BankingTech


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.

Squawker completes European launch

Sell-side only block trading network Squawker has completed its pan-European rollout, connecting 70 sell-side firms to the new venue, which promises ‘algorithm-free’ trading in 13 European countries.

Citi builds out global eBAM service and cross-border payments

Citi has expanded its electronic bank account management service to 55 countries, in a move that the bank says will help corporate treasurers to better manage risk. The bank also expanded its cross-border WorldLink payment service into new emerging markets.

Trade Finance – keeping the wheels of commerce turning

Cover story: Trade Finance – keeping the wheels of commerce turning Economic expansion in Asia, Africa and the Middle East is creating new trade corridors, and new opportunities for banks   Also in this issue: Ready or not, here it comes:  The first wave of full SEPA compliance is set for February 2014 . Keeping the […]

Nasdaq signs algo testing deal with Thesys

Nasdaq OMX is planning to launch a test facility for algo trading early next year. The Algo Test Facility will be developed jointly with Thesys Technologies, a subsidiary of Tradeworx,

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.

Race for speed intensifies as HFT goes global

Trading firms need to upgrade their technology as often as every three months or face getting left behind by the ferocious pace of competition, according to specialists behind the HFT industry’s breakneck expansion into the world’s emerging markets and untamed asset classes.

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.

Markit masses support for open messaging service

Financial information services company Markit is aiming to create the largest financial markets messaging community and remove barriers to cross-market communication through its open messaging initiative and supporting technology, Markit Collaboration Services.

FIS sets sights on eastern Europe with new cloud banking platform

US banking and payments technology specialist FIS has launched a cloud-based real time core banking utility aimed at mid-tier banks in central and eastern Europe, which it says will help client to roll out new products faster and cheaper than ever before.

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.

Maybe next time …

What do Monty Python star Michael Palin, a municipal cemetery, the rock band Def Leppard and a long-running debate in the press room at Sibos have in common? The answer is Sheffield, Palin’s home town, which has for some years now been an also ran in the choice of the next venue for Swift’s annual travelling circus.

The challenges of paying Asia faster

Slowly but steadily, financial institutions and their corporate clients are beginning to talk about growth again. Markets are gradually shifting from a purely defensive position; the Fed has spoken about tapering its quantitative easing programme; and many companies are putting expansion back on the agenda in response, writes Greg Murray.

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 […]

Competition for Russia heats up as TMX boosts Moscow link

Trading infrastructure provider TMX Atrium has released a set of options for trading Russia through its connection to Frankfurt’s Equinix FR2 IBX data centre and the Moscow Exchange – a move designed to shepherd customers as rival providers stake out their own claims to the Russian market.

CCP proliferation clouds Asian OTC derivatives markets reform

Most emerging Asian countries have developed or are developing their own CCPs and trade repositories in response to global reforms of OTC derivatives markets – but proliferation of CCPs is a concern, according to new research by analyst firm Celent.

Visa Europe adopts BT’s managed network

Visa Europe’s decision to place its internal and external communications networks into the hands of BT will help the firm to realise economies of scale and offer a more efficient service to customers, according to Chris Pickles, Head of industry initiatives at BT.

Lloyds partnership marks start of overseas extension

Lloyds Banking Group’s partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, announced this week, is likely to be the first of a series of such deals intended to allow the UK-focused bank to extend its client services overseas.

Basel has triggered “infrastructure reset”

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s April 2013 report, Monitoring tools for intraday liquidity management, has provided banks with the “trigger to reset their current infrastructures”, said Detlef Braun, senior consultant at vendor SmartStream.

NDAB-Deutsche Bank deal will ease dollar flow

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has signed a deal with Deutsche Bank to use its Guaranteed US Plus payment solution, which it promises will improve price transparency for clients with individual US dollar flows into the US.

Infosys aims to help banks modernise ops

Infosys has launched Finacle 11E, a banking solution it said will help banks to modernise their operations, reduce cost and time to market and minimise risk. The product has a modular structure: banks can choose which parts they need and replace their existing systems one step at a time, depending on how far or fast they want to proceed.

“Become an intelligent bank” for the cyber age

In a time when information is king, the battle for data is not so much where to get it as how to get it and what to do with it. For many generation Y savers and spenders, the vast majority of their transactions are carried out online and their relationships with traditional banks are practically non-existent.