Industry Comment


Implementing derivatives clearing on distributed ledger technology platforms

Clearing houses and central clearing counterparties (CCPs) play a pivotal role in managing collateral and counterparty risk, in increasing standardisation and transparency of financial markets, and in the credit enhancement process for clearing banks. For such systemically critical functions, how appropriate are innovative new technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT)?

Avoid a bank branch nightmare this Halloween

Trick or treat! It’s Halloween and brands everywhere are using spooky season as a way to have some fun with customers. However, any ghoulish behaviour belongs firmly in the land of fun, and should not creep into everyday customer interactions

The changing face of financial crime compliance

Paul Taylor of Swift’s Financial Crime Compliance Services Division discusses the evolving compliance landscape and the critical role of technology in helping the industry come together as a whole to combat financial crime.

Crime thriller: Trading Down, by Stephen Norman

A sneak preview of a debut novel by Stephen Norman, long serving CIO/CTO of RBS Global Markets and previously Merrill Lynch. A fast-paced crime thriller – published on 9 November 2017.

Blockchain and the Lycra principle: only when fit for purpose

Few ideas have captivated the modern payments and financial services industries like blockchain. Since Bitcoin officially launched in 2008, the noise around the potential of distributed ledgers and blockchain in particular has been incessant, particularly in the last two years.

Ten questions for, and about, AI

I have had it with the stream of articles about what artificial intelligence (AI) can do. Yes, machine learning works. It is possible to analyse key words, correlate them with other key words, do a massive amount of statistics, and find out some stuff. People cannot do that and computers can. Is this AI?

Corporate client self-onboarding

Know this feeling when you are asked by a check-in clerk where you’d like to sit on a plane? A torrent of thoughts rushes through your head: being able to see the actual seat map with available options would make your choice much easier. Otherwise it’s kind of like a child describing his/her favourite movie.

Q&A with Michael Parlotto, InComm

Michael Parlotto, VP, Emerging Technologies, InComm, gives the lowdown to Paybefore on the evolution of prepaid and what the future might hold for the industry.

I know what I am doing!

Recent business surveys together with published industry trends suggest that ATMs aren’t going to disappear from the landscape quite yet even as the rate of bank branch closures will not take place as rapidly as could have been expected just a short time ago. What’s happening?

Central banking and fintech: a brave new world?

This is a moment to celebrate 20 years of independence during which the Bank of England has been a stabilising force for the UK economy, inspiring others in the world of central banking.

Combat insider data breaches with privileged access management

The high risk of cybercrime for financial institutions means that they are generally quick to adopt new technologies which may alleviate the risk of a breach. However, banking institutions can often be held back by legacy infrastructure and applications, due to the sheer scale of their IT operations, which can prove costly to upgrade.

What does the new iPhone X mean for mobile banking?

Mobile banking is nothing without mobiles, and as Apple leads the way in innovation it provides opportunities for banks to do things differently too. So, with the launch of the iPhone X, what is next for mobile banking in a world that can’t get enough of phone upgrades?

Why financial services should be terrified of dispensing wealth management robo-advice

Robo-advisors are software programmes that provide financial advice with minimal human intervention. Software has been providing advice for half a century, from portfolio management to trading strategies to currency management, and more. The novelty is providing robo-advice direct to consumers. Robo-advice costs less than “bricks & mortar & human” services, hopefully harvesting a bigger market. […]

Wealthtech is coming to the High Street

For those in employed in financial services, technology has always been important – integrated systems for operations and execution have been with us for decades. But to the banking customer at a High Street branch the advances in technology may not be obvious. However, slowly and surely innovations from the fintech sector are filtering down to the mass-market.

Bring on the money drones

Following testing by Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, to deliver cash to clients using a custom-made drone, the arrival of more frequent cash deliveries by drones look to be just around the corner, with reports suggesting as early as the end of 2017.

Improving operational efficiency through digital transformation

With increasingly demanding customers, and competition from fast-growing fintech companies, banks are facing new pressures to digitise their offerings. Developing new software is key, but finding a reliable means to quantify the productivity of software teams and quality of code is increasingly difficult. How can banks be sure they are getting a reasonable output from the large investments they make in software engineering?

Banks going Kodak

When was the last time you visited a bank branch? While the rise of the internet, banking shifted the customer interaction from the branch to the web, the business was still owned and run end-to-end by the bank and at lower cost. For a few years now, the landscape has altered significantly bringing Kodak to […]

How millennials are shaping the future of payments

For the millennial generation, paying for a latte using a contactless card, transferring money to a family member or friend online or buying a pair of trainers with “one click” has become the norm. This generation has not only shaped and driven the payments revolution, but is also playing an active role in developing a lot of the payment technologies emerging today.

Did Apple Just Reinvent Retail Again?

Forget facial scans or a watch that’s not tethered to the phone. If you’re a bank or payments company, you’d best be looking at Apple’s plans for the transformation of retail.

What You Need to Know about Pa.’s Money Transmitter License Changes

The introduction of new bond requirements for money transmitters in Pennsylvania is in line with an overall trend across states to enforce stricter conditions on money transmitter license holders and applicants. See what the licensing requirements mean for your business.

Factors in the Long Wait for EMV and Contactless in the U.S.

As some celebrate 10 years of contactless payments, Bastian Knoppers discusses why cards (not mobile wallets) are still king outside the U.S. and what it will take for the U.S. to catch up to the rest of the world on tap-and-go payments.

Top 5 Best Challenger Banks: Spotlight Profiles

Our Top 5 Challenger Bank spotlight series is complete. Get to know the challengers—Cashplus, Varo Money, Revolut, Capital on Tap and Fidor Bank—looking to shake up the status quo with tech and a superior customer experience.

Fintech: beware the fake news

In every aspect of life, sentiment overshoots. We overbuy and oversell securities. The political pendulum swings from left to right. Shops run out of ultra-fashionable goods only to heavily discount excess stock a couple months later. Ben Robinson, chief strategy officer at Temenos, explains how this is not a new phenomenon, but has got worse […]

Top 5 Best Challenger Banks: Fidor Bank

Our final spotlight article for our Top 5 Best Challenger Banks list is the only actual bank in the bunch. See how Germany-based Fidor Bank stacks up against the high street banks and its nonbank competitors.

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