Credit unions play a critical role in local economies of countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, serving as a vital savings and credit conduit to vast numbers of people, especially those in the lower rungs of the income pyramid who are in many cases, priced out of the traditional banking system
Even as they cement their recovery from the financial crisis, adherents to traditional banking models are facing a new storm as they grapple with the digital demands of the Facebook generation and heightened regulatory risks surrounding data. At the same time, they must match the customer service levels offered by the “challenger” banks if they are to avoid haemorrhaging business to their nimble and digital-focused rivals.
Payment opportunities in the EU come with complex requirements, which is why it’s important to understand the ever-changing legislative issues.
Let’s be clear: banks do a very difficult job – they store the value of society expressed as money. We trust them and they can’t get it wrong, but they are nothing but people and IT. Everything they own is on computer and they don’t like to take risks with this. Consequently, IT change for banks has been slow and safe. It has been incremental: bit by bit, byte by byte.
Historically, the large banks have been Lords of the Manor, between them owning every scrap of land as far as the eye can see. However, times are changing: invaders offering services the banks cannot provide as competitively have begun to disrupt the peace and take small pockets of land for themselves. Likening the march of the fintech new entrants to a land-grab by an invading force, the disruptors began with a neglected allotment here and there, then moved to take a meadow and now some are on the verge of swallowing up villages and small towns …
We recently surveyed more than 1,000 Americans about their payment preferences. The key trend that emerged: Traditional and emerging payments tools are being used together, not cannibalizing each other.
Like it or not, the bitcoin craze is here to stay. Over time, bitcoin will be a major disruptor in payments—with broad implications for governments, businesses and consumers. Burying your head in the sand is not an option.
A curious cultural shift is taking place when it comes to problem-solving in the financial services industry, writes Joe Channer The sector is not renowned as a home for co-operation: competition is intense, the stakes high, and individualism rewarded. Yet the industry has recently seen a marked increase in collaborative ventures. The post-crisis environment, with […]
There has been hype around wearable technology for some time now but only now is it reaching market maturity with the introduction and subsequent adoption by consumers of smart watches and wristbands. Just as we saw with smart phones and tablets, consumer technology, in this case wearables, has the potential to have a huge impact on the business world. The implications for the financial services industry are significant
No one involved in the UK financial services industry could have failed to notice the recent increase in level of fines issued by the UK’s City Regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. Mary Stevens, from risk and regulatory technology company Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, analyses what the fines mean for the industry.
MiFID II comes into effect in January 2017, which might seem a long way off, but you need to start preparations now if your institution is really going to benefit
So after the protracted and ongoing rollout of SEPA, along comes further EU regulation in the guise of the second phase of the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) with further challenges to banks impacting the provision of one of the core banking services – namely payments
Connecting Governance, Finance, Risk & Compliance allows firms to govern all important issues and risks that exist at the intersection of multiple functions. Breaking silos and adopting a forward looking, holistic view of GFRC functions will be what provides financial institutions with a competitive advantage
Reports of the death of cash have dominated the 2015 news agenda. A variety of industry developments – from the launch of Apple Pay through to a Danish proposal to end the obligation of retailers to accept cash – work together to imply that paper notes and coins could soon lose relevance. All this is underpinned by apparently irrefutable stats from the Payments Council which reveal that cashless transactions have now overtaken the use of cash in the UK
The high street bank has always been relied upon to be one of those unchanging constants in our lives. Takeovers and scandals have come and gone, but the digital revolution has slowly changed the way financial products are delivered. Today the Internet, mobile devices and financial services have now converged to change the way consumers manage their finances and the way they connect with their bank
At the SAP Financial Services Forum in London last month, the topic of digital transformation dominated the agenda. From legacy banks with lumbering IT systems to nimble fintech startups, the consensus was clear: The long-standing status quo is simply unsustainable in an increasingly digital economy
The only banking activity that is digital is taking money out of clients’ accounts, which is performed in real-time with 100% consistency. After that the banking journey is far slower and less consistent.
Look at most technology initiatives around you, most are obsessed with taking the cost out e.g. ATMs, online banking or selling more e.g. marketing automation, emails. As a business it’s important to manage the cost, but when cost becomes the primary driver, it creates more problems than it solves
While the role of bitcoin itself is still in question, there is a growing industry consensus that the blockchain—bitcoin’s underlying technology—may become to value, what the Web has been to information. And, the gift card industry may be the first to reap the benefits.
Despite the squeeze on capital created by the increased global regulatory burden, treasurers must still provide ample working capital for daily commercial flows, with minimum damage to their balance sheets. At the same time, the continuing rise in cross-border trade – frequently with relatively unknown and distant markets – increases exposure to geo-political and environmental risks. In such an environment, and particularly in light of post-crisis sensibilities, liquidity is more of a concern than ever, both to lubricate the daily machinations of trade and to act as a buffer for potential financial or supply-related shocks
Some cybercriminals are geniuses, I’m sure, but my recent personal experience with fraud suggests there is a gaping chasm between the promises of high-tech fraud-prevention methods and the existing, low-tech reality.
Contrary to popular belief, the financial sector is now far more aware and better prepared for cyber attacks. The Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report, issued 1 July, states that threat awareness has grown exponentially and the sector is leading efforts to combat cybercrime. Perhaps this isn’t surprising given 90% of large businesses across the sector had suffered a malicious attack over the past year. But what is worrying is that the financial sector is falling into a familiar trap: by focusing so much on defence, it has failed to make provisions for an effective recovery
With governments, retailers, banks and (not least) consumers increasingly crying out for a means of confirming someone’s identity beyond any doubt, the search for a common, international standard of payment authentication is in full flow.
Over the past few years the financial industry has started to reinvent how it operates. Organisations are changing the way they serve their potential and existing customers, while maintaining the high levels of compliance and security that their customers and regulators require. The technologies available today mean that financial services organisations aren’t constrained in the way they once were. They can now access secure and compliant technology, on-demand, in the cloud which is helping them to create new ways to bring value to customers. But not all financial institutions have been able to take advantage of these technologies in the same way as newer entrants to the market have
The release in 2013 of Universal Rules for Bank Payment Obligation by the International Chamber of Commerce effectively endorsed and formalised the structure for international trade finance processes. Despite this, the volume of completed BPO transactions remains low
It’s now law, but not all of the act is in force yet.
Regulated entities that verify identity in connection with the issuance of stored value cards may find more flexibility in the principle-based approach to identity verification outlined in the proposed regulations.
As retailers prepare for the year’s biggest gifting season, there are some key principles to guide digital gifting strategies that maximize revenue and loyalty.
advances in technology, and particularly consumer demand, are driving change and making the payments environment an interesting place to be in the years ahead
Public sector programs usually offer predictable loads and transaction volumes, and that information can be a plus. But reliable load patterns don’t guarantee overall success, especially if you price yourself out of profitability and sustainability.
Unless you’re a mathematician or a bitcoin fan, trying to understand what Ripple is—and why it’s so revolutionary—requires a bit of research (not to mention a double espresso!). That being said, here at Hyperwallet, we definitely think this new technology is worth investigating. In fact, I’d wager a bet that, within just a few years, Ripple could become as important to the world of payments as the Internet is to the world of information today.
Since the financial crash retail banks are faced with more regulatory and financial restrictions than could have been envisioned. This is coupled with increased levels of competition and much reduced consumer trust. Intelligent analytics may offer part of the solution.
Over the last decade the financial markets industry has experienced significant regulatory upheaval. We have witnessed a new approach to supervising financial institutions, with regulators moving from a “light touch” approach to an “interventionist” one
Popmoney, Dwolla, Square Cash, Funding Circle, Venmo, Nutmeg, Transferwise, Stellar, Kabbage … this is not a list of the latest box office hits or some weird shopping list, but a handful of the emergent FinTech companies that are sprouting up everywhere like wild mushrooms. These companies are, to a certain extent, beginning to reshape and […]
It seems not a day goes by without seeing those three little letters and five numbers – ISO 20022 – appearing in headlines or articles. But hang on a minute, what’s all the commotion about? It’s just another message format that I need to make sure my systems can handle, right?
Cloud-based technologies are spreading rapidly through the business world: the research firm IDC expects the cloud software market to be worth more than $100 billion by 2018, implying compound annual growth of more than 21%, roughly five times faster than traditional packaged software. It is clear that cloud computing is on course to become an […]
The global financial crisis devastated the reputation of the UK banking industry and it is not hard to understand why public trust in banks is at a low ebb. Since 2008, there have been at least five major scandals involving one or more banks operating in the UK, writes Peter Duffy Along with the reputational damage […]
Talking used to be a positive thing. For many years, BT reminded us that it was “good to talk”; whilst in the 1980s the Midland Bank (since acquired by HSBC) promoted itself extensively as “the listening bank”. Now, there is a new breed of bank coming to the UK; one that doesn’t have branches or want a ‘physical’ interaction with its customers
Tactical regulatory firefighting has distracted banks from their long-term strategic shift to an enterprise view of data. Looming issues such as the possible Brexit highlight the urgency of this task
Identity verification by financial institutions is necessary—but it doesn’t have to be a necessary evil. Combining mobile technology with knowledge-based authentication can help improve activation rates with a process that’s simple for the cardholder and secure. Here’s how.
