Industry Comment

The European Banking Authority favours arbitrary box-ticking over data innovation

The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently proposed new rules that would require payment card operators to enforce additional security measures, such as passwords or security tokens, for all online transactions over €10, aimed at fraud prevention. This is a clumsy solution to a problem that is already being addressed by far more sophisticated means, argues Nick Wallace, senior policy analyst at Centre for Data Innovation, and policymakers should reject the EBA’s proposal.

2017: the year fintech shifts its focus to Africa

Africa is becoming a very interesting fintech innovation hub (in particular South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt). As much as 80% of the continent is unbanked, opening the door to a breadth of opportunities for fintech companies to seize market share.

Virtual

Understanding the role of virtual card provider

Your organisation’s satisfaction with its virtual card provider is the single most important factor determining the return you will receive on your investment. So when you choose a supplier, set your expectations high.

Viewpoint: The Wider Appeal of Blockchain

The technology that underpins bitcoin has received increased attention in recent months from corporate heavyweights. Here’s how blockchain can further revolutionize payments and related industries.

PSD2: Who wins?

I was recently asked who the biggest winner would be to emerge post-PSD2, the banks or the fintech firms. If we ignore for a moment that the biggest winners are clearly you and I, the end consumer of these services, it did reveal an interesting thought process and dynamic at play.

Putting trust in chatbots

Artificial intelligence (AI) interfaces and chatbots could be revolutionary for financial institutions – but only if they strike the right balance between human and machine interaction.

Are we heading for an identity crisis in fintech?

Establishing if someone is who they say they are in today’s virtual world is a major headache for banks and fintechs, thanks to the strict regulations they operate under and the difficulty in providing non-physical, verifiable forms of identity.

Top ten fintech opinion pieces in 2016

Look back at some of the most interesting and thought-provoking opinion pieces on all matters fintech published by Banking Technology in 2016.

US chip and PIN card roll-out – let’s shorten the time to process; where do I sign!

From a technology perspective, the family home has decided to rush headlong into the 21st century. When our home was built we thought we were being extremely progressive in having a Panasonic “4 lines, 10 extensions, PBX” installed with separate lines for my wife and myself and then a line for business and yes, one dedicated line for the fax machine. Cool… but fast forward a decade and a half and with the home up for sale, we were politely advised to take out all those handsets and close the door on the PBX.

FCA green lights cloud technologies

We are constantly connected to the cloud (iPhone, DropBox, Google Drive just to name a few) and yet, in financial services, the adoption has been tremendously slow. In part, this is due to a lack of guidance from regulators, especially where cloud-based regulation technology is concerned. But finally there is forward progress.

Will an open banking API kill commercial APIs?

The PSD2 directive will let third parties use the information stored in financial institutions and the only path to achieve this leads through an open API. The API is now being discussed and developed, but it’s not clear when it will be finalised, released and deployed.

Viewpoint: Combating Fraud with Teamwork

The IRS reports that there’s been a nearly 50 percent drop in fraudulent returns, and there has been significant progress in stopping fraudulent returns before refunds are ever paid, due in part to new information provided by industry and state partners.

Blockchain: a real opportunity for retail financial services

Given the pace of change and innovation underway in traditional industries it would take a brave person to predict how the finance industry will look in five years’ time, however I don’t believe high street banks will disappear and be replaced by online blockchain alternatives, the regulatory hurdles are just too high.

Viewpoint: Tapping the Power of Prepaid

Prepaid will continue to be a key ingredient in bringing 2 billion people worldwide into the financial mainstream. But over the past five years, we’ve learned that public-private partnerships are mission-critical. And we’ve still got work to do.

Viewpoint: The Year in Review and a Look Ahead to 2017

The market is evolving from being dazzled by the flashy lights of innovation to buckling down and implementing plans to address the opportunities ahead. Emphasis is shifting from talking about the cool stuff to driving adoption of the most actionable innovations. Are you investing in the right trends?

Viewpoint: The Case for B2C Digital Payments

As consumers start using mobile to pay each other, it’s only natural that they’ll expect businesses to pay them that way, too. For those of us who serve corporate clients, enabling electronic payments to those mobile-centric consumers is a significant opportunity.

Viewpoint: Winning the Prepaid Loyalty Challenge Is about Financial Empowerment

Having achieved status as a “mainstream” financial services product, prepaid cards now must prove themselves indispensable to cardholders’ lives. To take prepaid to the next level, prepaid providers need to connect with and engage cardholders in ways that position the product as vital to their financial wellbeing.

Time has proved good for HPE and NonStop; banks everywhere can run networks, 24×7!     

Time has proved good for HPE and NonStop; banks everywhere can run networks, 24×7!     

Having spent many years in the technology wilderness, has HPE finally determined the future of NonStop? Thinking about the more than 40 years that have passed since we were first introduced to fault tolerant Tandem Computers, particularly considering what transpired following the acquisition of Tandem Computers by Compaq and then Compaq by HPE, did we anticipate that there would be an expansion of the NonStop product portfolio? And to see not just one, but two distinct families of NonStop systems and with the possibility of further options featuring NonStop just around the corner? It is surprising to many that all this time hasn’t taken the sheen away from any of the magic that is NonStop!

Weapons of mass distraction: worrying about the wrong fintech revolution

Reading the technology news these days you could be forgiven for thinking that some seismic revolution is occurring almost every day! Stories abound of Airbnb, Facebook, Uber, Alibaba taking over the world and demolishing our traditional business models – ushering in a new age where the “interface is king”. But are they revolutionary and game changing disruptors? I am not so sure…

How can RBI’s latest guidelines help Indian banks combat cybercrime?

Rising cybercrime in India is no secret. According to a report by Symantec, India now ranks third in the world, after the US and China, as a source of malicious activity. In fact, the National Crime Records Bureau data reveals that in the three years up to 2013, registered cases of cyber crime were up 350%, from 966 to 4356. Dubious distinctions both, and give banks and the financial sector in India cause for worry.

It’s time to talk ATM 2.0

The ATM is one of the most recognised and trusted pieces of technology on the high-street, but as it too has come under pressure from the wave of digitalisation sweeping almost every aspect of our everyday lives. The humble ATM is no longer a single physical touch point…

APIs: open for business

No longer are the mid-tier banks doomed to be extinct! The arrival of open application programming interfaces (APIs) will enable them not just to survive but to prosper, states Chris Truce, director of platform development at Saxo Bank.

Streamlining payments industry in Africa

The economy of the future will need a vastly different platform for making payments. Consumers and corporations will need access to easier, faster and flexible platforms. I have entered the market with the bold objective of bringing to South Africa and Africa, the revolutions underway in global payments infrastructure – and the necessity of re-design to keep up with the “payments Joneses”.

Creating a hyperconnected corporate bank of the future

Banks are not competing with banks anymore, but against the ubiquitous, all pervading unified digital experience, which is driving the adoption of digital across the corporate banking value chain. Fintechs are a great example of how innovations in digital can deliver speed to market, a superior customer experience and better pricing.

Shedding light on shadow banking reporting

We take a look at the new EU reporting requirements for managing exposure to shadow banking. There are plenty of challenges ahead, not least for the systems that will need to be updated to ensure that firms are able to adequately cope with the new guidelines.

1 … 44 45 46 47 48 … 65

Top stories

Media Packs

Webinars

view all

Fintech Jobs

White Papers

view all

Magazine

view all

Upcoming events

Podcasts

view all

Videos

view all

Content Hubs

view all

Techwire

view all