HCE and NFC: threat or opportunity?
Mobile NFC services continued to expand in 2013 but the big question is, will this be amplified or disrupted by the introduction of host-based card emulation (HCE) into mainstream operating systems?
Analysis
Canadian Gov’t Gauges Interest in Prepaid for Federal Benefits (July 14, 2014)
With the Canadian government planning to phase out paper checks by 2016 for federal benefits recipients, half of Canadians who are unwilling to use direct deposit would be willing to try receiving their benefits on a reloadable prepaid card, according to a public opinion report released earlier this year and commissioned by the Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).
New legs for legacy systems
Unlike manufacturing companies, which run their operations on a single predominant ERP system supported by a few auxiliary solutions, banks have added layer upon layer of technology, ending up with an unmanageable snarl of systems and applications. Just to put things in perspective, it is estimated that on average global banks have more than 5,000 applications.
Know thine algo: how to define it, prove it, tame it. Part 1
Regulators across the globe appear divided on the question of whether tighter control of algorithmic trading is necessary: the Australians are pretty laid back about it, the Germans are ahead of the game, while political debate rages in the US …
Viewpoint: Is BLE the Next Important Innovation in Mobile Technology?
BLE is getting a lot of buzz because of its potential to complement other technologies like NFC for marketing and consumer engagement, but certain questions remain about its purpose and future.
Blog: Innovation is Coming: A New Small-Dollar Credit Offering from Canada
Canada’s Vancity Credit Union could be an inspiration for U.S. lenders as it explores new territory, working with the CFSI to devise an affordable small-dollar loan product with an unsecured credit line suitable for underbanked consumers.
Back-office legacy still holding back banks
Setting up a bank in the UK is costly, time-consuming, heavily regulated and not easy. As a result, the dynamic, start-up culture that drives innovation in many other sectors is less prevalent within banking and financial services.
The Rise of the Cyborg Financial Officer
The rise of new technologies is drastically redefining both the responsibilities of chief financial officers and the way they work, providing the ability tomake better organisational decisions with faster, accurate and more reliable data.
T2S: Doing nothing is not an option
As the implementation of T2S approaches, there is still a gap between the readiness levels of different types of market participant, new Celent research finds. But a ‘wait and see’ approach can only take some firms so far, argues Isabelle Olivier, head of clearing and settlement EMEA at Swift
Dispelling the myths surrounding voice biometrics
With passwords continuing to attract widespread derision from consumers it seems that businesses are starting to listen to their customers and in recent weeks voice biometrics has been hitting the headlines, as the technology is set to replace the bane of so many people’s lives.
The future of digital banking: sustenance or disruption?
Banks should not be blind-sided by sustaining innovation: a large part of their digital initiatives look at delivering existing services cheaper, faster and (sometimes) better – but true disruption occurs when addressing customer needs better, faster and maybe, cheaper.
CLS: Supreme Court ruling removes threat to financial infrastructure
In a landmark ruling, the US Supreme Court has ruled that the intermediated settlement of financial exchanges is an abstract idea and therefore not patent-eligible. David Puth, chief executive of CLS, which won the case in question. discusses the implications of the ruling.
Supreme Court Rules in NLRB Case (June 26, 2014)
The Supreme Court ruled today to throw out President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as unconstitutional. CFPB Director Richard Cordray was appointed the same day but has since been confirmed by the Senate, suggesting the ruling will have little or no effect on the CFPB.
Viewpoint: Riding the Rails to Bridge the Rewards-Redemption Gap
With the advancement of smartphone technology and social media, we’re witnessing a cascade of innovation around loyalty and incentive products. But driving steady deal redemptions requires smooth connections to payment network rails.
Viewpoint: Optimizing the Prepaid Experience with Robust Mobile Offerings
Growth in prepaid GPR and payroll cards today exceeds that of all other noncash forms of payment, but stickiness remains a problem for issuers and program managers. Adding mobile access and other financial tools to the mix—such as check deposits with instant good funds and expedited bill pay–makes prepaid a compelling proposition for consumers and providers alike.
Payments as a Working Capital Tool
A lesson learned from the global financial crises was how critical free cash flow can be for corporates, their customers, and their suppliers. As businesses seek to unlock cash flow from day-to-day operations, savvy treasurers have discovered vendor payments as a means to extend payment terms while improving vendor health, writes Chris Bozek, Managing Director, Head of Global Trade and Supply Chain Products Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Merchants Get More Time to Petition Supreme Court in Debit Interchange Case (June 24, 2014)
A consortium of merchant groups has been given more time to decide if it will try to take a long-running lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Canada Lays Framework for Digital Currency with New Regs (June 24, 2014)
While digital currency has received a frosty reception from many national governments, it has been greeted a bit more warmly in Canada.
Piecing together the data scientist puzzle
Depending on who you speak to, the definition of a data scientist seems to mean different things to different people. Some see it as a glorified number crunching role, others believe the position requires someone more inquisitive to spot and respond to key trends.
Cordray Goes Before House Committee, Says Overdraft Will Be Part of Prepaid Rules (June 19, 2014)
CFPB Director Richard Cordray headed to the House yesterday to present his bureau’s semi-annual report to the House Financial Services Committee, headed by Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).
Latest FDIC Consent Order Also Focuses on BSA (June 19, 2014)
The FDIC has issued another consent order for a company with significant prepaid business and again the focus is on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance.
T+2: Settlement Time
In April, US post-trade utility the DTCC called for the US settlement cycle to be moved to T+2, to bring it into line with what’s happening in the rest of the world, which is converging on T+2 settlement cycles – at different speeds.
Outsourcing: making oversight a forward-looking benefit
Could the establishment of an enhanced outsourcing oversight capability do more for asset managers than simply satisfy the FCA? A more mature set of oversight metrics could be used to provide foresight into how the outsourcer might perform in the future.
The Bancorp Steps up BSA Compliance Efforts, Following FDIC Consent Order (June 13, 2014)
The Bancorp Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bancorp Inc., this week revealed in an 8K filing with the SEC that it’s stepping up its Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance efforts in accordance with an FDIC consent order that went into effect June 5.
Blog: The Overdraft Problem Is Really a Credit Problem
Rather than spending time debating which option is worse for consumers—overdraft or payday loans—or focusing solely on reining in overdraft, we ought to shift our energies to creating new credit products that meet consumers’ needs transparently and affordably.
Blog: Fight Fraud without Alienating Customers Using Mobile, Knowledge-Based Authentication
While asking a customer for multiple pieces of information and presenting him with various questions satisfies federal guidelines and other legal compliance, it can throw a major wrench in the prepaid card activation model. Out-of-wallet authentication must be accomplished in real time—and that means mobile.
Cordray: Proposed Rules for Prepaid Cards Due by ‘End of Summer’ (June 11, 2014)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has bumped plans to release its proposed rule on prepaid cards to “the end of the summer,” according to Richard Cordray, the agency’s director.
30:30 hindsight – Thirty years of Banking Technology
Banking Technology first appeared 30 years ago this month. David Bannister, the current editor, looks back at that first year of coverage …
Nasdaq OMX pursues data and technology revolution
Shifting settlement cycles, the rise of big data, global regulation and increasing demand for post-trade services are creating both challenges and opportunities that global exchanges would do well to face wisely, according to Lars Ottersgard, head of market technology and Eva Saidac, head of business development market technology at Nasdaq OMX.
Risk aggregation and reporting challenges intensify for banks
The past month has been a busy one for G-SIBs – global systemically important banks – as they confront the challenges of “what full compliance looks like” in the context of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and its Principles for Effective Risk Data Aggregation and Risk Reporting.
The challenge of intraday liquidity reporting
Reporting on the management of intraday liquidity risk will start on a monthly basis from 1 January 2015 to coincide with the implementation of the liquidity coverage ratio reporting requirements. Christian Goerlach of Deutsche Bank, takes a closer look at some of the issues facing global banks.
ISO 20022: where next?
An question that continues to be asked is will the increased adoption of ISO 20022 facilitate the consolidation of payments clearing utilities and see the introduction of new services for customers? This suggests that despite the fact that ISO 20022 has been around for more than decade, confusion still exists over what it is.
Q&A with Ben Kaplan, CashStar
More than six months into his new gig, CashStar’s CEO explains why the biggest potential for digital gift cards may lie in promotions, loyalty and customer service.
Responding to NPRMs Is Everyone’s Business: Are You Ready to Respond to the CFPB’s NPRM on General Use Cards?
We have the opportunity to make a difference, to be part of the process and to influence the outcome of prepaid regulations.
Cloud – what is it not good for?
Across the financial services sector, the question is now less about where cloud technology is being used, and more about where it isn’t used. Where do financial institutions draw the line when it comes to deciding whether to keep a process or IT-related service in-house or outsource it to specialists such as Amazon Web Services, SAP and many others?
Forget ‘mobile first’: are we heading for mobile-only banking?
The speed at which the mobile market evolves is staggering. Just as we started to look at mobile first, where banks need to align their services and strategies to cater for mobile before desktop or other traditional channels, the notion of mobile-only is now creeping to the fore.
Payment portfolio migration – avoid the pitfalls and reap the benefits
The benefits of changing a payments portfolio over to a service provider with a modern and flexible platform are inherent and far outweigh the downside of staying with a provider whose solution is a poor fit.
Viewpoint: What I’ve Learned about Prepaid and Velcro Pants
Year one as the head of prepaid for Discover has led to some interesting lessons, including the importance of thinking beyond practical boundaries to create unique, workable solutions.
Blog: I Want My EMV
EMV chip card technology that helps block counterfeit card fraud at the POS is coming to the U.S., and last week I was one of the first on my block to experience it.
What next for the ATM?
Given that bank customers are unlikely to increase significantly their usage of ATMs and now that opportunities to deploy large numbers of additional dispensers are limited, what does the future hold for the ATM and where does its next phase of growth lie?
