Banks notable by their absence at Apple Pay UK launch
Apple Pay has launched in the UK without the participation of HSBC and Barclays, two of the UK’s largest retail banks.
Europe
EY focuses on Big Data in finance at Madrid innovation centre
A new global innovation centre in Madrid promises to illuminate the uses of Big Data for banks and financial institutions. Built by EY (formerly Ernst & Young), the centre is part of a $500 million investment in analytics by the company.
Boat adds Russian instruments to trade reporting service
Boat Services now supports the post trade publication of Russian OTC trading, by including stocks listed on the Moscow Exchange. The addition covers more than 300 Russian security instruments, including common and preferred stocks.
World Class Payments take shape in the UK
advances in technology, and particularly consumer demand, are driving change and making the payments environment an interesting place to be in the years ahead
Europol: cash is still king – for criminals
More than 30% of all suspicious transaction reports in the European Union are triggered by the use of cash, according to Europol, with the €500 note – not widely used for payments – still in demand.
The fintech revolution heads for the clouds
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
PSR papers set out scope for Payments Strategy Forum
The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator has published a series of papers describing its work on the creation of the Payments Strategy Forum, the body it is creating under independent leadership to bring together regulators, industry and users.
Visa Europe sees contactless payments top 1 billion in past year
Visa Europe says that uptake of contactless payments in Europe continues to climb with more than one billion transactions made in the last year. Visa cardholders spent €1.6 billion in March 2015 alone – a three-fold increase over the same period in 2014.
Infosys sets up in Dublin following AIB services deal
Financial systems vendor Infosys is setting aside $10 million for Irish start-ups in the wake of being selected as a strategic partner by the Allied Irish Banks financial services group. Infosys will also set up a facility in Dublin to house up to 200 staff, including some transferring from AIB.
Western Union continues European retail push with WH Smith deal
Western Union is to install self-service kiosks in 300 of UK retailer WH Smith’s stores later this year. The kiosks allow customers to enter the details of money transfer transactions and then use the retailer’s self-checkout to pay.
EBA Clearing sets out roadmap for pan-European instant payments
EBA Clearing has published a blueprint document spelling out high-level business requirements for the pan-European instant payment infrastructure it hopes to start piloting in 2017 following consultation with a task force composed of more than 20 representatives of EBA Clearing service users.
AIFMD implementation sucessful, but doubts remain on regulatory data
The funds industry has successfully implemented the requirements of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive over the past year but has doubts about the use of data being gathered by regulators and question whether it is helping regulators to better spot threats and systemic risks that may impact market stability.
Payments infrastructures must support innovation says regulator
New payments options are springing up all over the place – except for the underlying infrastructure where current arrangement for access and governance may be a hinderance to innovation, according to the head of the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator.
Banks gain ground after customers’ confidence hits rock bottom
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 […]
A bank you can’t speak to or visit – coming in 2015
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
Atom Bank granted UK banking licence ahead of 2015 launch
Challenger UK retail bank Atom has received its licence from the Bank of England, meaning it will now be able to go ahead with plans to launch later this year. The bank will add competition to the UK retail banking sector, which until 2010 had not seen a single new entrant for 150 years.
Banking Technology Forum 2015 morning sessions: payments regulation, blockchain real-time payments and digital banking
There is a nuclear revolution going on in banking and payments with new digital challenger banks like Atom and Starling seeking to displace established banks that are themselves turning to real-time payment infrastructures to retain customers and under regulatory pressure to open up to FinTech competition from mobile players and payment service providers (PSPs). Crypto-currencies, cyber-security and other tech challenges were also addressed at the Banking Technology Forum 2015
T2S goes live after nine years – without Italy
Target2-Securities, the European Central Bank project to harmonise Europe’s post trade infrastructure, has finally gone live after nine years of preparation. Italy’s Monte Titoli was not part of the first wave.
Banks could lose customer interaction role to new entrants
If children trust Google more than they trust a bank, tomorrow’s customers may well hold their money with digital companies instead of traditional banks. That thought worries senior banking industry speakers speaking at the BBA conference in London on Thursday.
The looming possibility of Brexit underscores the need for data clarity
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
London to host Sibos 2019
London has been selected as the host city for Sibos 2019 following a successful bid by ExCeL London and London & Partners, the official promotional company for the city.
LSE opens direct membership to Hong Kong
The London Stock Exchange has obtained approval for Hong Kong companies to become members. Previously, only companies from the European Economic Area and Israel could join.
Mobile tops BBA study into UK consumer behaviour
Banking by mobile phone and tablet has become the primary way UK customers manage their finance, according to new research published by the British Bankers Association.
Derivatives exchanges slam regulators over open clearing
Regulators should not define how markets are structured when it comes to innovation and open access to clearing. Instead, it should be left up to the market to define how services are provided, according to speakers at the IDX FIA Europe conference in Europe this week.
MiFID II open access to CCPs called into question
As the European Commission’s MiFID II legislation moved towards implementation of technical standards, some of Europe’s national regulators are seriously worried that mandatory open access to CCPs may not be such a good idea. Concerns about the ability to manage risk and the ability to effectively handle data were highlighted by speakers at the IDX FIA conference in London yesterday.
CFTC praises global regulatory harmonisation – just don’t expect uniformity
Global regulators are struggling to find the balance between recognising each other’s existence and learning to harmonise and coordinate their activities, and protecting domestic national economic stability. But people who can’t accept that there will be some differences in regulation between Asia, Europe and the US are not realistic, according to Timothy Massad, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
EMIR ‘significantly at risk’ of failure warns FIA Europe
Industry association FIA Europe is calling on regulators to make changes to derivatives laws, including amendments to Basel III and MiFIR, as well as EMIR reporting obligations. The association argues that without the changes it is advocating, the viability of some of the new rules will be at risk.
Apple Pay comes to UK next month
Apple Pay will be available in the UK from next month, with eight of the UK’s most established banks and the major credit and debit card networks supporting it – along with Transport for London.
Need for customer focus is driving recruitment in financial services
Demand for improved customer service and new mobile banking and payments services is driving increased hiring in financial services in the UK, with employment prospects 16 percentage points higher than a year ago, according to Manpower Group,
Banks should know their customers’ digital skills says new report
As consumer adoption of mobile devices and social media increases, banks can’t really rely on standard details such as income, age and geography to serve customers better than their competitors, according to a new report by payments company TSYS and software firm FICO. Instead, they may need to recognise the different kinds of customers based on how they interact with digital technology and tailor their services accordingly.
EU Payment Services Directive 2: counting the costs and benefits
EU lawmakers reached a political consensus last week on a proposal for a new EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2). This follows several months of negotiations between European Parliament, the Commission and the Council of Ministers and marks a significant step in regulatory development within the payments market
McObject distributor looks to crowdfunding in Europe
MCO Europe, exclusive distributor of the McObject high performance database financial markets in the UK and Europe, is raising investment through Crowdcube, the UK’s largest crowdfunding site, to fund growth and expansion. McObject’s eXtremeDB Financial Edition high-performance database is used for trading and risk management by banks, fund managers, brokers and data vendors.
Equiniti opens Cardiff centre to bring fintech focus to pension reform
Pensions and payments company Equiniti has opened a new fintech innovation centre in Cardiff, which will focus on bringing together fintech tools for employee share plans, online applications for investment platforms and web and mobile applications for pension products.
FCA sets out terms for probe into corporate and investment banking
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s study into competition in investment and corporate banking will focus on choice, transparency, bundling and cross-subsidisation in debt and equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and acquisition financing. It will also consider links between competition in these primary market services and related activities such as corporate lending and broking, and ancillary services.
Leeds Building Society targets “customer engagement” with HP deal
Leeds Building Society is to revamp its customer engagement tools through a ten-year deal with HP Enterprise Services, which will encompass a number of independent software vendors working on different parts of the business. The deal builds on the earlier deal between the two firms in 2013, which focused on the building society’s core banking platform.
Good news for graduates as financial sector hiring continues to grow
Concerns over a growing skills gap and lack of future talent are the biggest worries among financial firms’ recruiters, leading to a renewed focus on graduate hiring.
UK card transactions top 1 billion per month as debit card use soars
UK consumers are spending more on their payment cards than ever before, with over a billion transactions in February, according to newly-released figures provided by the UK Cards Association.
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.
National velocity checking: the answer to MSB money laundering?
Anti-money laundering legislation cuts through the Gordian knot of bringing cases against companies at a stroke – it doesn’t require a ‘controlling mind’. In fact, it almost demands the opposite. A UK-wide system of velocity checking would go further in combating crime and protecting Money Services Businesses.
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?
