FinTech


Mobile to dominate rise in retail bank IT spending

Further evidence that bank IT spending is growing again comes from industry analysts at Ovum, which is predicting overall growth of 3.4% among retail banks, reaching $118.6 billion in 2013, as they focus on “customer satisfaction and revenue growth”.

Market abuse highlights vulnerable European equity market

The imposition of an £8 million fine against defunct Canadian day trading firm Swift Trade earlier this week illustrates the potential for abusive strategies that distort markets – and the need for a new approach from regulators, according to Matthew Coupe, director of regulation and market structure at NICE Actimize.

Exchanges: time for a rebuild?

Technical problems at Nasdaq and BATS have reinforced the impression among many market observers that there may be something seriously wrong with equity market structure. Recent history reads like a catalogue of disaster for many of the world’s most prominent trading venues.

Western Union: Expanding on all fronts

As the global payments markets changes, Western Union has plans to change with it. Massimiliano Alvisini, regional director UK, Ireland & Nordics explains how and why.

Banish Missed Trade Misery …

A study shows that 62% of City traders “admit to missing key investment or sell opportunities because they didn’t keep track of time zone differences”.

Customer relationships in a multichannel world

The public perception of banks has been battered in recent years, but financial institutions have been working hard to repair the damage. A key tool in their strategy has been to improve customer service in a multichannel environment.

Rise of the machines: banks embrace automation despite the cost

Flawed decisions taken by machines are causing financial services firms to lose customers and suffer unexpected costs, according to new report by the Economist Intelligence unit. Yet retail banks are increasingly turning to technology to assess customers.

Social media 2.0 for banks

A new social media tool designed for banks and built by British technology firm Integritie aims to break through the barriers that separate customers from their bank.

Riding the payments roller-coaster

UK banks are still in “a difficult place” as they face economic uncertainty, increased cost and competitive pressures, complex regulations and rapid technological changes – but the changes that are happening in the payments industry offer scope for them to reclaim the initiative and deploy innovative solutions.

Regional differences colour IT spending priorities

Total bank IT spending across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific will grow to $179.2 billion in 2013, an increase of 3.4% over last year according to research and consulting firm Celent.

Unlocking the potential of Big Data

At the centre of the national crisis sits a banking industry tarnished in the public’s eyes by poor performance, excessive pay and the ongoing need for state support. Just where does the industry go from here and how does it start to rebuild trust?

Lloyds slashes another 940 jobs as cuts deepen

Lloyds Banking Group is to cut 940 more jobs, the latest in a series of savage headcount culls at major financial institutions. Separate announcements earlier this week confirmed 200 human resources jobs would be axed, and a further 175 cuts made in the Halifax branch network.

CGI in mobile alliance with Monitise

CGI, which recently acquired UK software house Logica, has formed a partnership with mobile banking and payment specialist Monetise to offer joint services for banking and payments companies using the Monitise platform.

Broker back-ends still outpaced by trading technology

Too many brokers are still using outdated methods such as email and telephone to confirm trade matches, undermining the advantages gleaned from high-performance trading technology, according to a new study by financial research firm Aite Group.

Nasdaq OMX expands and regroups technology business

Nasdaq OMX is to combine its market technology and corporate solutions businesses, in a move that it says will help the firm provide more transparency to customers and a stronger business proposition.

Trendy techs top CIO priority lists for 2013 says Gartner study

Faced with flatlining IT budgets, global CIOs must better exploit the business potential of technology to achieve results – currently they realise only 43% of that potential says Gartner. Top of the priority list is what the research firm calls ‘digital technologies’. In this it includes mobile, analytics, Big Data, social media networking and cloud, […]

Payments Council pushes mobile payments back another year

The UK Payments Council has announced that the introduction of its planned Mobile Payments Service has been pushed back until “spring 2014” – a year after its previously expected introduction, and two years after Barclays broke from the rest of the UK banks and launched its Pingit service. The delay comes despite commitments from financial […]

The irresistible rise of digital banking

The banking industry, integral to our commercial and personal lives, has always evolved with the times to embrace new challenges and consumer attitudes. Technology plays an obvious and increasingly important role in this evolution.

Social media trading goes live on DCM

Online trading service DCM Capital has released a trading platform with a social media sentiment feed, allowing traders to incorporate information from channels such as twitter and Facebook into their trading decisions.

Wall Street Systems acquires IT2 Treasury Solutions

IT2 Treasury Solutions, a UK company that provides treasury management software and services for large corporations and small and mid-sized financial institutions, has been sold to Wall Street Systems, a subsidiary of trading technology provider ION Trading.

Mobile banking to hit 1 billion users by 2017

As uptake of mobile banking services is predicted to reach 1 billion by 2017, banks are starting to view the mobile channel as an indispensable revenue stream, according to Nitin Bhas, senior analyst at telecoms research firm Juniper Research.

IT pros willing to back the bankers

The finance sector has been plagued with bad press over the past five years, with little respite for those in the industry, but despite the issues faced by the sector, 59% of IT jobseekers would still consider entering the industry, writes Richard Nott, website director at CWJobs.co.uk.

Diebold debuts cardless ATM at CES

ATM maker Diebold has developed an ATM that lets customers withdraw cash without using a card – and saves the bank money in the process.

Thomson Reuters debuts FATCA compliance kit

Thomson Reuters has launched a tool to help financial institutions comply with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, widely known as FATCA, which requires banks to identify their US customers for tax purposes.

Celoxica debuts HFT futures trading tools

UK technology company Celoxica has launched a new futures trading platform, which it says will make automated trading strategies even faster and more efficient.

Unbundling tops banking reform recommendations

Global investment banks need to stop focusing on easy opportunities and start innovating, according to a new report by US business consultancy AlixPartners – even if that means unbundling services and embracing smaller financial institutions as allies.

New Year, New Job

New Year, New Job? With gloomy predictions and swingeing cuts at big firms, what do employment prospects look like in 2013? Also in this issue: Bloomberg’s Stanley Young on broadening its enterprise offerings. ART for art’s sake: Assess, Rationalise and Transform is the motto for risk management The Year Ahead: a round-up of views on what the year ahead […]

On board the enterprise

Like Apple under Steve Jobs, Bloomberg has a long-held reputation for being a ‘closed’ sort of company, reluctant to compromise its products or its ways of working.

Jefferies adopts TwoFour Systems cash management tools

Global investment bank Jefferies has chosen a cash management solution from software firm TwoFour Systems for its UK and US-based Jefferies Bache Treasury business, to help it keep better track of its business processes.

Banking Technology Awards 2012 – The Winners

At a gala event in London this week, industry luminaries gathered for an evening of entertainment and excitement as the winners of the 2012 Banking Technology Awards and Readers’ Choice Awards were announced. Comedian Simon Evans (left) kept the audience on the edge of their seats with an acerbic and hilarious routine before being joined on stage […]

Video banking 2.0 targets retail bank productivity

Once considered too difficult and unreliable to be viable, video banking can now help banks increase engagement with the retail customer while cutting costs, according to Gene Pranger, chief executive and founder at uGenius, a provider of personal transaction technologies.

Mobile security: a moving target …

Mobile and NFC payment technologies have been on the rise in recent years. But with many merchants and retail outlets still reluctant to invest in the new technologies, and with the rise of fraud in existing solutions, industry participants are divided over how and whether the technology will ever gain widespread acceptance in developed markets.