Analysis


House Dems Propose Pair of AML Measures (Oct. 28, 2013)

Two House Democrats have proposed measures to crack down on money laundering by deterring the use of shell corporations and giving regulators the authority to hold bank executives accountable for misconduct taking place on their watch. The first bill, proposed by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), would strengthen the government’s ability to charge individuals with violations […]

EU High Court Weighs in on Austrian Mobile Surcharge Case (Oct. 28, 2013)

A law prohibiting surcharges on certain types of payments should apply to mobile carriers, an adviser to the EU’s Court of Justice told the Austrian Supreme Court, which is currently deliberating an appeal by T-Mobile after the carrier’s surcharges were ruled illegal by lower Austrian courts. The case stems from a lawsuit filed by a […]

Banks rush to bolster compliance

Firms like JP Morgan and HSBC have taken major measures to improve internal controls so that they can comply with new and changing regulations. It won’t end there.

ECB Cautions against Last-Minute SEPA Migration (Oct. 24, 2013)

The European Central Bank (ECB) is calling the next three months critical for stakeholders still needing to migrate to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) for electronic payments transactions. The deadline for migration to SEPA credit transfer (SCT) and SEPA direct debit (SDD) schemes is Feb. 1, 2014. “Everybody has to be ready . . […]

Viewpoint: Let’s Make a Deal (October 2013)

Although retailers traditionally had balked at offering discounted gift cards, many are shifting strategies to keep up with consumer demand and are increasing overall sales.

The Financial Services Circus

An ex-Coca Cola chief executive was once quoted talking to staff about the work-life balance – juggling careers, family, health, friends and spirit. In the financial services industry today, work life itself is quite a balancing act.

Cyberspace: beyond the rule of law?

Cybersecurity and cyber espionage have been in the headlines the past few years as leaked stories relating to government-sponsored activities have appeared and sabre rattling between aggrieved nations has moved to the public domain. At the same time an increased volume of distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS) on banks and other institutions carried out […]

Blog: Mobile App Permissions: Scaring Users and Haunting Developers?

Please let me use your camera. Do you mind if I browse through your contacts so I know all your family and friends, and can call or text each at my discretion? To the uninitiated, these eerie questions read like a disturbed love note from a stalker. But these are common permissions requests for many mobile apps. Could they scare off users?

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 […]

Mobile payments – the tipping point

There comes a tipping point when market readiness, social behaviour and technology combine to create a sudden, ubiquitous change of behaviour. For mobile payments the tipping point may have arrived – but will there be a dominant solution?

Viewpoint: Payroll: Proof of Prepaid Power in Numbers

A group of like-minded companies came together this summer to address the recent melee in payroll cards. The work is far from over, but their activity points to the power of pooling resources and relationships for real progress and impact.

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.

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.

CFPB: CARD Act Saved Consumers Billions, But Some Concerns Remain (Oct. 3, 2013)

The credit card industry has largely cleaned up its act in the four years since sweeping new federal rules took effect, though some concerns remain, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concluded this week. The CFPB’s 102-page report on the impact of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act) passed in 2009 found […]

Blog: The Case for Staying Confident about NFC (October 2013)

Once again, NFC is in the news for more of what didn’t happen than for what did. Despite the rumors that Apple would put NFC in its new security-minded iPhone 5S, the annual iPhone new model release announcement came and went without a mention of NFC.

CFPB, Lawmakers Continue Campus Card Examination (Oct. 1, 2013)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday hosted a Banking on Campus Forum in Washington, D.C., as part of its ongoing investigation into campus cards. Some college students said they feel pressured into using specific financial products—which can include student ID cards that double as debit or prepaid cards and are used to access scholarships and […]

Trade: adjusting to a new direction of travel

As trade flows shift across regions and economic headwinds blow, the trade finance business is facing challenges. Anne Queree examines how correspondent banking networks are adapting

Talking Heads: RMB internationalisation

As the Chinese Government continues its phased internationalisation of the renminbi, financial institutions are evaluating their strategies. Daily News at Sibos asked some Sibos delegates what financial institutions need to do to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by RMB internationalisation.

More collaboration ahead, says Swift’s Leibbrandt

Front and centre of the agenda that Swift set out at the beginning of this week’s Sibos is the concept of collaboration and cooperation – a perennial theme for Swift, but Leibbrandt told Daily News at Sibos there is a change in the air.

Operational risk: Hell is other people

As the focus on operational risk increases, Nicholas Pratt discovers that the greatest threats to a bank’s security lie outside of its four walls

Innovation: there is a better way

Innovation in financial services may not generate products quite so world-changing as the inventions of Edison, but the principle of finding better ways to do something does inform most developments.

Corporate actions: standard and deliver

The complexity of corporate actions has stymied automation efforts for more than a decade. But there could be light at the end of the tunnel …

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.

Talking Heads: this year’s model

How is the global custody and asset servicing model changing? Will consolidation occur? What do clients want? Daily News at Sibos finds out

Talking Heads: the financial crisis

Crawling from the wreckage – Daily News at Sibos asks whether the industry will experience another Lehman Brothers-type crisis. Have market participants learned their lesson?

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

Securities settlement: the guessing game

With implementation of Europe’s Target2-Securities beginning in 2015, financial institutions are still defining their strategies and business models. Some questions remain to be answered.

Data management: Knowledge is power

Standardised data architecture at financial institutions is no longer a ‘nice to have’. Regulatory pressures and headline grabbing fines have rocketed enterprise data management to the top of the boardroom agenda.

Brave new worlds

International financial centres can play an important role in easing companies’ participation in new markets. Heather McKenzie looks at the elements needed to build a successful financial centre

Talking Heads: a matter of principle

Five years on from the financial crisis and banks still face a rising tide of regulatory initiatives. Daily News at Sibos asked several industry executives whether the price of regulation is becoming too high

New game, new rules: how banks can re-invent utilities

The world we know is changing. As the famous baseball player Yogi Berra once said, “the future ain’t what it used to be”. In the old future, collaborative sourcing involved banks creating a single provider to deliver ‘the least common multiple’ at a lower/utility cost.

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