The global financial crisis triggered an avalanche of fierce criticism for the financial industry, the repercussions of which are still being felt. In its wake industry bodies around the world introduced stringent regulations that require in-depth auditing to achieve compliance and complete corporate accountability.
The Competition and Markets Authority has recently embarked on a full investigation into the so-called competitive stranglehold the four big banks – Lloyds, RBS, Barclays and HSBC – have over the UK market place. The CMA ended a five month consultation with the announcement of the investigation into accounts for customers and corporate accounts for small businesses – the CMA has already identified large branch networks and free current accounts as being barriers to entry for new banks
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is creating a guide to help colleges evaluate institutions that offer financial accounts to students—and the CFPB is seeking input in devising the document.
As in any complex document, there are some ambiguities in the FAQs and time will tell how those will play out. But, what’s clear is that for many banks, the FAQs raise the cost of doing business, which will (or should) precipitate a review of business models.
Macro trends, including increased access to mobile devices and the Internet as well as consumer appetite for deals, will continue to drive changes in shopping behavior and broaden the use of both prepaid and electronic payments in 2015.
For better or worse, financial institutions are more risk averse than ever. This is the direct result of continuing and growing regulatory scrutiny over a broad range of activities, including the compliance of financial institutions in areas such as international sanctions, the prevention of money laundering, the funding of terrorism or the facilitation of tax evasion.
We asked a number of prominent players in emerging payments to give us their opinions on what the shift in the 114th Congress might mean to payments.
With Sony the latest victim of hacking, large organisations are witnessing yet again how data breaches cause serious damage, to the tune of millions. The prevalence of hacking in the media begs the question, what’s in store for 2015?
P2P options abound, but I won’t be ditching my checkbook until providers make it easy and compelling enough for the local service providers I pay to make the switch.
As the prepaid industry matures, program managers and other providers are looking for new ways to to drive customers toward behaviors that improve both the provider’s bottom line and the consumer’s financial health.
When first reports of an integrated communications project that had attracted a $66 million investment from a consortium of banks led by Goldman Sachs appeared last year, there was an element of cloak and dagger about the enterprise. The truth is both more prosaic and more interesting according to David Gurle, chief executive and founder of the company behind it.
By facilitating payments, and clearing and settling transactions in the securities and derivatives markets, financial market infrastructures are essential nodes in a complex and ever more integrated international network of capital flows. The consequent inter-dependencies between financial market infrastructures will create new resiliency challenges
As 2015 gets under way, it is time to take stock of some of the biggest challenges facing the banking industry this year – including cybercrime, cultural change, more stress testing, ever-increasing regulatory scrutiny and a troubled economic outlook in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
With much of the holiday revelry come and gone, the payments industry must refocus on two important NPRMs and their respective comment periods, which already have begun.
Maintaining credit and debit card information on behalf of financial services organisations demands the highest levels of security and customer confidence, and adhering to standards like PCI DSS plays a crucial role in this. Yet, though the standard is unique in that it regulates data protection across a multitude of industries, PCI DSS remains one of the most challenging regulations with which companies must comply. Its Janus-faced qualities – some say it’s too prescriptive, while others complain that the standards are confusingly vague – make achieving and managing compliance difficult and time-consuming
One of the trends of 2014 was its delivery of technology that we had been promised for years but had fallen short until now. Siri, Cortana and Google Now all make good on the sci-fi staple of the voice-activated computer. Virtual reality has been attempted many times, but it seems that the Oculus Rift may have finally cracked it. And biometric authentication, while often included in devices but rarely used, is now commonly used by owners of new iPhones to unlock their devices thanks to Touch ID.
Members of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and European Union Council negotiators yesterday agreed to cap the interchange fees on cross-border and domestic card-based payments, ensuring uniform rules across the EU.
The mega-chain goes mobile with many partners and a mobile app of its own with two key ingredients—convenience and loyalty.
Changing times call for new priorities. Clients want a partner with a nimble organization and a flexible and feature-rich technology stack, but not at the expense of business and operational reliability.
Financial services providers have amassed mountains of data about customers, but what’s it worth? Real value comes from the analysis and timely application of knowledge through push marketing campaigns and ongoing product improvements.
Apple Pay’s Touch ID application has pushed biometrics payments authentication into the mainstream. But biometrics authentication goes beyond fingerprint sensors, and voice biometrics authentication is one of the best ways to thwart identity fraud.
In 2015, organisations in the business finance solutions space are likely to spend significantly on business intelligence and analytics. This data goldmine can help organisations unlock hidden opportunities and insights
For banks, a race to remain relevant is on. In the past few weeks, Lloyds Banking Group has announced its intention to double-down on digital banking, closing branches and cutting costs. In the US, BBVA Compass announced that its agreement with startup Dwolla to offer real-time payment facilities to customers makes it the first mainstream bank to open its technology platform to digital developers like Dwolla
Blackhawk Network this week announced a new distribution deal with the U.S. Postal Service, introducing the company’s gift card malls to select post offices in time for the holiday season.
NACHA, the Herndon, Va.-based electronic payments association, and the European Central Bank (ECB) independently are taking steps to speed up the payments process with the goal of same-day settlement.
Since the beginning of the global economic crisis, the financial services industry has faced challenges like never before. Headlines around bankers’ bonuses, PPI miss-selling and Libor manipulation have led to a lack of trust from consumers. In response, traditional banks need to join the new generation of financial service providers and their customers in their new natural habitat – online and on mobile.
The replacement of business processes based on paper documents with the exchange of information in electronic form is a highly beneficial global trend, and the competitiveness of Europe’s economic activity will benefit from this migration.
The volume, speed and power of technology has transformed the Financial Services industry into one the most sophisticated data driven sectors in the global economy, allowing for the execution of complex global transactions at the push of a button. From high frequency trading to eCommerce to mobile banking, the financial sector is generating a huge amounts of data – in fact, almost too much data. Like individuals, institutions are facing an information overload that is limiting the promise and opportunity of technology.
Debate on the EU Payments Package, composed of the revised Payment Services Directive and the Regulation on Interchange Fees, recommenced in Brussels on Nov. 19. Although the two pieces of legislation are part of one “package,” they’re at different stages in the legislative process, and depending on how they progress, the transition into law could be smooth for the industry—or not.
Today’s consumers have high expectations − and for good reason. They have become accustomed to, and in today’s connected world, demand, anytime/anywhere access to the products, services, and information they desire and need
In today’s high-risk, cost-conscious world, buy-sides are demanding the next step in straight-through-processing, becoming increasingly impatient with the multiple screens and manual workarounds they’ve been presented with to date. Those FCMs that can meet this need will immediately become more competitive and create clear distance from those that lag behind.
As business process operations enter a new capter of accelerated transformation, technology services are not just a critical component for financial services firms – they are the business itself.
Simultaneously with the release of its 870-page prepaid account proposal last week, the CFPB issued a “Study of Prepaid Account Agreements.”
Prepaid industry leaders, which included representatives from InComm, Blackhawk Network and Green Dot, met with members of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging during a hearing yesterday to outline how they’re working to prevent fraudsters from using prepaid debit cards to swindle consumers, particularly phone scams perpetrated against the elderly.
It has been a busy week for the banking industry. The first big news was the publication of a comprehensive health check of 130 large European banks by the European Central Bank, which was commissioned in response to the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone. Brussels lauded the latest investigation as the most intense scrutiny that European banks have ever been put through.
Debate over revised European payments legislation, including interchange reforms, is set to begin in Brussels tomorrow.
Fintech innovation gets a lot of press, but there is a lack of co-ordination. Innovate Finance’s Claire Cockerton tells David Bannister how her organisation aims to change that
As Bob Dylan, famously sang, The Times, They Are A-Changin’. Once, the tools required to carry out a bank raid usually comprised a shotgun, old stockings and a bag labelled “swag”. Today, it’s a laptop, computer programming skills and patience. And the nature of the crime is changing too – previously, the goal was often to get away with a few thousand pounds, before lying low for a while. Now, the “prize” sought may be the theft of millions or the personal details of thousands, to be then sold on.
My original intent, based on attending the field hearing in Wilmington, Del., this morning, was to summarize the key elements for publication today. But, that won’t happen. The 870 pages that comprise the NPRM suggest why it took the CFPB extra time to create and why it will take industry time to understand everything the NPRM covers and, of course, the implications of the proposed rules.
Blackhawk Network research reveals the reasons consumers selected gift cards as No. 1 on their wishlists for the eighth year in a row, and why gift givers are catching up to what recipients really want.
