Something we take for granted in the West hit Shanghai as their debit card system collapsed. City's bank card system collapses SHANGHAI'S major department stores, restaurants and some automatic teller machines failed to accept bank cards since noon today because of a network breakdown at China Unionpay, the country's integrated system for bank cards transactions. While the card base is enormous, the ATM base is smaller than I'd expect. China has issued more than 920 million bank cards, including debit cards and credit cards since the end of last year, up 142 percent from 2002, the year when China Unionpay … Continue reading City’s bank card system collapses

As Banks look to establish benefits from online banking beyond mere transaction migration, which is already well underway, this new offerring from Corillian is an example of the next level – information management, and problem resolution.

Much of the general inquiries at any bank are inquiries of the nature of transaction lookup, balance as of a certain date, has X been processed etc. One way to enable consumers for self service is provision of rich information, with value added analysis, of the nature that used to be offerred only to ‘platinum credit card” customers.

Finextra: Corillian introduces personal money manager module

Many financial institutions are still faced with legacy systems that are optimized to provide online banking users with only 30 to 90 days of host supplied transaction history. Today, online banking users expect and demand access to their online accounts, anytime, anywhere and are now less tolerant than ever of down time.Further, consumers are demanding increased accessibility to past account transactions and require better tools to manage them.
Continue reading “Corillian personal money manager module – good example of next generation online banking”

London is booming, specifically in The City. The reasons though are interesting, between traditional specialities in commodities, and regulation management. The latter is a choice that Government makes, and one that separates UK from the US highly regulated and interrogative approach.

globeandmail.com

Regulation has also been a key driver in attracting capital, people, and foreign companies. British authorities have steered clear of the strictly prescriptive rule-making enshrined in the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act, opting instead for a looser, more principles-based approach. The result: an explosion of Britain’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), a junior stock exchange catering to smaller companies.Then there is the proliferation of hedge funds and structured products experts, which have made the City a fertile ground for developing new financial products.

Continue reading “London is in the clutches of a remarkable financial services boom”

Given the small screen, treatment of banking via phone, as an ATM is a novel concept. Payments News: More About MoniLink And The Mobile ATM – April 14, 2006 application downloaded to the bank customer’s mobile phone, balance inquiry and mobile phone top-up applications are supported. Use of the mobile phone as a second-factor authentication token is also being planned. Continue reading More About MoniLink And The Mobile ATM

Market research is always questionable, and somewhat self serving, but this survey (Keane) has significant results in favour of financial planning tools online. Consumers Are Still Not Getting the Online Services They Need From Their Banks The Keane study discovered that many customers want to improve their financial planning but they need – and say they are willing to use – online help from their financial institutions. 80% of Aspiring Planners said they would be likely to use expert advice and online guidance on financial matters and more than 60% would use an online diagnostic planning tool to help them … Continue reading Willingness to use financial planning on Banks’ web sites

Bank of Montreal opens new branch and replaces the mall branch with a grocery store outlet. canadaeast.com – TT Local Economy Having a new stand-alone branch and an in-store branch right across the street just makes sense for a vibrant community like Dieppe with both branches' locations right on the border with Moncton, senior vice-president for Quebec and Atlantic Canada François Hudon says. The strategy is to capture business as customers go about their grocery shopping. ……. new in-store branch at the Sobey's grocery store in the mall that is open every day, 64 hours per week."We're going to try … Continue reading We need to recapture those conversations – BMO

A simple example of the international nature of ATM fraud. Information from ATM cards skimmed in Auckland used in Canada to fleece accounts of thousands (IRN News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)There has been a third case of skimming of money cards at an Auckland ATM machine.This time it is at a BNZ machine at Pakuranga Plaza. Information is thought to have been stolen from 60 cards. That information has been used in Toronto in Canada with the fraudsters taking a total of $49,000. It was only when card holders queried transactions that the BNZ realised its ATM machine at Pakuranga … Continue reading Information from ATM cards skimmed in Auckland used in Canada to fleece accounts of thousands