European Central Bank (ECB) figures appear to show that cashless payments transaction volumes in 2014 remained flat at 68 billion payments. However, Deutsche Bank analyst Heike Mai, who specialises in payments and shadow banking, has published a report that corrects this conclusion. Entitled ‘Payments in the euro area: Are they stagnating? – No!’ the report […]
Fifth Third Bank is introducing Touch ID biometric capabilities to its mobile banking app for the iPhone. Touch ID allows fingerprint authentication for enabled devices, letting customers log into their Fifth Third app with their fingers or thumbs instead of a password. The Bank’s fast mobile app allows people to check balances, transfer funds and […]
The online retail services of HSBC have been brought down in a distributed-denial-of-service attack according to the bank. Online services were inaccessible to clients, the second online service problem the bank’s customers have faced this month, following a two-day outage earlier in January that the bank reported was not caused by a cyber-attack. Concern about […]
Cognitive computing specialist CustomerMatrix, a co-founder of forum Cognitive Computing Consortium, has closed US$10.5 million in Series-B funding. The investment, one in a series of investments in artificial intelligence-like technologies in 2016, was led by HSBC, with participation from Aster Capital, and existing investors Newfund and True Global Ventures. CustomerMatrix, which offers a predictive engine called […]
Banco Santander is to begin using services provided by ATM maker Wincor Nixdorf to support its Mexican subsidiary. The services cover monitoring, maintenance and troubleshooting.
CaixaBank is launching imaginBank, Spain’s first mobile-only bank providing banking services exclusively through mobile apps and social networks.
UK building society Nationwide has signed BT to provide the network infrastructure for its digital transformation strategy, as part of a six-year deal between the two firms.
French telecoms firm Orange is to create a new bank called Orange Bank together with French insurer Groupama, in a move the two firms say will help to break open the banking market using mobile phone technology.
India’s Post Bank is to begin processing payments in March 2017, according to the government’s communications minister. The move is part of long-standing plans to use India’s Post Office network to spread financial inclusion in the world’s largest democratic nation.
Millennials – those highly sophisticated, tech-savvy men and women born between 1980 and 2000 – present enormous opportunities for banks and other financial institutions. Yet to be successful, these businesses must understand and meet the needs of a generation that grew up having it all, seeing it all, and being exposed to it all since early childhood – and that is no easy task.
Digital technology is on the verge of transforming banking, in a similar way that Spotify has completely changed the music industry and Netflix has revolutionised broadcast entertainment
Retail banks often claim that customer service is their primary focus, but 75% of banks believe they haven’t concentrated efforts on improving it. Instead, annual reports focus on the financial results. Whether these two stories can become one remains to be seen, according to a new whitepaper by bank technology vendor Misys.
RBS has awarded a contract to Hewlett Packard Enterprise for the implementation of a new image-based cheque clearing service in response to UK regulatory changes that require all cheques to be processed digitally by 2017, under HM Treasury’s Future Clearing Model.
One in five UK consumers (21%) have had personal details stolen and their bank accounts used to buy goods and services as a result of a cyber security breach, according to new research from business advisory firm Deloitte.
Santander has launched a competition to support startups using distributed ledger technology in financial services. Through its subsidiary InnoVentures, the bank hopes to promote distributed ledger tools that could improve banking processes.
The threat of competition from technology companies, startups and non-banks is causing serious worry to nearly three-quarters of retail banks, causing four-fifths of them to invest in so-called ‘disruptive’ technologies, according to a new study by Infosys and non-profit organisation Efma.
Trade association Efma has appointed Vincent Bastid as its new chief executive, replacing Patrick Desmarès, who is retiring after 12 years in the post.
One in three retail banking customers feel their mobile banking app is not as good as online banking through a browser, according to a new study by ecommerce company First Data in the UK. The figures also revealed that more than half still have yet to use a mobile banking app – suggesting that there may be both an unmet demand for more functionality in mobile apps, and a need to convince the remaining consumers of their value.
Technology has infiltrated every facet of our lives, fundamentally changing our behaviour patterns and our expectations of what constitutes a good customer experience. The banking sector has not been immune to these changes; the industry has been forced to drastically transform its business processes and services in order to keep up with customers’ expectations. Today, customer satisfaction is judged not by the smile on the face of a cashier, but on the speed with which one can gain mobile access
Three challenger banks have committed to take advantage of a new way to guarantee settlement between banks of payments made through Faster Payments, the UK’s 24/7 real-time payments service, when it becomes available next year.
In bygone days the bank manager knew each of his customers by name but could offer them only the narrowest range of products. Today the computer can tailor bespoke financial solutions in a mass market – but has no empathy with which to convey its expertise …
When ANZ decided to make its acquisition of New Zealand’s National Bank into a single brand, it had some wide-ranging rationalisation ahead of it to reduce costs while expanding service coverage. Software from Californian geographic information systems specialist Esri helped.
An interesting trend is developing in the halal sector: regional hubs are developing in places that have some local demand but not the size that would be significant markets on their own. Think of Malaysia (the largest) or Dubai or tiny Brunei. Each sees the halal sector as being strategic to their economic growth, and for Dubai and Brunei at least, as key aspects of their economic diversification. This trend has the potential to support global growth in the Islamic economy as well as SME development but need a lot of (costly) infrastructure put in place to open up the international side to SMEs
Online-only bank Fidor has launched in the UK, promising to change the way retail banking works by letting the customer build the services and products they want to use. The bank is part of a new wave of fresh banks entering the market, many of which focus their efforts online rather than on the high street.
UK building society Nationwide has begun a £500 million project to improve its branch network using NCR latest generation of self-service ATMs. The project aims to bring the kind of self-service experience customers can get at supermarkets to the retail bank branch.
Figures from Link, the UK’s cash machine network, show that the number of ATMs in the UK reached 70,180 in July, passing 70,000 for the first time. ATM figures from July, show that the total amount withdrawn from cash machines in July 2015 was £11.3 billion, up 4% compared with July 2014.
More than £2.5 billion was spent in the UK using contactless cards in the first half of 2015 and this is likely to increase even more as the upper limit for contactless payments increases from £20 to £30 from today.
Credit unions play a critical role in local economies of countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, serving as a vital savings and credit conduit to vast numbers of people, especially those in the lower rungs of the income pyramid who are in many cases, priced out of the traditional banking system
Equifax, the consumer and business information specialist, has launched a new service providing real-time, integrated data on companies and the individuals who own and run them.
Mobile phones will take an increasingly leading role in the payments space over the next five years as a result of technologies that allow safe storage of payment details in smartphones, according to a report prepared by the Consult Hyperion on behalf of Payments UK.
There has been hype around wearable technology for some time now but only now is it reaching market maturity with the introduction and subsequent adoption by consumers of smart watches and wristbands. Just as we saw with smart phones and tablets, consumer technology, in this case wearables, has the potential to have a huge impact on the business world. The implications for the financial services industry are significant
UK digital-only bank Atom has chosen financial technology company IRESS to provide the basis for its mortgage platform. Atom received its licence in June and plans to launch later this year.
ATM maker Wincor Nixdorf is to expand its ATM business in Brazil, following a deal with Brazilian hardware company Perto. The deal comes as the BRIC market expands its retail banking infrastructure to serve the growing middle class of Brazilian society.
Reports of the death of cash have dominated the 2015 news agenda. A variety of industry developments – from the launch of Apple Pay through to a Danish proposal to end the obligation of retailers to accept cash – work together to imply that paper notes and coins could soon lose relevance. All this is underpinned by apparently irrefutable stats from the Payments Council which reveal that cashless transactions have now overtaken the use of cash in the UK
Look at most technology initiatives around you, most are obsessed with taking the cost out e.g. ATMs, online banking or selling more e.g. marketing automation, emails. As a business it’s important to manage the cost, but when cost becomes the primary driver, it creates more problems than it solves
More than a million people switched their current account to a rival bank in the year leading up to July 2015, according to new figures published by UK payments system Bacs. The numbers represent only a minimal increase on the year before – undermining hopes that making switching easier would lead to dramatic improvements in the competitiveness of UK retail banks.
Santander has launched a group money management app called KiTTI, which is a virtual ‘cash kitty’ that allows groups of people to create a collective pot of money using a mobile app and a prepaid contactless MasterCard.
Nearly half of UK consumers say that faster payments are a factor in their choice of back account provider, with 45% saying that the offer of faster electronic payments would encourage them to switch their bank account provider.
Recent studies suggest that banks in the UK are rebuilding their reputation among consumers and investments in mobile and digital are at least in part responsible –though trust remains fragile and other studies highlight concerns over pricing and transparency. Customer satisfaction across all sectors in the UK has flat-lined over the past six months, but some that regularly attract scrutiny – including banking – have shown signs of improvement,
UK banks rank bottom in a nine-country survey of how well banks match up to customer expectations in terms of rewarding customer loyalty and helping them manage their finance. Overall, the UK banks rank third, behind the US and Germany.
