Business Models, Self Service2 Comments

The Bank of the Future | some thoughts on the world of cross-channel sales and marketing

Colin Henderson

 Just prior to the recent NetFinance conference I was lucky enough to be asked by Dan at eStara to answer a few questions, which were posted on their blog.  Its been a couple of weeks now, and thought I would place them here too.  Meantime please check out eStara and their blog.  They do a good job at covering many aspects of multichannel development, and not getting caught up in promoting their own products, which incidentally are good, as I can attest from personal experience.  Anyhow here is the email interview we did, and I relate this to my earlier post … Continue reading The Bank of the Future | some thoughts on the world of cross-channel sales and marketing

Business Models, Web/Tech

Zopa claims Windows Live first to make it easier to invite new members

Colin Henderson

 Smart innovation at Zopa, utilising Live ID API. Zopa is the first company in the world to adopt the Windows Live ID Contacts API which allows members to link their email contacts list to Zopa, making it easier to invite new members. Zopa’s ‘Member get Member’ scheme rewards users for recommending the service to new lenders or borrowers who go on to make transactions – £30 for each new member. Source: Zopa claims Windows Live first – Financial Services – Breaking Business and Technology News at silicon.com   Technorati tags: Zopa, Windows+live, Live+ID+API Continue reading Zopa claims Windows Live first to make it easier to invite new members

Web/Tech

Silverlight: The Web Just Got Richer

Colin Henderson

 The geeks are going crazy over Silverlight, and I await rational explanations in English.  What I gather so far though is exciting … a capability that can extend applications from the web, and I predict connects to the desktop too.  I think the elevator pitch here is that Silverlight is a .NET browser plug in which works in all platforms, including Windows and Mac browsers.  I assume it will work in Linux too, given Firefox works there. My prediction is that this will be the future of Microsoft Office – an app that runs in the browser like Google Docs, but … Continue reading Silverlight: The Web Just Got Richer

Uncategorized

If you want to kill a bureaucracy you must kill the diary and schedule first (or whoever comes are the right people)

Colin Henderson

 JP nails it here.  If you want to kill a bureaucracy you must kill the diary and schedule first. Source: On fixed and variable costs and infinite loops | confused of calcutta Having left the big organisation/ beaurocracy recently, one of the things I notice is that I can accomplish much more work, in much less time.  These principles from JP’s post resonate with me. How many times in the Bank did I see a situation that should be resolved or planned now, be delayed for 2, 3 or more weeks to accommodate schedules.  The whole thing snowballs and despite what … Continue reading If you want to kill a bureaucracy you must kill the diary and schedule first (or whoever comes are the right people)

Uncategorized

Paaleads.com adds unsecured loan leads from Zopa

Colin Henderson

 Zopa link up with a credit company that appears to specialise in lower credit people.  If Zopa declines the borrower, and they choose to accept, they will be referred. …..  However, due to strict criteria Zopa declines many applicants, who are then in need of a provider more suited to their circumstances. All unsecured loan leads distributed through paaleads.com will have actively asked to be contacted to receive advice on the wider market, and will be supplied to the adviser no more than an hour after the customer has been declined, ensuring the lead is active, and the customer is … Continue reading Paaleads.com adds unsecured loan leads from Zopa

Uncategorized2 Comments

The power of social networks and banking is only now becoming clear

Colin Henderson

 Wesabe continue to drive the new directions in social banking, with this kind of insight, on overdraft charges. When we first launched Wesabe last November, we were not surprised to see that our #1 top merchant at that point was Amazon, and #2 was Netflix. That matched well with the stereotype of “early adopters.” What was surprising, though, was the merchant #20 was Overdraft Fee. If you think overdraft fees just hit people who are “bad with money,” they don’t — they hit a huge percentage of the population, and as Wesabe has grown, we’ve seen that more and more. … Continue reading The power of social networks and banking is only now becoming clear

Uncategorized

Shinginko to launch in Japan | KDDI and Mitsubishi-Tokyo-UFJ

Colin Henderson

 As a competitor to NTT Docomo’s offerings, KDDI enters the Japanese stage with a mighty partner, the newly merged behemoth, Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ. Japanese telco KDDI and Mitsubishi-Tokyo-UFJ Bank have joined forces to launch a mobile Internet banking business later this year. The move towards live production follows the establishment last year of the Mobile Net Bank Development Corporation in preparation for the two companies to launch a mobile ‘New Bank’. Source: Finextra: KDDI and Mitsubishi-Tokyo-UFJ to launch mobile ‘New Bank The indicate the following capabilities for the usual financial products, including insurance: Customers will be able to log-in directly … Continue reading Shinginko to launch in Japan | KDDI and Mitsubishi-Tokyo-UFJ