Industry Comment

Banks can see off new challenges with a flexible but secure approach to data

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.

Systems you just can’t bank on: how legacy has become a liability

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.

A different banking landscape

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 …

Viewpoint: Bitcoin: Take Charge of Your Destiny

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.

Frenemies at the gate

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 […]

Wide application for wearables in financial services industry

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

Making the connection

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

Digital disruption: can banks add interest to others’ ideas?

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

How the Internet of Things is helping banks put their customers first

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

Cometh the Digital Bank

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.

Digital: serve better, not just serve more

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

Blog: What the Blockchain Can Do for Gift Cards

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.

Reinforcing supply chain links

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

Caught on the defensive: why the financial sector needs to reevaluate its approach to cyber risk

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

Biometrics and authentication – a new world of possibilities

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.

Cloud – not just the remit of the financial technology start-up

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

Viewpoint: 3 Keys to Sustainable Public Sector Programs

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.

Viewpoint: How the Ripple Protocol Could Change Payments

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.

The role of intelligent analytics in retail banking

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.

The new payments landscape: we need a new mind-set

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 […]

Harmonisation of ISO 20022 is crucial – but who should be in charge?

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: lit from within

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 […]

Blog: 5 Ways to Make Prepaid Card Onboarding Less Painful for Consumers

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.

Blog: Goodbye Passwords, Hello Biometrics  

As the consumer demand for remote login and flexibility continues to rise, organizations are struggling to find and deploy authentication methods that are effective, easy to use, impervious to theft and scalable. Say hello to biometrics.

Funds Transfer Pricing: confronting a mosaic of risk

The need for financial institutions to accurately gauge their exposure to myriad sources of risk has seldom, if ever, been greater. The credit crisis toward the end of the last decade must have made that clear, and if bankers managed to avoid getting the message back then, the point has been driven home ever since by regulators around the world

Paybefore CEO Says Goodbye

Seven and a half years ago, I wrote my first communication as the CEO of Paybefore, and now I’m writing my last. I’ve made the very difficult (but exciting) decision to retire from Paybefore.

Planning the digital transformation journey

For the new banks now is the chance to disrupt the banking industry. No legacy systems or existing processes or old thinking – they can jump straight to the new. Except, of course, those new banks that are being spun out of existing banks, where that infrastructure, IT and operations are supported by the current systems of the existing bank …

7 Signs You Should Invest In Business Process Automation for financial services

Financial services has come under huge pressure in recent years particularly since the financial crisis. Competition, silo’d business units, efficiency in operation, compliance are just a few key issues being raised. With efficiency and competitiveness hand-in-hand and customer service as a bi-product of this, business process management (BPM), has shown just how this solution has driven cost efficiencies and overall resource efficiencies down.

Blog: The Mobile Device: Solution or Form Factor?

For the first time since the financial crisis, banks are investing in digital strategies. That’s a step in the right direction, but how banks incorporate mobile into those strategies, ultimately, will determine their success.

Digital commerce has to get its payment priorities right

The ability to browse limitless shops and purchase goods and services from almost anywhere in the world has revolutionised commerce. Yet this revolution is unfinished because no matter what the choice, no matter what the shopping experience, the critical moment of entering personal and payment details can be so complex and lead to the customer abandoning the sale

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