A guiding light
Building a single regional market is a goal for many groups of nations; however Europe’s development of a single settlement platform is the only effort to come to fruition.
BankingTech
Next out of the block
Forget Bitcoin, cryptographic payments networks will be the real game-changer, according to many people working in the payments world.
The high cost of failure
Data in all its forms and access to it in real time is becoming ever more critical as financial institutions seek to manage myriad risks.
The long arm of the law
Crypto and virtual currencies have garnered plenty of headlines in the past couple of years. Now financial regulators around the world are turning the spotlight on these instruments and attempting to bring them into the legal fold.
Cross border co-operation is key to the safe evolution of financial markets
Global financial markets are experiencing a paradigm shift as governments, regulators and participants recalibrate the processes and structures underpinning global finance. The challenge is to repair and remedy where needed, with dialogue between central banks, regulators and participants, but also to avoid creating fragmented markets or worse, unintentionally reintroducing risk.
Changing the world
Change is a theme at this year’s Sibos. But what type of change? A cross-section of delegates discuss what they think will be the main disruptive forces in their part of the business.
Clear2Pay Sibos14 Supplement One Payments World
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A city that commands attention
One of the most attractive cities in the US, Boston is also steeped in history: get your walking shoes on and explore the many historical and culinary delights of the Sibos 2014 host city.
Access all new areas
While mobile commerce and payments have been slow to take off in Western countries, the developing world has been stealing a march with innovative services and products.
Silver linings
In early September, cloud computing stories finally became interesting as an apparent hacking attack on Apple’s iCloud released hundreds of photos of ‘celebrities’ in the nude. It was a perfect story for the mainstream media, combining celebrities with nudity and a bit of unintelligible (to them at least) technology thrown in for good measure. Among […]
Banking Technology Awards 2014 – shortlist announced
Banks from as far afield as Brazil, New Zealand and Singapore are among the candidates on the shortlist for the Banking Technology 2014 Awards, announced today, showing the continuing competitive edge regional institutions are gaining over the large international players through technology.
Top frontier markets lure investors with promising returns reports Aite
A sustained rally in frontier markets is leading an expansion of size and liquidity as investors seek opportunities that are not available in the developed or emerging markets, according to a new report by research house Aite.
ISO 20022: the beginning of the future?
The ISO 20022 standard is 10 years old this year, but its roots go back to some five years before that, and the story of its development and adoption is likely to go on for many years in the future. The datum point is probably the publication in 1999 of a Green Paper from SWIFT called ‘Building Standards for Tomorrow’. The modest proposal in that document is that “the next generation of standards will be based on a structured and formal framework”.
ICICI Bank unveils Indian mobile app quartet
India’s ICICI Bank has launched four new mobile banking apps, as part of a drive to adopt digital channels and spread into India’s vast rural hinterland.
Trade Finance: partnerships and differentiation are key
Farid Akhundov, chairman of the executive board of PASHA Bank, discusses how the bank is working to achieve its ambitions in corporate banking in the Caucasus region
Intraday Liquidity Reporting
Reporting on the management of intraday liquidity risk will start on a monthly basis from 1 January 2015 to coincide with the implementation of the liquidity coverage ratio reporting requirements. Christian Goerlach, global head of FI balance sheet & liquidity, Deutsche Bank, takes a closer look at some of the issues facing global banks.
The rise of the challenger banks
The face of retail banking in the UK is changing. In July 2010, the sector witnessed something not seen in over 100 years – the launch of a new high street bank. And where Metro Bank led the way, new and non-financial consumer brands are following suit.
SIX Securities Services and Euroclear Bank alliance targets Swiss private banks
Swiss post-trade company SIX Securities Services has allied with Belgium’s Euroclear Bank in a deal aimed at Swiss private banks and their high net worth customers.
Open source middleware is everywhere in financial services
Enabling rapid growth and agility with creaking IT systems poses a major challenge to UK financial services companies where the IT infrastructure, as in many other industries, has evolved over time and features a wide variety of solutions.
LME Clear opens for business
The London Metal Exchange has launched its new clearinghouse LME Clear. Built by vendor Cinnober, the system is an important plank of the exchange’s ambitions, which have become more grandiose following its takeover by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing at the beginning of 2013.
How to build a better SunGard
As SunGard’s first ever chief technology officer, Steven Silberstein knows a thing or two about financial technology. In a past life, he was global head of prime brokerage at Lehman Brothers. He later became chief information officer at Chi-X Global, before joining SunGard in a newly-created position two years ago.
Russian Central Bank moves to restore trust as Swift rejects EU exclusion request
Russia’s Central Bank has revoked the licences of three banks as part of an effort to restore trust in the country’s banking system. The move comes as financial messaging network Swift stands defiant against a European Parliament resolution calling for the expulsion of Russia from the community.
Private banks set to benefit from UK account switching
As the UK Payments Council looks back on the first year of its current account switching service, numbers have risen but the change has been gradual and a disappointment to some. That could soon change as private banks make their move, according to senior financial services experts.
Hong Kong to implement Swift’s infrastructure resiliency service
Hong Kong has become the second jurisdiction to sign up to use Swift’s Market Infrastructure Resiliency Service to improve operation of its real-time gross settlement system.
The brave new world of mobile banking
The digital era is changing your bank rapidly. Is your mobile testing & assurance practice ready? P Venkatesh, director of the product division, and Srivatsan TT, vice president of the solutions group, at Maveric Systems discuss the issues
ESMA puts IT on the regulatory agenda for credit ratings agencies
The European Securities and Markets Authority has set out a series of tough new proposals for how credit rating agencies should be regulated. The proposals have reignited debate over the agencies, which have been controversial for their alleged role in the financial crisis.
The mobile movement driving multi-channel banking
Despite the significant challenges faced by the UK’s banking sector over the last decade, there has been a dramatic evolution in the customer experience following the introduction of online, telephone and mobile banking. While the branch remains an important channel, especially for older customers, mobile technology is rapidly redefining how customers interact with their banks.
Apple’s arrival will change the payments landscape – eventually
Apple may have lined up the chief executives of Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase to laud the launch of Apple Pay, but reaction from the wider industry was more muted – disappointed, even.
UK account switching service lures a million customers in its first year
Just over one million UK consumers have switched their current accounts using the UK Payments Council’s seven-day switching service during its first year of life, according to new figures released this week – but some observers believe more change is needed.
BNY Mellon backs London to lead European race for offshore RMB
London and Singapore are fast closing the gap on Hong Kong in the race to become centres for offshore renminbi business and capitalise on Beijing’s ambition to make the RMB a global currency.
Millicom ramps up African mobile money rush in Tanzania
Telecoms company Millicom has stepped up its push to gain ground for its mobile money service in the Tanzania as competition heats up between operators in the region
Goods in transit: how lessons from retail can transform the financial data supply chain
Regulatory mandates call for the financial services industry to collaborate and rethink its data supply chain to tackle systemic risk and improve transparency. Looking at how the retail industry manages its supply chain could hold the key.
Barclays’ Harte: Alibaba and the forty fears of bank transformation
Michael Harte, chief operations and technology officer at Barclays, says the growth of Chinese online e-commerce business Alibaba is the threat that keeps him awake at night – and that major banks could be in danger of losing touch with their own customers.
FCA issues considerations on the procurement of off-the-shelf technology solutions
The Financial Conduct Authority has recently issued a series of “considerations” for firms that are thinking about using third-party technology banking solutions. The considerations do not seek to tell firms how to structure their IT procurements but rather provide a useful framework for firms to demonstrate that their IT services are effective, resilient and secure.
Dark pools, market manipulation and benchmark rigging top risks warns report
Regulators in the US and Europe are stepping up investigations into dark pool activity, market abuse and manipulation of financial benchmarks following a spate of damaging incidents in recent months. Tougher regulatory oversight could have a significant impact on all three areas, according to a new report by financial services technology provider SunGard.
Getting ready for mobile payments
With the penetration of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets constantly growing, attention is increasingly turning to mobile marketing, mobile commerce and mobile payments. It is still the case, however, that these trends are largely played out in specialised media, and do not influence the actual behaviour of consumers. This is especially true for mobile payments, with consumers very sceptical about this concept
Barclays makes another move into biometric security
Barclays plans to offer corporate banking users a new security services based on Hitachi’s Finger Vein Authentication Technology from early next year and is considering introducing it to branches for consumers.
