Nedbank South Africa launches Africa’s first ‘green’ bank branch
South Africa’s Nedbank has opened a bank branch powered entirely by renewable energy, a move that it claims is the first of its kind in Africa.
Retail Banking
India’s first women-only bank plans November launch
India’s first all-female bank, Bharatiya Mahila Bank, plans to open on 19 November, the birthday of former Indian female Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Looking to China’s Skipped Generation
China’s miraculous economic catch up since reform and opening up has created an unprecedented generation of consumers. The way this generation has adopted the on-line world in China is very different from that in the West.
Furness Building Society installs core banking platform
Furness Building Society has chosen a mortgage and savings suite from vendor Sopra Banking Software, to act as the society’s core banking platform. The new system is intended to help the society become more flexible and develop new products, especially online products.
UK Payments Council reports 11% increase in account switching
The number of UK consumers who switched their current account during the last month increased by 11% compared to the same period last year, giving hope to the UK Payments Council that its new seven-day account switching service which launched on 16 September may be beginning to work.
Google is banks’ biggest fear finds innovation survey
The average bank now typically views web portals such as Google as the biggest threat to its business, according to a new report by French retail banking association Efma and business IT firm Infosys. Yet banks also report rising levels of innovation within their firms.
Regulation is a “moving floor” says Yorkshire Building Society
The constantly changing tide of national, European and global regulatory change is making life difficult for Britain’s building societies and banks to keep pace, according to Mark Smith, head of ALM at Yorkshire Building Society.
ACI Worldwide targets “fragmented” retail bank payment systems
Large retail banks sometimes find it hard to change because they have assimilated many smaller banks through acquisition, each of which is running on a payments engine that has different features and may be very old. That can make it difficult to offer new services, but there is a solution according to Paul Thomalla, head of EMEA at US-based payments and technology firm ACI Worldwide.
KPMG calls time on the universal banking model
Geopolitical shifts and increasing protectionism among nations will mean that the universal banking model is no longer sustainable – and there is little that anyone can do, according to Bill Michael, EMA head of financial services at KPMG. “The future shape of banking is beyond the control of boards, individual regulators or countries alone,” Michael […]
UK account switching a “complete waste of time” claims bank panellist
The UK Payments Council’s seven-day account switching service has been attacked as a “complete waste of time” by participants at a panel discussion in London on Wednesday – an allegation that was vigorously denied by representatives of the Council and the UK retail banking sector.
Tanzanian CRDB Bank adopts CR2 self-service banking tools in Burundi
Tanzania’s CRDB Bank has migrated its Burundi subsidiary to software provider CR2’s BankWorld platform, in a bid to bring self-service banking to customers across the East African country.
Lessons on living in a real-time payments world
Coming to the US to tell an audience of payments specialists about how the UK has transformed its national infrastructure over the past five years with the introduction of an effectively real-time payment system might have been considered a rough assignment – what can the Brits teach the wider world, particularly the US, about payments […]
Zapp: putting banks back in the m-payments picture
Formed earlier this year, Zapp expects to launch next year with the backing of most of the major UK retail banks, Peter Keenan, chief executive of the venture, says that at the time of launch the Pay by Zapp service will be available to 40% of UK current account holders, and it will have the backing of 50% of the nation’s online and mobile retailers – including well-known brands.
US consumers reject mobile wallets, survey says
The overwhelming majority of US consumers would not use a mobile wallet, according to a survey carried out by consultancy Consult Hyperion during September.
Cross-channel banking: beyond the app
Understanding and embracing cross-channel communication behaviours will become increasingly critical to success in the banking industry, writes Steve Dille, SVP of global marketing at Maryland USA based communications firm Message Systems.
Cloud makes inroads into UK mid-tier as Leeds Building Society joins HP alliance
Leeds Building Society has joined the shared services alliance founded by HP Enterprise Services and the Yorkshire Building Society in September, in a deal that will see the society move its core application for mortgages and savings to the cloud. The deal also marks a growing recognition among the UK’s mid-tier institutions of the power of cloud to help them move with the times.
Bangladeshi IFIC bank implements Misys core banking tools
Bangladesh’s International Finance Investment and Commerce Bank has chosen a new core banking platform from Misys as it plans to increase its presence in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.
Research firm aims to identify winners and losers in High Street struggle
A new monthly index that measures UK current account switching has been launched by research firm TNS, providing a snapshot of changing consumer behaviour as the UK Payments Council’s switching service begins to take effect.
Intelligent changes to lending: winning back consumers’ hearts
Following yet another revelation that UK banks have been mis-selling financial products to their customers, this time for identity theft and credit card protection insurance, the need for high street lenders to prove that they are changing their lending behaviour has never been so great.
Pinnacle Bank outsources processing to Fiserv
US based Pinnacle Bank has chosen to outsource its processing to Fiserv as part of its Precision bank platform, in a move the bank says will help it to scale and roll out new products including mobile banking, bill payment and checking. Based in the town of Elberton in the US state of Georgia, Pinnacle […]
Nationwide reports rise in UK account switching – but critics remain unconvinced
Nationwide has reported a significant increase in the number of customers switching their main current account to the building society, following the introduction of the new seven day account switching service on 16 September – but not everyone is convinced.
ICICI Bank releases Facebook banking app
India’s ICICI Bank has launched a new app that lets customers pay their friends and share expenses between groups of people on Facebook.
Mobile wallets face uphill struggle in UK
Less than one in ten UK consumers has used a mobile wallet, despite the widespread availability of the technology, a new study has found.
Omnichannel: the new normal for retail banks
With customers expecting consistent service across all channels, banks must step up to the plate and streamline their processes when it comes to customer interaction. Using the omnichannel approach, they’ll also reap the rewards of better customer intelligence and a clear idea of how best to spend precious budgets.
Retail banking: underwriting the revolution
New technologies are transforming the consumer experience in retailing and in banking. For banks to remain relevant, they need to work with innovators, writes Paul Skeldon
Barclays builds on Pingit head start
Barclays is making a determined effort to capitalise on the two-year lead it has built up with its Pingit mobile payments application with two new applications intended to allow retailers to integrate mobile payments into their services.
Russia’s TCS bank turns to big data to create value
Clever use of data about customers can be the key to success as customers move from cash to cards, according to Oliver Huwes, chief executive at Russian bank Tinkoff Credit Systems.
Yorkshire paves a path in shared services with HP alliance
The UK’s second largest building society is being moved to a modern delivery platform managed by HP, with the establishment of a Shared Services Alliance with HP Enterprise Services UK to offer the platform to a wider range of UK financial services institutions.
Millions prepare to switch banks as UK switching service launches
Experts are saying millions of people will abandon their old banks and switch to a new provider, following the introduction of new rules on 16 September designed to make it easier to change banks. But estimates vary widely, from single digits to tens of millions.
Zapp zeroes in on UK banks as mobile banking competition builds
Mobile payments specialist Zapp is expecting to sign up five of the six major UK banks within the next few weeks, following a deal with acquirer WorldPay, announced this week. However, the platform still has a long way to go to catch-up with rival Barclay’s Pingit, which has a significant head-start, having launched in February 2012.
Bricks or clicks? The choice isn’t yours
The challenging ongoing economic climate and the resulting shrinking markets have created an environment of greatly increased competition. In order to deal with the pressures of recession, retail banks are increasingly being forced into a strategic transformation of business structure, culture and practice. How they interact with customers is a prime focus during these transformations, writes Mike Davies, Regional Vice President Sales EMEA North at GMC Software Technology.
US local banks sign up to Temenos T24 core banking cloud
US banks Clare Bank and Farmers Exchange Bank have chosen to install cloud-hosted core banking services from vendor Temenos, in a deal that the banks say will help them reduce costs and roll out products to customers more easily.
UK account switching rising – but still below par
Retail banking competition is likely to heat up over the next decade, with millions more people switching accounts every year, according to new research published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. But current levels are still far behind those found in other industries such as electricity and gas utilities, the study found.
Santander and iZettle launch in Brazil
Swedish payment company iZettle and Spain’s Banco Santander have launched a new ‘social payments’ system in Brazil, which is designed to help small businesses take card payments with Apple and Android smartphones and tablets.
Demystifying m-commerce
Payments made via mobile devices are fast becoming de rigueur as tablet sales are expected to overtake personal computers by 2017. Shane Fitzpatrick addresses five common myths about m-commerce and how to capture online revenues. Smartphones are already more popular globally than desktop PCs and of the 1.875 billion phones to be sold in 2013, […]
European branches will be cut in half by 2020
Half of Europe’s bank branches could be obsolete within the next seven years, according to new research by real estate advisory firm Jones Lang LaSalle.
UK Payments Council sets September date for account switching
The UK Payments Council has set a date for the introduction of the seven-day account switching service, which will make it easier for UK customers to switch their bank.
One American in three uses mobile banking
One in three US adults now uses mobile banking in their day to day lives– a rise of almost double since 2011, according to new research from the US Pew Research Centre.
Kearny Federal Savings Bank installs Fiserv mobile banking tools
US-based Kearny Federal Savings Bank has chosen to install bank processing and mobile payments technology from specialist firm Fiserv, which it says will help the bank increase efficiency and attract new customers.
How to achieve customer-centricity
Why are banks and insurers struggling to operate as true customer-centric organisations when they know great customer service is a crucial differentiator? The answer lies in the enterprise operating model, which can create a structural barrier to achieving customer-centricity, writes Sean Tomlinson. head of consulting, private sector, Steria (right). The problem with the enterprise operating […]
