Viewpoint: Winning the Holiday Gift Card Season
With some $25 billion at stake, personalization and going digital will help ensure returns for the all important fourth quarter.
Industry Comment
Viewpoint: Retailers Need to Go Branded to Go Big
Many retailers still insist on treating payments as merely a functional step of the purchase process. But connected consumers desire payment experiences. Here’s how to offer them.
Relocation: technological and infrastructural risks
Cost savings are not the only thing to consider when relocating your business. Applications, systems, hardware and people are all being moved and a seamless transition is essential to ensure there is no downtime and no risk to your reputation or finances. Most people see international relocation as a cost-saving initiative but if that is […]
Digital security requires a complex hybrid approach
In early June, Reuters disclosed that the US Federal Reserve had detected more that 50 cyber security breaches from 2011 through 2015. It should be noted that this may only represent a small fraction of the Fed’s total exposure during this period. It turns out that, unlike the Washington-based Board of Governors, the 12 privately […]
When the ground is moving, banks need to shift to a smarter platform
The tectonic plates of the banking sector are shifting faster than ever. High street banks are under stress from the massive competitive threats generated by their leaner, technology-driven fintech rivals and challenger banks. These fintech companies are finding success simply by being more efficient or by taking advantage of emerging and highly effective technologies such […]
Viewpoint: Europe’s Startling Response to Interchange Regulation
Since the EU imposed interchange decreases in December, issuers have reduced rewards and increased fees. What might the future hold? Building ways to monetize the vast amounts of data at issuers’ disposal.
Viewpoint: What Tipping Means For EMV
As the U.S. payments industry marks the first year of the EMV rollout, questions abound about the spread and use of the technology. Among the concerns is how restaurants will handle tipping.
Viewpoint: Why Fintechs Want More Regulation
As regulators increase their focus on financial technology firms, some of those companies are eager to welcome more rules, which could lead to less expensive and complicated businesses. Much depends on one fintech’s application before U.S. regulators for a national charter.
Does the bank branch still matter?
The number of branches operated by major banking groups in the UK has halved over the last 20 years. In fact, Britain’s banks closed more than 600 branches across the UK between April 2015 and April 2016. This is hardly surprising as more and more people move online, often mobile-first, to complete most of their […]
Taking a nap isn’t a crime, but falling asleep at the switch could cause a disaster
“Give me a solid foundation to stand on, and I will move the Earth.” I am still looking for cement trucks that are pouring foundations – virtual or otherwise – for the new normal of banking, but I can’t find them. Bankers are really confused as to how to succeed in their own business. But like Johnny Lee, I might have been lookin’ in all the wrong places.
FTR 2015 – EU regulation with global impact
What is FTR 2015 and how does it affect banks operating in the cross-border payments space? Marc Recker, Head of Market Management, Institutional Cash Management at Deutsche Bank, explores. The challenges and complexities of complying with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CFT) regulations are certainly not new in the financial industry. Over the past […]
Swift admits attacks are “here to stay” – so what can banks do?
There’s a cultural misconception that security equals lockdown in the financial sector; disclosure runs counter to that perception. Banks are less inclined to share intimate details of attacks because they don’t want to damage market confidence and that makes cyber security a major challenge for the sector. Swift has recently sent a letter out to customers […]
Banking on collaboration
The disruptive forces of technology and legislation are forcing banks to become open and collaborative, things which they historically found challenging. A friend who owns a small business recently went through what I call a “connected and choreographed” experience to get a loan. iWoka, a digital lending company, simply asked him to log on to […]
Viewpoint: Bitcoin After Brexit
A spike in bitcoin value after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union points to the digital currency being viewed as a safe haven for investors. But a recent bankruptcy case clouds the situation.
Viewpoint: How to Deal with Stricter Money Transmitter Laws
New Mexico becomes the latest state to enact a law that requires licenses for money transmitters. That means more bureaucracy. Here are some tips for meeting those requirements.
Viewpoint: Think Small to Battle Online Fraud
Too often, online merchants and their payment providers focus more on international orders than domestic transactions in the battle against fraud. But drilling down into ZIP codes and neighborhoods might be a wiser strategy.
Defining fintech as an opportunity, not as a threat
“Silicon Valley is coming,” warned Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s boss, in a recent letter to shareholders. It’s a sentiment echoed across much of the banking world at the moment. The idea that fintech is a threat to the financial services sector is bubbling – a 2015 PwC survey found 83% of financial services professionals were […]
Investments for real-time payment systems and migration to ISO 20022
Traditionally there weren’t any obligations for financial institutions to provide complete information on all parties in a payment process. Today, it is quite a different story. The initiator and receiver are responsible for reporting account numbers, names and addresses of remitters. There are even cases now where regulators may prevent banks from processing transactions when […]
IoT and the banking revolution
It’s no secret that the financial services industry has tended to lag behind when it comes to adopting digital technology. Far from being leaders of innovation, banks are often stifled by lumbering IT systems and an inherent sense of caution when it comes to challenging the status-quo. With growing investment in the internet of things […]
Let’s all get together? Not likely – mobile payments are still a far, far away dream!
In the course of a recent active business day I observed myself carrying a multitude of financial instruments. I had to make a payment from my business checking account to a local government agency and I was reluctant to use my business debit card. Should I have chosen my credit card the agency charged an […]
Viewpoint: Does the CFPB Expect Payment Processors to Enforce State Regulatory Requirements?
Are payment processors for consumer financial service providers required to understand the complex regulatory regimes to which their clients are subject, and verify that clients are complying with those requirements?
Viewpoint: The Enduring Role of Cash
There is no question that consumers continue to embrace card-based payments as an alternative to cash and checks, none more so than the millennials. But cash will continue to have a role.
Viewpoint: What a New EMV Tool Means for Payments
Meant to overcome the challenges of tokenization, payment account reference (PAR) promises more complexity and cost—and will require more attention from payments providers.
Viewpoint: How to Boost the Appeal of Mobile Wallets
Mobile wallets already offer incentives to consumers based on spending. What about offering rewards based on money management?
All the time in the world? Not if you’re an institutional trader
Organisations select a telecommunications provider for different reasons – reliability, global interconnectivity, price and performance are some of the more common drivers – so why do institutional investment arms and FX traders still buck this trend by focusing heavily on network latencies? It is simple, there are very few sectors within international finance where time […]
Counting the cost of legacy systems
There’s both a science and an art to arriving at an estimated return on investment (ROI) when it comes to legacy system replacement, writes Mike Maltby, product manager at Eagle Investment Systems. One of the biggest challenges in the decision-making process to replace legacy technology is demonstrating an ROI. System replacements, described by one consultant as […]
Big data is no longer a big deal but smart data is sure a smart strategy
We are all pretty much unanimous that the once IT buzz word “big data” is no longer the awe-inspiring complex beast which can be tamed only by expensive databases and superlative data analytics platforms. Cloud architecture and collaborative open source software brought big data processing within the reach of pretty much all enterprises. Analytics domain […]
The future of banking is here: cognitive banking
Since the 2008 financial crisis, the sector has looked to repair reputational damage, lock down compliance in the system and rapidly innovate to serve a new generation. During this period of change, banks must redefine the value they want to provide for their customers. For example, do they want to finance the future dreams a […]
Viewpoint: The Visa/PayPal Deal Is Not as It Appears
The recent partnership between the two payments giants will impact fees, consumer data and other areas. An analyst discusses the benefits and motivations of the deal.
Viewpoint: One-Time Passwords Aren’t Going Away
A recent NIST announcement would seem to toss SMS one-time passwords to the junk pile. But the anti-fraud technology still has value for low risk transactions.
Viewpoint: Brexit Can’t Save U.K. from Data Protection Regs
A tough new European data protection rule, scheduled to come into force in 2018, will command businesses’ attention no matter the relationship the U.K. has with the EU.
Viewpoint: Who Dominates P2P?
Beware of predictions that upstarts will push aside incumbents when it comes to consumer-to-consumer remittances. The numbers tell a different story.
The hare and the tortoise: racing ahead in customer experience
Sid Parashar, SVP of client relations and strategic account management, Firstsource Solutions, asks if traditional banks are now ready to take on the new kids on the block when it comes to customer communications. As the banking industry emerges from one of the most transformative periods in its history, it has been a trying time […]
Can robo-advisors stand the test of time?
Robo-advisors are becoming increasingly commonplace in the UK’s financial sector. Over the last 18 months, high street banks such as Barclays, Lloyds, Santander and RBS have all launched robo-advice platforms, and it’s not only these well-known names that are competing to own the online investment space. Smaller challenger brands like Nutmeg and Wealthfront have also […]
CECL: introducing another project for banking IT departments
There was some big news for bank’s risk and finance technology departments last month. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. Notably, this standard introduces a new impairment model, commonly known as the CECL (current […]
Optimal execution and the human-machine interface
In recent years we have seen a strong trend for institutional trading desks to leverage their data to improve trade execution results and become more recognised as active participants in portfolio performance. Two important applications of predictive analytics have arisen, both aiming to improve the manner in which trading algorithms are used and controlled. It […]
Tech and talent: priority number one for official institutions
Since the global financial crisis, there has been an endemic environment of low interest rates and currency fluctuations. The effects of quantitative easing have been broadly felt by institutions across the globe; and have created major challenges for central banks, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and government pension funds. In addition to this, equity market declines […]
Viewpoint: Liberating Consumers through Payments
For once, the sound bites being used to describe upcoming changes in the global banking industry may actually be too conservative. The latest Payments Services Directive likely will revolutionize how consumers interact with their banks and the protection they can expect when paying online or on their mobile devices—and the effects won’t be limited to Europe.
Viewpoint: Can Emojis Secure Mobile Payments?
In addition to brightening text messages and tweets, the popular icons beloved by everyone from tweens to Baby Boomers may soon serve a much more substantial purpose—mobile and payments authentication.
Viewpoint: Harnessing the Full Power of Tokenization
To harness the true power of tokenization—a technology that underlies mobile payments—banks need to change their thinking. Doing so could help boost the appeal of mobile wallets.
