Analysis


ERPB Approves Instant Payments Plan (Nov. 29, 2015)

Instant payments are a step closer to becoming a reality in Europe, now that the European Payments Council (EPC) has submitted and received approval on its proposal for the design of a pan-European instant credit transfer framework.

Losing the risk management war

It’s no secret that past risk management practices and regulatory frameworks failed with respect to the global financial crisis. There were a number of reasons behind this, ranging from an overreliance on quantitative analysis to poor risk governance and frameworks, not to mention a lack of understanding around concentrated risk build-up such as leverage, convexity […]

A lesson in effective stress testing

Integrated stress testing is the preferred tool from a supervisory perspective. And that’s on a global basis. It may not be new, but it is featuring increasingly higher on the regulatory agenda and so understanding the technological opportunities is all important. A key building block for effective and integrated stress testing is an integrated balance sheet strategy

Why 2016 is the year asset managers must take back control

There is an uncanny similarity between Prime Minster David Cameron’s emphasis of moving from a “low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, and lower welfare society” and a shifting focus among the asset management community.

Getting fintech on bank CIOs’ radar

It is a well-known fact that banks have two types of technology: Cold War-era IBM mainframes running Cobol-based batch programmes and Evil Genius HFT systems. The mundane truth is that any financial services operation will have a range of hardware and software systems of different vintages and spend a lot of time and money living with the consequences.

Viewpoint: Digital vs. Plastic: Death Match or Perfect Marriage?

In 5 years plastic cards will be dead! A bold prediction for sure and likely one you’ve heard in any of a dozen payment mixers you’ve attended over the last year. But for our restaurant brands, we see a more nuanced picture that requires us to execute a simple, perhaps obvious, formula.

Top Payments Lawyer Spotlight: Amy Ross Lauck, Lindquist & Vennum LLP

Earlier this year, we recognized the Top 10 Payments Lawyers as voted for by Paybefore.com visitors. In our first profile, we feature Amy Ross Lauck, partner, in the payment systems and consumer financial services practice at Lindquist & Vennum LLP, who discusses the challenges of the CARD Act, prospects for the CFPB’s prepaid rulemaking and innovations yet to come.

Digitising the banks

Banking and disruptive change go hand in hand. There was the era of deregulation. Then the 2008 crisis and the era of re-regulation. Then PPI. Now there is digital, and no sector is secure from its transformative power, not even a heavily fortified one …

The Rise of Instant Payments

In this age of tablets and smartphones, customers expect instantaneous access to information and services. Emails, tweets, shopping: everything is now real time or forget about it. As a result, instant payment is upon us, writes David Andrieux. Benefits of instant payments aren’t hard to see. For the economy, they allow consumers and businesses to […]

Why the ‘World Class Payments in the UK’ report is of global significance

The UK’s payments system infrastructure is widely recognised as market-leading. However, evolving customer expectations and innovation in the fintech sector dictate that now is no time to rest on laurels. Work must begin today to develop the payments experience that will be taken for granted in 20 years.

Lay-off plans dampen optimism in FS jobs market

The news of major lay-offs to come put a dampener on otherwise good news in the financial sector jobs market in the UK last month. According to the Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor, October saw an across the board increase in both new job opportunities and new job seekers.

Addressing technology debt in the wake of regulation

Recent years have seen unprecedented changes to the technical infrastructure of financial institutions. Many of these changes have been driven by regulatory mandates drawn up in response to the financial crisis of 2007/8. As the Global Systematically Important Banks battle to comply with the January 2016 deadline of the Basel III Directive BCBS239, it is […]

Study: CMOs Predict Modest Increase in Holiday Sales

Chief marketing officers at 100 U.S. retailers are expecting a 4.2 percent increase in holiday season total store sales this year, which is in line with last year’s 4.1 percent increase, according to a the 10th annual survey from BDO USA, a professional services firm and consultancy.

Viewpoint: Virtual Currency State Roundup

Legislators and regulators are grappling with how to apply existing money transmitter laws to an emerging industry. Read about the challenges and latest developments across the U.S.

Why pending rate rises fuel the need for collateral optimisation

Eight years on from the global financial crisis, and banks continue to face a growing number of challenges. Many have ceased or significantly reduced proprietary trading, with the resulting reduction in both risk and reward. This period has also seen lower risk appetite among many investors and continuing global competition which has put pressure on profit margins,

Breaking News: CFPB’s Cordray Weighs in on RushCard (Oct. 23, 2015)

Despite reassurances from UniRush Chairman and CEO Rick Savard earlier this week that the company is working around the clock to address any remaining cardholder issues arising from its recent technology migration, CFPB Director Richard Cordray today offered his two cents on the matter, saying the bureau will use “all appropriate tools at our disposal to help ensure that consumers obtain the relief that they deserve.”

Why should banks care about ‘tech levels’?

The fact that London’s financial services sector is also a hot spot for technology innovation is not news. In 2014, investment in financial technology firms grew by 136%. Earlier this year, George Osborne identified London’s financial technology sector as a particularly bright spot in the recovering economy – not surprising when you consider the transformational effect that information technology continues to have on the industry

Viewpoint: Selfie Generation Demands Personalization

The selfie boom was born in 2003 with the world’s first front-facing camera, and millennials are the first generation to grow up with technology focused on one’s self, bringing new expectations to the meaning of personalized, digital services.

NRF: Gift Cards (Again) are Most Wanted for the Holidays

The National Retail Federation’s annual holiday survey puts gift cards on top as the most requested holiday gift for the ninth consecutive year. Plus, consumers share plans for their most mobile holiday shopping season yet.

Blockchain: widely discussed but what are the implications?

The fintech revolution is now firmly established, and disruptive technologies are blooming all across the sector. From securities to payments, everyone in the sector is watching to see how the next innovation will affect their business.

Will banks suffer casualties in the battle to own the customer experience?

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

Is everybody API?

Competition from financial technology companies and regulatory changes are forcing banks to adopt APIs to provide access to client information, which has many implications across the industry.

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