FinTech


Things ain’t what they used to be

According to Cisco there are 15.5 billion devices connected to the internet, ranging from routers to telemetry devices, power grid controllers, smartphones and perhaps the odd toaster. Other than in retail situations this so-called Internet of Things does not immediately seem to have much to do with the financial services industry. John Bates thinks otherwise, and sets out why in his recent book Thingalytics.

Mobile banking: what consumers really want

The growth of mobile money has been a steep upward curve and looks set to continue – Juniper Research predicts that there will be one billion mobile banking users worldwide by the end of 2017, up from 590 million in 2013. A recent Forrester report predicted that purchases on mobile devices would double by 2018, as even more people become comfortable buying online and retailers create more user-friendly mobile experiences

Capture Today’s Banking Customer Leveraging Infrastructure-as-a-Service

Improve your customer’s experience with Hybrid IT Banks must compete fiercely for new customers and to hold onto the ones they have. That means consistently meeting customer expectations, which is no easy task given the speed with which those expectations are evolving, particularly in terms of Internet and mobile interactions. Banks need to deploy technology […]

FIX protocol dominates in post-trade workflow

Three-quarters of market participants use the FIX protocol for confirmation and affirmation of their transactions, according to a new survey released by financial industry standards body the FIX Trading Community.

Mobile banking users to double by 2020

On the background of a recent study revealing that UK mobile banking users are set to double to 32.5 million by 2020, banks need to tailor their customer experience models heavily towards mobile devices, with the fundamental focus on creating a “mobile-first” strategy, if not the more radical “mobile-only” strategy

Indian bank launches WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter mobile payments

India’s Axis Bank has released a mobile payments service called Ping Pay, which allows customers to send money to each other using Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, email or phone number. The bank says the service will help it to reach young consumers and smartphone users.

Cyber security tops DTCC risk barometer

US post-trade utility the DTCC is reporting that almost half of the respondents in its most recent Systemic Risk Barometer Study cited cyber security as their top concern, making it the single largest fear and doubling its rating compared to just 12 months ago.

May 2015: Retail Revolution

Revolution Retail How consumer behaviour is changing banking The next frontier for digital banking As real-time payment systems proliferate around the world, attention is turning to the issues of cross-border payments Destined to fail IT services suppliers need to understand the peculiarities of bank procurement processes. A former insider spills the beans Conference reports News and views […]

Halifax doubles mobile user base in a year

UK retail bank Halifax reports that two-thirds of its customers are now using mobile to login, doubling the number of mobile banking sessions compared to a year ago.

Industry bodies look to harmonise ISO 20022 real-time payment implementation

Global interoperability of real-time payments systems will require harmonisation of market practices and standards. A group of international clearing houses, banks, vendors, payments associations and other parties have proposed setting up an activity to look at how to deliver this under the aegis of the International Standards Organisation – and set an ambitious target of collating an initial variant of ISO 20022 usage guidelines for real-time payments before the summer.

Innotribe names South African Start-up Challenge finalists

The Innotribe Start-up Challenge attendees selected the five finalists from the African leg of the Start-up Challenge to compete at Sibos Singapore in October. The showcase was held yesterday alongside Swift’s African Regional Conference.

Bringing the channels together

Can the right combination of self-service device management, cash management and end-to-end transaction monitoring enable banks to embrace enterprise-wide performance awareness, and take a holistic approach to managing their multi-channel banking environments?

Hotsourcing: the third way for sell-side ops

A decade ago, one of the driving factors behind outsourcing was reducing cost and headcount. However, with the growing regulatory and compliance burden, firms are increasingly becoming more cautious about outsourcing.

V.me by Visa to be rolled out in UK this year

Visa Europe says that it will roll out its V.me by Visa in the UK this year, having secured commitment from 55% of the UK’s card issuance base, which accounts for more than 60 million card holders, and thousands of the UK’s retailers. It will now be commercially available to the majority of internet shoppers in the UK before the end of 2015.

Demystifying mobile payments

As mobile handsets become more prevalent as a tool for retailers, for payments, loyalty and engaging with consumers in and out of the store, security of sensitive data becomes increasingly more important.

Beating the (IT) budget blues

By following simple principles and incorporating solid processes and tools the IT budgeting and forecasting process can be a source of value to both the IT department and the businesses it serves

Citi Mobile Challenge demos ‘disruptive’ finalists in London

Mobile startups are changing the way customers interact with financial services around the world. Tier one banks know this, and are keen to get a piece of the action. This week, companies from EMEA demoed at the Citi mobile challenge in London in the final stage of an annual event that takes in hundreds of financial startups around the globe.

Retail banks face falling customer satisfaction and loyalty globally

At first glance the message for banks from the latest World Retail Banking Report 2015 looks like very bad news for traditional banks. Globally, customers’ propensity to leave their primary bank is on the rise while their willingness to make referrals or buy additional products from their primary bank has decreased significantly.

ABN Amro extends Temenos relationship to private banking

ABN Amro plans to implement the Temenos WealthSuite integrated wealth management platform for its international private banking business. It will also be able to extend the use of the T24 core system to its private banking and diamond & jewellery business, giving it one platform with one operating model across multiple business lines.

Cinnober issues call to IT industry to restore trust

Exchange technology vendor Cinnober has invited financial IT companies to participate in a new Financial IT Quality Assessment initiative, which is intended to generate a public, industry-wide framework for quality assessment of financial software. The initiative is an attempt to restore shaken confidence in the sector and avoid further regulatory pressure.

MCX makes Mooney interim chief exec

Merchant Customer Exchange, developer of the CurrentC mobile payment platform has appointed financial services and payment industry veteran Brian Mooney as interim chief executive. Mooney succeeds Dekkers Davidson, who is leaving MCX to pursue other opportunities.

Payments innovation: lessons from emerging markets

Africa and Asia are the centres of innovation in payments, with the developed markets of the US and Western Europe lagging behind, but the trend is towards domestic offerings rather than regional or international ones, says the latest Payments Innovation Jury Report.

Swift Business Forum panel slams EU trade reporting rules

New trade reporting requirements that would require banks and other capital markets participants to demonstrate best execution through data will impose massive costs and will not provide an equal level of benefit, according to senior executives speaking at the Swift Business Forum in London this week.

Europe’s CSDs are facing a regulatory squeeze warns Nasdaq

European banks and CSDs will be forced to change their business models under relentless pressure from Basel III, CSDR and T2S. That may involve consolidating services, as well as considering opportunities for collaboration, according to Henri Bergström, head of global post trade solutions at Nasdaq.

Fed will report on faster payments at end of 2016

The US Federal Reserve hopes to have a report on how to create a faster payments infrastructure by the end of next year and has begun processing the 325-plus applications it has had from would-be participants in its task force for faster payments.

US looks to learn from other markets on faster payments

The UK Faster Payments experience is providing some guidance for the US Federal Reserve’s efforts to move beyond its slow ACH system, but it should take a different approach, according to a speaker at the Nacha Payments 2015 conference in New Orleans this week.

300 organisations vie to join Fed faster payments task force

More than 300 organisations have applied to participate in the US Federal Reserve’s task force for faster payments, Sean Rodriguez, senior vice president for industry relations at the Chicago Fed, said yesterday at the Nacha conference in New Orleans.

Real-time payments: the next frontier

Customer driven innovation is powering change in the payments industry. Real-time Payment infrastructures (RTP) – whether they are called Faster Payments, Immediate Payments or same-day clearing – are now a reality, with many countries having implemented RTP functionality, and others actively considering the imminent roll-out of RTP projects in their domestic market.

Interview: Patrick Griffin, EVP Business Development, Ripple Labs

At the Recent Payments International conference in London, Patrick Griffin, EVP Business Development at RippleLabs talked to Banking Technology editor David Bannister about the technology and puts paid to some misconceptions about the Ripple protocol.

UK mobile banking set to double to £3.4 billion a week

The number of UK mobile banking users is set to almost double from 17.8 million to 32.6 million by 2020, according to a new report commissioned by Fiserv. Online banking is still growing too, the research found.

Volante lays Foundation for faster payment systems integration

Financial messaging and data integration specialist Volante Technologies has taken a step into the world of packaged products with the launch of VolPay Foundation, a development platform “designed to ease the challenges of payment integration and payment processing projects”.

Out with the old in New Orleans?

Innovation in a mobile real-time world will be to the fore in the discussions as the US payments industry gathers at Nacha Payments 2015 to consider the opportunities and challenges against a background of rapid technological and regulatory change. What can those embarking on project learn from those who have already been there?

EC calls time on the broker crossing network – so what happens now?

Broker crossing networks will be heavily affected by upcoming European Commission rules on dark trading. But with 18 months to go until implementation, uncertainty still unnerves brokers and asset managers – prompting some market participants to re-examine whether they want to trade at all.

Specialisation “resonates” with traders as competition pressures mount

Banks and asset managers are being forced to learn to live in a world of greater specialisation, as unbundling of research and execution drives greater competitive pressure on costs. That is probably a good thing – but it will take the buy-side and the sell side in different directions, according to senior executives speaking at the TradeTech conference in Paris this week.