Security

eMarketer says US consumers are losing trust in online banking

Colin Henderson

In an attention grabbing headline, eMarketer talks about loss of trust, but goes on to indicate that growth in online banking is slowing.  This does not demonstrate loss of trust, rather it shows security concerns are inhibiting growth.  Consumers Losing Trust in Online Banking Adoption of online banking rose just three percent in the end of 2005, according to eMarketer, a research firm that specializes in online trends. The lackluster growth is expected to continue, as online financial dealings jumped just four percent between now and 2010, according to eMarketer. Having got that out of the way, there is no … Continue reading eMarketer says US consumers are losing trust in online banking

Payments, Security

MTN, UBA partner to take electronic banking to new level – Nigeria

Colin Henderson

I must admit I did a double take when I read the introduction here at the mention of Nigeria.  Between terrorism, revolutions, and spamming Nigeria doesn’t have the greatest reputation.  However when I read the rest, there is an impressive array of services in this new partnership. NIGERIAN TRIBUNE – Info Systems In addition, non-cash payments will also be available from POS terminals at these locations. Several UBA products, notably Moneygram, would also be available at all MTN Service Centres and MTN Connect Stores. UBA, which is the sole super agent of Money Gram in Nigeria, holds more than 80 … Continue reading MTN, UBA partner to take electronic banking to new level – Nigeria

Innovation

Off to Mesh Toronto

Colin Henderson

Mesh is Canada’s web 2.0 conference begins on Monday.  Looking forward to that, because its an excellent collection of the top names in blogging who discuss the evolvution of Web 2.0.  There are too many to list here, but some of the ones that I am particularly interested in are: Om Malik – from Business 2.0Dr Michael Geist – who writes about legal implications and internetTara Hunt – who has coined the pinkomarketing phrase to capture everything that marketing should beSteve Rubel – the prolific writer about Web 2.0, and one of the most popular bloggersStowe Boyd – thoughtful blogger … Continue reading Off to Mesh Toronto

Profitability

Pinkomarketers should be billionaires

Colin Henderson

Great quote below, that I came across while studying Aneace’s blog tonight.  What I liked about it, is that it goes to the root of value.  It should be fundamental to your business strategy, because without a good product, there is no sustainable value, which should be based on what customers need. This is fundamental to the pinko philosophy, that value is not something to be created in and of itself.  It must and should come from the company’s core business.  This is counter to the “value based management” approach espoused by McKinsey 10 years ago, which says, you should … Continue reading Pinkomarketers should be billionaires

Profitability

The interchange industry is bigger than …

Colin Henderson

Informative post from Aneace on the relative size of interchange, being the method banks make money from merchants on credit card purchases. There is interchange on debit cards, in addition to these numbers. Aneace's Blog: The interchange industry is bigger than … How big is the payments industry if you leave out loan revenue and simply look at fees paid by merchants and consumers for the convenience of using plastic? The bulk of that revenue consists of interchange fees paid by merchants to card issuers. He goes on to point out the relativity of size for interchange. Much bigger than … Continue reading The interchange industry is bigger than …

AI

Why chip & Pin won’t stop fraud

Colin Henderson

Hitesh Patel, KPMG Forensic talk about the escalation of fraud despite the introduction of chip and pin. The criminals are able to move to the weakest point in the system. Why chip & Pin won't stop fraud | This is Money The fastest growing area is 'cardholder not present' fraud. According to the  clearing banks' association Apacs, it shot up 29pc to £90m in the first six  months of 2005 and accounted for more than 40% of total card fraud losses. Its worth noting the fraud escalation is not an intrinsic weakness in chip and pin. In fact we are … Continue reading Why chip & Pin won’t stop fraud

Security

Biometric phones released in Japan

Colin Henderson

NTT DoCoMo annouce their new Series 9 phones, that includes biometric authentication. This has interesting ramifications for online banking, when thinking about validation of customer before they transact.  Wireless banking, by looking at the phone screen is a channel feature that will be prevalent in the next few years, and this type of capability makes it even more secure than PC’s. NTT DoCoMo: Press Releases – DoCoMo to Unveil New Eight FOMA “9 Series” Phones Biometric Authentication requires confirmation of the owner’s fingerprint, facial or voice features prior to accessing most features of the phone. Technorati Tags: online_banking, wireless_banking Continue reading Biometric phones released in Japan

AI

Lloyds Bank says overseas card fraud on the rise

Colin Henderson

Lloyds notes the increase in fraud in non chip countries, such as Canada, and USA. Bank says overseas card fraud on the rise – Money – Times Online Lloyds TSB has reported a leap in the number of fraudulent withdrawals from overseas ATMs. The bank says criminals are increasingly using cloned debit or credit cards in countries where chip and pin technology has not yet been introduced. The weakest link theory applies here.  Those countries that lag moving to chip and pin, will suffer increased fraud. Lloyds TSB has reported a leap in the number of fraudulent withdrawals from overseas … Continue reading Lloyds Bank says overseas card fraud on the rise

Payments

eBay starts to see integration benefits

Colin Henderson

Courtesy of Preoccupations, Skype has integrated Paypal money transfer. Both Paypal and Skype are owned by eBay. The sheer simplicity of this is compelling. Note there are no banks involved in this transaction, but there are over 100 million Skype and Paypal users worldwide and growing. Relevance to Bankwatch: Banks have to assume a large proportion of the payment structure is outside their control in the future. The concern I have is that deposit balances will migrate to the simplest provider of those services, so market share of deposits is at risk.Technorati Tags: payments, skype, paypal Continue reading eBay starts to see integration benefits

Payments

The merchants are right!

Colin Henderson

If there is one thing about the payments networks that is becoming increasingly evident as a key obstacle it is the merchants. This from Aneace is just another example of an underlying issue that Banks and payment networks choose to ignore. US payments consultant First Annapolis reveals that merchant acquirers are expressing deep doubt over the benefits of contactless. The following comments were taken from the April issue of the firm’s Navigator report We really need an open standard POS terminal that will work for all and any payment system. The merchants are right. Why should they invest in multiple … Continue reading The merchants are right!