wave of entrepreneurial disruption, disintermediation, and digital innovation. Recent industry developments such as the regulatory pressure as well as the criticality of business intelligence (BI) and customer experience are impacting banks more than ever before. Financial institutions […]

What Apple’s encryption fight means for payments

The gloves have come off as Apple digs in its heels against the FBI’s request to create a backdoor to the iPhone. We asked payments experts what might be at stake for mobile payments in this encryption battle.

Securities Financing Transactions Regulation: danger signs

The aims of the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) may be laudable – but how much difference will some of the changes really make, other than create another operational burden? As Tracy Dilks, senior consultant, and Akber Datoo, founder and managing partner, D2 Legal Technology, suggest, the regulator might as well put a sign in […]

Payments in 2016: a pivotal year

With challenges across the board, banks will have their work cut out to keep up with the changing world of payments in 2016. It is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the payments industry as regulation, new technology, major infrastructure overhaul projects and security issues combine to reshape the landscape. According to a […]

Client lifecycle management solutions: build or buy?

Mark Bands, head of product & regulatory intelligence, iMeta Technologies: When speaking with prospective financial institution customers of our client lifecycle management (CLM) platform I am surprised at how often an “in-house” build solution has either already been chosen or is being seriously considered as an option. Surprised, that is, that firms’ in-house technology functions are confident […]

The force awakens: data science in banking

A quiet revolution powered by the force of data science has begun to deliver significant improvements in many areas including national security, business intelligence, law enforcement, financial analysis, healthcare and disaster preparedness. But are we ready to use the force in banking? Standard Chartered’s global chief innovation officer, Anju Patwardhan, explores the topic. Digital data […]

Fintech 2.0: creating new opportunities through strategic alliance

Banks and fintechs should collaborate rather than compete, leveraging their respective strengths to revolutionise the B2B payments space and create sustainable business models in today’s digital era. As the next stages of digital structural change continue to transform financial services, the focus of technological developments will shift. Most recent developments in business models have been […]

MiFID II date confirmed – but why are financial institutions doing more and achieving less?

As the European Commission finally confirms an implementation date for MiFID II, Volker Lainer of GoldenSource explains why now is the time for financial institutions adopting a quick fix approach to regulation to reconsider. After waiting and wondering, financial institutions finally have a firm date of January 3rd 2018 for MiFID II compliance. Whether this […]

From challenger to winner: how new entrant banks can succeed in the UK

Kevin Mountford, CEO of PBF Solutions, examines the key steps that new entrants to the UK banking sector need to take to attract customers and drive deposits. Challenging is one thing, but gaining a firm foothold in the UK banking sector is another, especially as the number of new entrants grows. From 2013 to mid-2015, the […]

Retail banking: the power of the personal

In 2016, retail banks are facing up to their biggest challenge. A combination of new market disrupters, increased regulation and the continuing pace of technology change is set to transform the industry, shifting power firmly to the consumer. Natalie McLellan, director of financial services at consultancy firm Egremont, offers her insight. Many commentators argue that […]

Are cloud-based managed services set to take off in 2016?

Over the last few years, technology infrastructures have become increasingly complex and expensive to manage. At the same time, IT budgets have been cut, leading to companies finding it hard to provide and maintain IT infrastructures. Dana Brants, head of services at Swift, looks at what companies can do under the circumstances. Due to costs, […]

Achieving merchant acceptance – the key to successful digital financial services

Digital financial services (DFS) have the power to transform the lives of millions living in poverty. However, the lack of merchant acceptance presents a significant obstacle to its success. Sacha Polverini, chairman of the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) focus group on digital financial services and Carol Benson, managing partner at Glenbrook Partners, look at how […]

Viewpoint: A Bright Spot for Prepaid Card Issuers

The CFPB wants the nation’s top banks to offer consumers more lower-risk account choices. That could be good news for the prepaid card industry even as some might grumble about the agency meddling in their affairs.

Viewpoint: How Consumers Use Apple Pay

Consumers certainly know of Apple Pay. But recent survey results shed light on how shoppers are employing the mobile payment technology and suggest that challenges to further use remain.

Clearing contradictions in derivatives regulation

There’s one challenge that regulators seem unable to address, and that is regulation itself. Today’s evolving regulatory environment seems to be beset by a range of internal contradictions. One such contradiction is the banks’ decision to act as clearing providers for derivatives businesses.

Rob Binns to join Misys as chief financial officer

Financial software provider Misys has appointed Rob Binns as its chief financial officer. Binns joins Misys from HP where he was head of treasury and investor relations. He joined Hewlett-Packard in 2007 from Mercury Interactive and has held a number of senior finance positions in the company including VP Software Field Operations and VP Investor […]

Hassan named chief digital officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Morgan Stanley has appointed Naureen Hassan as chief digital officer for Wealth Management, a new position in which she will lead the strategy and marketing of digital tools and platforms serving the firm’s 16,000 financial advisors and 3.5 million clients. Naureen Hassan served most recently as executive vice president, Investment Services Segments and Platforms at […]

Trader voice – the last bastion of the old world

The largest vendors in the trader voice market are now in a similar position to IBM in the late 1990s: their solutions are proprietary, expensive to maintain, and lacking true open integration …

Viewpoint: Leaders, Learners and Laggards

I talk with a lot of banking leaders who describe their approach to innovation as being a “fast follower. My typical retort is that they are half-right—most of them are definitely followers, but there usually isn’t anything fast about their approach.

Viewpoint: Mobile Wallet Myth-Busting Starts Now

For those of us in prepaid, combating misrepresentation of our products in the media is nothing new. A recent news story claiming banks are leaving customers on the hook for fraud if they use a mobile wallet shows there’s plenty of work to do for new payment methods.

Money market statistical reporting: challenges for 2016 and beyond

Money Market Statistical Reporting presents a fair number of challenges. And firms are pressed for time to prepare for these requirements, according to an overview prepared by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. Where they may have adopted tactical solutions in the past to meet transaction level reporting obligations, now is a good opportunity to think more strategically about investing in the right platform and infrastructure. This is especially true given that daily reporting obligations will soon be extended in 2018 to include securities and financial transactions

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