Major global banks need to grasp social networks, cloud computing, user-generated content, personalisation, contextual information and gamification if they are to maintain a competitive edge and stay connected with customers. But they also need to ensure their innovations are transmitted thoroughly to all employees, according to panellists at the BAFT IFSA conference in London on Monday.
The EC proposes that banks and payment services providers will not be penalised for continuing to process legacy payments during a six-month “transition period” after the February deadline for SEPA migration.
HSBC has rolled out a service that will allow online retailers to give customers the choice to pay in various international currencies.
HSBC has lost more customers since the introduction of the UK’s account switching service than any other major retail bank, according to figures published by advisory firm TNS.
Barclays has been fined $3.75 million by the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for its failure to keep electronic records, including emails and instant messages, which are required by law. The failure is the latest in a string of recent fines for the bank.
The European Central Bank is to create a Euro Retail Payments Board to replace the Single Euro Payments Area Council and “help foster the development of an integrated, innovative and competitive market for retail payments in euro in the European Union”.
Five international banks are to become direct participants in the UK’s CHAPS high-value payments system as part of the Bank of England’s efforts to reduce systemic risk.
Bank of America is working with Facebook’s Open Compute project on a radical revamp of its systems. David Reilly, head of its Technology Infrastructure unit, tells Banking Technology why Software Defined.Infrastructures are the way ahead.
The technology that banks offer clients can be thought of as a true gift, enabling improvements that can reduce risk, increase efficiency and ultimately put firms on a surer footing. And it is the most advanced and newest platforms which grab everyone’s attention.
Germany’s Commerzbank has just signed up to Regis-TR, the European trade repository owned by German CSD Clearstream and Spanish CSD Iberclear, as part of the bank’s drive to ready itself for the EMIR legislation on OTC derivatives reporting.
BNY Mellon has added a link to Bloomberg to its AccessEdge investment management service, which the bank says will help clients to better manage their collateral.
An IT problem that left customers of RBS and its Natwest and Ulster Bank subsidiaries unable to use their accounts yesterday evening was described as “unacceptable” by a bank spokeswoman. For three hours – on what was expected to by the largest online shopping day of the year, dubbed “Cyber Monday” – the banks’ customers […]
Standard Chartered and Agricultural Bank of China have launched renminbi-denominated clearing services in the UK in a deal that reflects the ongoing internationalisation of the currency.
Santander, Nationwide and Halifax have gained the most from the UK’s account switching service, while traditional banking names Barclays, HSBC Lloyds & TSB and NatWest have lost out, according to new figures released by advisory firm TNS.
RBS has confirmed that it is to launch V.me by Visa, the digital wallet built by Visa Europe. The decision follows a pilot programme, and will mean that RBS follows in the footsteps of Nationwide Building Society, which has just become the first UK high street brand to roll out the wallet to its customers.
Most people have no idea how good Turkish wine is, according to Martin Spurling, chief executive of HSBC Turkey. With over 1.5 million acres of land devoted to vines, it is a little-known fact that the Mediterranean country is the world’s fourth producer of grapes. The same can be said for Turkey’s ambitious plans to develop Istanbul as a major international financial centre.
Staff at Metro Bank don’t have sales targets – instead, they are incentivised to enhance the customer experience, says Craig Donaldson, chief executive at Metro Bank. The bank is hoping this approach will pay off as it continues its campaign to win over the UK high street with the launch of a new branch at Cheapside in the heart of London.
Separating customer billing from core systems can have dramatic effects on the bottom line – a study by Boston Consulting Group at one bank found that 17% of clients were unprofitable.
Deutsche Bank has chosen Kim Hammonds as chief information officer and global co-head of group technology and operations. Hammonds joins on 25 November from Boeing, where she was chief information officer.
Standard Chartered Hong Kong has opened its first ‘digital’ branch, in which customers are greeted by giant screen TVs, the bank’s mobile apps in a special experience zone, and QR code scanning on an iWall, as well as e-signature pads and virtual queuing.
Polish IT specialist Comarch has launched a host-to-host banking solution designed to allow corporates to issue bank instructions directly from their enterprise resource planning software.
Standard Bank of South Africa has launched a major expansion drive in West Africa, starting with the opening of a new representative office in the Côte d’Ivoire. The bank plans to use the Abidjan office to become familiar with the region and identify further opportunities within it.
The UK High Court has ruled against Barclays in a case brought by remittance provider Dahabshiil, granting an injunction preventing the bank from closing Dahabshiil’s account.
Mobile banking may be on the rise around the world but the bank branch is not dead, according to new research by IT firm GFT Technologies.
China’s miraculous economic catch up since reform and opening up has created an unprecedented generation of consumers. The way this generation has adopted the on-line world in China is very different from that in the West.
Cloud computing company SAP has signed a deal with Citibank for a major new cloud platform that promises to simplify corporate to bank connectivity for some of the world’s largest banks, Banking Technology has learned.
Standard Chartered has completed the rollout of its corporate actions platform across 39 countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, which the bank says will help clients cut costs and reduce their corporate actions risk exposure.
HSBC Bank China has completed its first electronic tax payment for a corporate client in Shanghai, in a move that the bank says is the first among all foreign banks I the city. The new tax payment service deducts funds in real time and enables customers to complete tax reports and process payments on the government’s tax system terminal from any location.
LCH.Clearnet, the clearing house subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange, has appointed Suneel Bakhshi as its new chief executive. He will take up his new role in early 2014.
Geopolitical shifts and increasing protectionism among nations will mean that the universal banking model is no longer sustainable – and there is little that anyone can do, according to Bill Michael, EMA head of financial services at KPMG. “The future shape of banking is beyond the control of boards, individual regulators or countries alone,” Michael […]
Citi has expanded its electronic bank account management service to 55 countries, in a move that the bank says will help corporate treasurers to better manage risk. The bank also expanded its cross-border WorldLink payment service into new emerging markets.
Financial information services company Markit is aiming to create the largest financial markets messaging community and remove barriers to cross-market communication through its open messaging initiative and supporting technology, Markit Collaboration Services.
Slowly but steadily, financial institutions and their corporate clients are beginning to talk about growth again. Markets are gradually shifting from a purely defensive position; the Fed has spoken about tapering its quantitative easing programme; and many companies are putting expansion back on the agenda in response, writes Greg Murray.
Social media may be a dirty word to most banks’ CFOs. But when 28 hours of a 40-hour week are lost to emails and searching for information, there has to be a better way, according to Tony Zingale, chief executive at Jive Software, which has just launched in Europe.
A new monthly index that measures UK current account switching has been launched by research firm TNS, providing a snapshot of changing consumer behaviour as the UK Payments Council’s switching service begins to take effect.
European commercial bank UniCredit has chosen payment processing company First Data Corporation to help it pursue its mobile payments plans.
Nationwide has reported a significant increase in the number of customers switching their main current account to the building society, following the introduction of the new seven day account switching service on 16 September – but not everyone is convinced.
Less than one in ten UK consumers has used a mobile wallet, despite the widespread availability of the technology, a new study has found.
Dissatisfaction with global regulators has been expressed during the entire Sibos week, with the topic being raised in sessions across the board.
Lloyds Banking Group’s partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, announced this week, is likely to be the first of a series of such deals intended to allow the UK-focused bank to extend its client services overseas.
