I think it is exactly 10 years since the term multi channel customer centric strategy became de rigeur.  It was really a compromise that did not want to admit the eventual demise of the branch.  The compromise was to provide ‘equal’ experience and service level in the branch to that of online.  This was horrendously expensive and that reality is now hit home. Multi-channel banking strategies are failing to convince – TowerGroup | Finextra Says TowerGroup: "The branch isn’t dead, but the profitability of the network, as well as individual branch footprints, need to be reevaluated." Continue reading Is this the end of multi channel experience?

This is a staggering number.  Its hard to remember that pre 2007 an advanced phone required you you to flip it open and its main function was to … well … make phone calls. In the last 2 years as I watch what people carry, regular phones disappeared and smart phones dominate. Today at its iPhone event in Cupertino, Apple announced that it will ship its 700 millionth iOS device next month Continue reading Apple Will Ship Its 700 Millionth iOS Device Next Month | Techcrunch

Amazon CTO Werner Vogels writes about cloud developments in Holland.  One small thing of note in this long post is Ohpen, a Dutch core banking system supplier is moving their platform to AWS (Amazon cloud). Dutch Enterprises and The Cloud All things Distributed Ohpen – The Dutch banking regulator, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), has cleared the path for Dutch financial institutions to make use of AWS.  Dutch firm Ohpen has already moved to take advantage of the ruling by choosing AWS to host its core banking platform in an on-demand, software-as-a-service environment. According to Chris Zadeh, the CEO of Ohpen,  … Continue reading Ohpen, a Dutch core banking system supplier is moving their platform to AWS (Amazon cloud)

This post makes great summer reading in preparation for the autumn planning cycle.  It is long with lots of enthusiasm but the points being made are dead on.  I paraphrase the highlights here but if you are actively planning for your bank/ payment company this is a thought provoking piece worth the read with an open mind. Six points are made but I chose to highlight three that brilliantly challenge payments as we know them today. The Six Things That Will Change the Future of Payments Interchange Fees Are Hosed The one positive outcome is that the discussion has forced … Continue reading The end of summer primer for the payments planning season

I am guessing few will know about Bitcasa.  And to be clear this is not an advert from me.  This is about my experience and thoughts on a concept that is critical to us all (imho) and that remains unique which is why it took me two years. First off I have made the leap to fully eliminate use of my hard drive as a medium to store things and now I use Bitcasa.  That might explain why it took a while and here follows how I got there and what I was thinking along the way. And yes there … Continue reading Bitcasa – my 2 year journey to personal hard drive elimination