As the value of global cross-border payments such as workers’ remittances increases, billions of dollars are being lost to inefficient legacy systems – but that could be about to change, according to Hank Uberoi, executive director at Earthport.
The post-trade infrastructures behind the world’s securities markets face as much, if not more, regulatory driven change as the trading firms in the face of legislation such as the European Union’s European Market Infrastructure Regulation. While some of the effects will be negative, the regulators are showing a constructive approach and recognising that the infrastructure providers came out of the crisis well, says Thomas Zeeb, chief executive of Six Securities Services.
The extent to which a targeted series of acquisitions over the past few years have moved Temenos from being simply a core banking system vendor to a fully-fledged financial technology specialist became clear at its recent annual user event, this year held in Abu Dhabi.
Recent months have seen rising tensions over the seemingly insurmountable demands for collateral prompted by tough new financial regulation. With US Treasury estimates ranging as high as to $11.2 trillion in stressed market conditions, some observers are deeply concerned that the industry could be in danger of sliding into a black hole
In early 2009, soon after the global subprime fallout, the official Vatican newsletter published a rather contextual referral for Islamic banking, observing that the ‘ethical principles on which Islamic finance is based may bring banks closer to their clients and to the true spirit which should mark every financial service‘, writes Riaz Akhtar, senior consultant, […]
The latest figures from UK retailers show a significant move to debit cards and new mechanisms like PayPal as consumers shy away from cash and credit cards.
The UK retail banking sector is characterised by a continuing lack of competition and resultant limited customer churn between financial services providers. This has made it difficult even for new market entrants to gain market share from long-standing, less popular competitors, due to the inconvenience and complexity involved in switching banks.
Trading and risk technology specialist Cinnober is investing in a financial IT cluster in northern Sweden, centred on the university town of Umeå and initiating a a one-year trainee programme stating in the autumn.
Banks need to cross a psychological barrier and embrace the concept of outsourcing their payments operations if they are to compete on product innovation and customer service rather than simply on cost.
The idea of sending money via email is not entirely new. This month, however, a new financial player entered this arena: Google announced that it will integrate Google Wallet into Gmail.
By Joseph DeSetto, Emerging Payments Blogger In every technology shift, users are confronted with interfaces that were designed for the previous generation. For example, early PCs rendered graphics of Rolodexes, clocks and other analog desk accoutrements. In this tradition, users of today’s smartphones often are presented with a shopping experience that was designed for the […]
By Ginger Schmeltzer, Fiserv For years we’ve been debating why mobile payments haven’t taken off faster. Debaters point out issues with the number of players in the value chain, business model challenges, competing technologies, lack of a compelling value proposition, security concerns and more. All of these points are valid: Business models are all over […]
The $400 billion global remittances market is moving from cash to account-based transfer, but costs, regulations and new competitors are still the key issues.
Traditional finance is not as we once knew it. The internet has completely disrupted the financial services value chain. The banks are struggling to keep up with advancing technology. Understanding mobile, cloud computing, social media, big data and how to utilise each capability are key challenges for the banks to overcome.
The themes of security, identity and mobility ran strongly through the Cards and Payments Middle East conference in Dubai this week – and not just because the event itself is sandwiched between related and interlinked events focusing on Mobile and Identity.
Across Europe many banks feel unprepared for the next phase of the ‘digital revolution’, while factors such as expensive compliance regulations, poor data management and outdated systems are constraining them from implementing new solutions
By Joseph DeSetto, Full Sail University Near field communication, or NFC, is a technology that, on the surface, has tremendous potential. The Japanese vending machine experience of paying for your favorite flavor of sugar water without taking coins from your wallet has been an image of the future for several years now. But for […]
By Joe DeSetto, Emerging Payments Blogger Great design is often highly subjective and can be maddening for executive decision makers. Steve Jobs’ well-known response to his engineers trying to find a solution he would accept was: “I’ll know it when I see it.” Design, and the delightful products and experiences that result, is an art […]
By John Grund, First Annapolis Consulting Safeway’s decision to IPO a minority stake of Blackhawk Network is yet another milestone in the evolution of the prepaid industry, given Blackhawk’s unique distribution role in the broader value chain. Green Dot and NetSpend serve as bell weathers for the market value of program managers in the prepaid […]
By David Parker, Polymath Consulting Recently we saw the announcement by Nakumatt in Kenya—think Tesco in the U.K., Walmart in the United States—that it will convert all of its 1 million loyalty cards to prepaid MasterCard cards. Polymath Consulting worked with Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), one of the two issuing banks selected by Nakumatt, and […]
The developed world, especially here in the United States, has a very specific idea of what mobile means, and mobile payments in particular. There are certain technologies that spring to mind as acceptably cutting edge and worth attention, such as apps, QR codes, Square, Apple Passbook and Google Wallet. These technologies are now and ahead […]
By Cynthia Merritt, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta It’s no secret that cross-border travel has involved a lot more restrictions since 9-11. Declaration of assets and physical inspection of luggage and other items are expected, as well as tedious and unpleasant, aspects of a vacation or business trip. That could change soon and not for […]
By Joe DeSetto, Emerging Payments Blogger In the acclaimed television series Mad Men, an average copywriter named Harry Crane invents a role as his agency’s new Head of Television. In this fictional retro world, the old guard that runs the agency in the early 1960s has no idea of the importance of this new broadcast […]
By David Parker, Polymath Consulting The last several months have seen two very interesting pieces of M&A activity in Europe. First, we saw Wright Express’ take over CorporatePay. CorporatePay was a “pure play” program manager specializing in the corporate-loaded sector and, in particular, virtual prepaid cards used by the travel sector for supplier payments. For […]
By Joe DeSetto, Emerging Payments Blogger Siri, Apple’s voice assist for iOS devices, already is a steering wheel button on some newer model cars. BMW has an option listed next to the premium leather seating called BMW Apps. Fords now include Sync, a Microsoft technology, and released the Ford Developer Program and a new open […]
By David Parker, Polymath Consulting Are we reaching market saturation for consumer-loaded prepaid programs in the U.K.? Our latest industry research suggests the answer may be “yes.” Polymath has published The Prepaid Report since 2007, tracking the number and types of consumer-loaded prepaid cards programs in the U.K. Our latest report makes interesting reading because […]
By Joseph DeSetto, Emerging Payments Blogger It wasn’t long ago that mobile payments apps for the current generation of smartphones were difficult and time consuming for even experienced programmers to create. Much like the early days of e-commerce, standard ways of protecting user data, providing a consistent interface and user experience that would be trusted, […]
By Joseph DeSetto, Emerging Payments Blogger A continuous stream of posts with witty comments or pop culture references is nothing new online after years of Facebook, Twitter and various other social services. But when the same type of feed appears in social commerce app Venmo—available online and on a mobile device near you—the effect is […]
By Hunny Huria, Visa At times I’m amazed how social media has changed our lives and continues to have potential to impact it more. There are innumerable people who start the day by checking their Facebook accounts. As of December 2012, Facebook had more than half a billion daily active users, and 9 million apps […]
By Nick Holland, Javelin Strategy & Research I bought a new laptop the other day. I won’t bore you with the details of its specifications, but suffice to say, as a professional nerd, I get pretty excited about these things. In fact, I got so excited that I actually bought it as an impulse purchase […]
Temenos execs were surprised when a group of attractive young women started approaching delegates outside its annual user conference in Abu Dhabi this week. The delegates – existing and potential bank customers – were being tempted by the offer of cocktails in the adjacent hotel, and the prospect of helicopter rides.
Retail banking is changing through many external forces. The on-going global financial crisis has impacted the regulation surrounding the banking industry, but there are other factors changing the environment banks find themselves operating in.
Mobile banking can be more secure than online banking – but the real challenge is to move from closed circuit payments to a world in which customers of any bank can use any mobile app to send funds to any recipient, according to Hannes van Rensberg, founder and chief executive at mobile payments specialist Fundamo.
It’s often been said that the financial services industry is evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and in some instances this may have proved to be a safe bet. The industry is littered with systems that have grown out of cottage industry and ‘fitting square pegs into round hole, writes Paul Taylor, director global matching, Swift. However, we […]
The funds industry is going through a time of great change, with a combination of regulation, cost pressure, consolidation and globalisation forcing many participants to take a close look at their business and operating models and consider what their future role in the ecosystem should be. For some, this means outsourcing activities, creating opportunities for […]
By Jai Holtz, Sears Financial Services (Member of MCX) There’s no denying that years of hype around mobile payments is beginning to translate into real interest and action from retailers, but the trend has a lot less to do with the actual act of paying than is widely assumed. There are numerous benefits to being […]
Harrogate, where the Building Societies Association holds its annual conference, is located at the end of a branch railway line from York. The route takes in the town of Knaresborough, crossing a picturesque gorge with a river at the bottom and the remains of a medieval castle up on the hill. Arriving at the BSA conference venue the taxi driver observed, with a distinct sense of regret, that “there aren’t as many building societies around as there used to be.” That’s true
With the newly formed LEI Foundation moving forward with establishing processes for issuing and managing the Legal Entity Identifier through its Regulatory Oversight Committee and the registration of seven pre-Local Operating Units, it is worth taking a step back to understand exactly why the industry is pushing forward with the LEI and what it could achieve.
In the debate about the future of UK retail banking, the role of the building society is often overlooked, but technological change is playing to their strengths.
News that two Argentine climbers are planning mobile banking exploits on the slopes of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest in the Himalayas, reveals the lengths to which banks will go to gain publicity for mobile payments technology.
