Bankrate announce their annual checking study. The results seem somewhat at odds with another study reported recently. This confirms to me that the first thing to look at with any study is the sponsor, and their motivation.
Checking study: Bank fees still rising (Page 1 of 3)
Banking fees, balance requirements for checking accounts and ATM costs continue to rise while interest earnings on checking accounts do not, according to a Bankrate.com survey.
Tony Hallet writes are silicon.com about setting up with Zopa. This is a useful case study to understand the mechanics of how this novel concept works. He is an Egg customer, and is very comfortable with the company and the model.
Behind Zopa are some of the people who launched Egg, the internet bank. I have been a pretty happy Egg customer for a number of years and some of the trademark marketing attitude shines through at Zopa.
A new report from George Group/ Wharton is summarised at FinanceTech, by By Matt Reilly & Stephen Wilson, of George Group Consulting.
How IT Drives Product Proliferation: Keeping Complexity at Bay
Competitive pressures are driving the need for more product development. But the industry is plagued by complexity-related issues. Why IT may be part of the problem and why the solution may be less versus more
The key driver all Banks contend with are noted.
Continue reading “How IT Drives Product Proliferation: Keeping Complexity at Bay”
Digital Money held their forum in London, and the presentations are now online (middle left – presentations – speakers). For more detail on the decks, go to the wiki. Here are insights from the leaders in the new payments space, and Banks must listen, and think about the implications. Its a unique opprtunity to see data on Paypal, and thoughts from emerging leaders including Vodaphone, Mi-Pay, Tesco, and Peppercoin. I noted this page from the Peppercoin deck, which asks a set of higly relevant and strategic questions. Small Payments and mobile based payments Contactless payments, and mobile phone based contactless … Continue reading The right questions to ask about payments
This is a fascinating piece from "Creating Passionate Users". Its fascinating because it perfectly articulates how Banks operate. Creating Passionate Users: When only the glib win, we all lose In way too many meetings, the fastest talkers win. And by "fastest talkers", I mean those who are the first to articulate an idea, challenge, issue, whatever. Too many of us assume that if it sounds smart, it probably is, especially when we aren't given the chance to think about it. The problem is, the guy with the "gut feeling"–the one who senses that something's not right, but has no idea … Continue reading The glib continium – where the good ideas are repressed
Regulation and compliance has significantly grown, particulalry following September 11th, 2001. The need to address funding of terrorism, and organised crime, the desire to better protect consumers, and the need to ensure a stable financial system in times of emergency, have driven unprecedented levels of regulation, and compliance activities worldwide.
Finextra: UK retail banks struggling with cost of compliance
Almost a third of UK retail banking and insurance organisations say that industry regulations on documentation are placing additional cost burdens on their business, according to a study released by Thunderhead and Xansa.The survey of 50 banks and insurance firms found that 65% believe the cost of effecting any necessary changes to templates as a result of FSA regulatory changes would be 'very' or 'quite' costly. Only five per cent believed it would not be costly at all.
Good article at silicon.com on two-factor authentication. All Banks are underway with something in this space at the moment, but the article correctly asks, whether this will be adequate. Of course the answer is no, it will not be adequate. Its essential as the next step but additional steps will be required.
Barclays recently announced it is stepping up its fight against fraudsters by using technology to check that each customer's spending behaviour matches his or her profile.
First, lets look at what Banks' are using:
Continue reading “Banks aiming to alleviate online banking fears”
Payment news reports on the prospects for this new space reported yesterday. The unique challenges referred to are criminals and con-men, who will undoubtedly attempt to take advantage of these unique offerrings. Payments News: Online Banking Report Studies Prosper.com Person-to-Person Lending – March 28, 2006 Presuming Prosper and/or Zopa make it through these unique challenges, the report predicts that within five years the total market for person-to-person lending in the U.S could surpass 100,000 loans annually, worth more than $1 billion. Continue reading Online Banking Report makes predictions for US P2P lending market
As noted earlier in March, based on the article in the Economist, there are moves afoot in the alternative banking space. We noted the appearance of Ripple yesterday. these are new business models, that provide for P2P (person to person) borrowing/ lending, with no Bank involved. Finextra now report, that Zopa from the UK intends to attack the US market, having raised $15M in preparation. This following the launch of Prosper in the US last month. Finextra: Zopa raises $15m for US launch Zopa, a UK-based online person-to-person lending and borrowing exchange, has secured $15 million in series b funding … Continue reading More on Bankless Banking (Zopa, Ripple, Prosper)
Economist.com | Illegal file-sharers under attack
Mar 24th 2005
From The Economist Global Agenda
The entertainment industry is taking its battle against illegal downloading to America’s Supreme Court. But attacking the technology behind file-sharing could stifle innovation without tackling the industry’s long-term problems
Continue reading “Grokster and StreamCast face the music”
