AI11 Comments

Chip and pin Canada | the basic flaw

Colin Henderson

Canada begins the official rollout of chip and pin following 3 years of implementation, and testing.  Good stuff.  However I remain befuddled by one thing, and no amount of discussion with “chip experts” removed this doubt from my mind.  The issue is the retention of the magstripe on the card. Canada begins Chip and PIN roll out Chip cards will continue to carry the magnetic stripe to allow cardholders to use their debit cards in other countries that do not use chip technology. By definition, that means the card can be cloned, and used in a magstripe country.  We just … Continue reading Chip and pin Canada | the basic flaw

Uncategorized2 Comments

ingdirect.com offer a “declaration of financial independence”

Colin Henderson

The ever observant Jim over at Netbanker noticed a new thing at ingdirect.com. Right beside the floating ghost <nice> there is a new link to “we the savers” that goes off to a new url at wethesavers.com.  Its a pro-active call out to people to think about budgeting.  Of course its self serving, but then again, who can disagree?  Nice customer advocacy play.                 Technorati Tags: ingdirect,netbanker Continue reading ingdirect.com offer a “declaration of financial independence”

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Iceland raises interest rates to secure loan

Colin Henderson

Iceland makes a dramatic interest increase of its prime rate as it works with the IMF to resolve its financial crisis.  It indicates how easy it is for a country to get into trouble.  These rates are unheard of in North America  since the 1980’s. Iceland raises interest rates to secure loan Iceland raised interest rates to a record 18 per cent from 12 per cent yesterday as a condition of a proposed $2bn loan from the International Monetary Fund to help rescue the stricken country. Continue reading Iceland raises interest rates to secure loan

Payments

CashEdge announce a service that allows small business to transfer funds between banks

Colin Henderson

CashEdge announce a service that allows small business to transfer funds to their own accounts at another bank. CashEdge Launches Me-to-Me Transfers for Small Businesses Small Business Me-to-Me Transfers, part of the TransferNow™ for Small Businesses Product Suite, enables financial institutions to offer secure inter-institution funds transfer services to their small business customers. Continue reading CashEdge announce a service that allows small business to transfer funds between banks

US1 Comment

Kenneth D. Lewis of Bank of America is "Banker of the year"

Colin Henderson

American Banker have picked Lewis over a close second, JPMorgan Chase’s James Dimon. While the two accomplished significant takeovers this year, the decision centred on Lewis’s elevation of Bank of America into the ranks of ‘universal banks’ roughly defined as big, and covering all aspects of financial services.  And the Banker of the Year Award Goes to …  |NY Times Between Bank of America’s two crowning deals <Merrill Lynch and Countrywide Financial> and JPMorgan’s firesale purchases of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, the two have become by far the biggest universal banks in the country, with major presences in virtually … Continue reading Kenneth D. Lewis of Bank of America is "Banker of the year"

AI2 Comments

Marketing ideas we haven’t thought of ….

Colin Henderson

This clip is from a Japanese instant noodle site.   Instant noodles are very popular in Japan.    Note the last item – a ringtone.  What a simple, free, yet brilliant marketing idea.  What if your ad was a catchy, consistent music theme.  Serve it up as a ring tone, and both customers and prospects will hear it all over the place.  Continue reading Marketing ideas we haven’t thought of ….

Payments3 Comments

Canada makes the right decision on cheque presentment

Colin Henderson

This decision by the Canadian Payments Association to discontinue the Truncation and Electronic Cheque Presentment (TECP) is the smartest thing I have seen banks do for a while.  CPA Board Decides Not to Proceed Further with Image-Based Clearing Initiative | Payments News The decision was reached after thorough analysis of the findings of the industry-wide project review. During the review, it became clear that the enhancements to efficiency that had been originally anticipated would not be fully realized due to implementation delays and the ongoing evolution of the marketplace towards electronic payments. This review also highlighted the complexity of moving … Continue reading Canada makes the right decision on cheque presentment

AI

NextCard | online application pioneers

Colin Henderson

In a post yesterday, Jim at Netbanker referenced NextCard [disappeared in 2002 due to underwriting issues].  I remember them well, and they were pioneers in terms of internet promotion, and online applications. A Final Marketing Lesson from NextCard | By Jim Bruene on January 5, 2002 7:06 PM Ironically, as we looked in on NextCard’s Web site on the evening of Feb. 7 to see if they were still taking applications, we noticed the company was using a simple, but very effective marketing tool aimed at gathering the email address of users which had clicked on the NextCard application, but … Continue reading NextCard | online application pioneers

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StartupEmpire conference | Nov 13th & 14th Toronto

Colin Henderson

I wanted to highlight an upcoming conference in Toronto aimed at startups and entrepreneurs.  Its been organised by the irrepressible David Crow, and Jevon McDonald who have put together a great speakers list, including: Hugh Macleod Don Dodge Austin Hill and many others Click through for details, and if the purpose, timing and location works then its one to think about. They have just announced an innovative idea that will see the Blackberry Partners Fund provide $500K funding during the conference. StartupEmpire | Startup Conference Toronto | Nov 13th & 14th StartupNorth is Canada’s only grassroots conference for startups. Created … Continue reading StartupEmpire conference | Nov 13th & 14th Toronto

Business Models, Innovation

The Enterprise of the Future in Financial Services | Five traits

Colin Henderson

Here is another study on the characteristics of financial services required to survive.  IBM is always thoughtful and this one is no exception.  They entitled the piece as applying to Financial Markets, but I have interpreted this to apply to Financial Services, generally, and not just say money markets.  Since they spoke to 1,000 CEO’s I think that assumption is reasonable. The enterprise of the future in the financial markets industry | IBM What will the financial markets enterprise of the future look like? To answer that question, IBM spoke with more than 1,000 CEOs from around the world. These … Continue reading The Enterprise of the Future in Financial Services | Five traits