AI2 Comments

Pinko Marketing, marxism and Banks – a curious mix

Colin Henderson

I think the connection made here to Marx is interesting. Its obviously critical to put aside ones personal views on communism, Russia, KGB and all those memories, and consider here the theory. There is a revolution taking place in marketing, and Banks are not exempt. So lets review the consumer environment first.

Web 2.0 Is Reminiscent Of Marx – CBS News

Buzzwords from the old dot.com era — like "cool," "eyeballs," or "burn rate" — have been replaced in Web 2.0 by language that is simultaneously more militant and absurd: Empowering citizen media, radically democratize, smash elitism, content redistribution, authentic community … This sociological jargon, once the preserve of the hippie counterculture, has now become the lexicon of new media capitalism.

What got me going on this, is Tara Hunt and her coined phrase Pinko Marketing here, and here, and here (coming soon).

Continue reading “Pinko Marketing, marxism and Banks – a curious mix”

Uncategorized

Activity check on this blog – bank rankings show well

Colin Henderson

I think WordPress is fabulous, and the little improvements they make just make me more and more loyal. Anyhow enough of the commercial. Here are the top 10 posts over the last 30 days. Bank rankings show highly. Next up is fraud, and security. In between there is Paypal, and cross selling. The latter two suggest to me, that we are getting other Banking professionals on the site. I'd appreciate any feedback, or input. I know us Bankers are a stoic, quiet breed, but I encourage comments, available at the bottom of any post, and the discussion that will ensue … Continue reading Activity check on this blog – bank rankings show well

Payments

Business case and impacts of the NACHA credit push initiative

Colin Henderson

Great questions asked here at Payments News on this topic. While we have some clues, and directional research, the real impacts can only be estimated.

Payments News: More About NACHA's "Credit Push" Initiative – March 24, 2006

if the pilot can prove the service to be an net enabler of additional eCommerce growth. …."The real key", according to Samantha, "is what impact credit push will have on the payments mix"."

There are several things going on at the same time here:

  1. introduction of "debit" activity to the ecommerce space
  2. introduction of chip cards (debit and credit)
  3. introduction of PIN verification for credit cards

Continue reading “Business case and impacts of the NACHA credit push initiative”

Payments

Eufiserv prepares for Sepa

Colin Henderson

Eufiserv  (Brussels-based company owned by savings banks from twelve different countries and by the European Savings Banks Group (ESBG).) prepares for SEPA by 2008. Relevance to Bankwatch:Information only Finextra: Eufiserv prepares for Sepa Pan-European e-payments processor Eufiserv is moving to make its ATM card business compliant with the Sepa Cards Framework (SCF) so that the scheme can continue after the introduction of the singe euro payments area in 2008. The aim of the Sepa initiative is to dismantle cross-border barriers and drive down costs for non-cash euro payments to the level of domestic transfers. To become compliant with the SCF, … Continue reading Eufiserv prepares for Sepa

Innovation

Aggregation – an idea whose time has come?

Colin Henderson

Before the dot come crash, Aggregation was all the rage amongst banks, and they were falling over themselves to get into it. Then the research started to come in, indicating consumers were cool to Aggregation, and in particular if there was going to be any “advertising” associated.  Then the crash happened, and Aggregation waned. Aggregation, is the ability to pull information from more than one institution, into one single view.  Best known for this is Yodlee. Yodlee All Yodlee solutions are powered by a patented technology, known in the industry as Account Aggregation, which is built into the Yodlee Platform. … Continue reading Aggregation – an idea whose time has come?

EU, US2 Comments

ING Direct – some facts and stats

Colin Henderson

ING continue to revolutionise world banking.

Verkoren said that, in the U.S., the online bank is considering offering a new product, which is being tested under the name "e-orange." …… With the online checking account, customers would be able to do everyday banking transactions, without using paper checks, but "it remains to be seen if customers will give up using those checks,"

In Spain, ING Direct set up a pilot project in September in which it offered customers current accounts for free. The offering, which allows customers to do everyday banking transactions through their ING Direct accounts, and has been successful so far ….prompted large traditional banks to react. Santander Central Hispano SA (STD) was first in dropping service fees

ING Direct is also active in Australia, France, Italy and Austria. Austria is still unprofitable, but its figures are consolidated in the German business, Verkoren said.

Verkoren said entry into Sweden, Portugal and Switzerland was being studied. "And in the long term, we will certainly consider emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and South America," Verkoren said.

About 7,000 full-time employees work for ING Direct, with 114,000 employed worldwide by ING.

Relevance to Bankwatch:

Information only, and a Bank to keep an eye on

FULL ARTICLE:

Continue reading “ING Direct – some facts and stats”

Payments

ATM’s and future revenue generating potential

Colin Henderson

ATM’s are expensive. A mid sized bank has to spend $ 50MM every 8 – 10 years to maintain just the hardware in a 1,000 ATM network. Customers demand ATM’s for access to their money, yet, customers are using ATM’s less as debit takes hold.

An insider’s look … from Palm Desert, Calif. | ATM Marketplace News

One program to which PDNB pays special attention is debit. Often a behind-the-scenes player, PDNB is taking a lead role in spear-heading the prepaid debit-card effort.

Continue reading “ATM’s and future revenue generating potential”

Payments, Security

Visa warns of PoS software bug

Colin Henderson

Courtesy of Finextra, Visa takes action, following the March 6th, 2006 pin fraud.  It was earlier reputed to be OfficeMax, however we note the recent news references are to an “unspecified merchant”.  Only two weeks later – I suppose that’s fast enough? Anyhow, I presume this is the last on the Citi ATM fraud.  However its not the last time we will hear of this issue, and I would rather see Visa (is MasterCard there ??) make a statement about the other software applications used be merchants. Finextra: Visa warns of PoS software bug Visa USA is warning that two … Continue reading Visa warns of PoS software bug

Innovation, Payments3 Comments

More detail on the NACHA pilot for online debit transactions

Colin Henderson

Additional detail from financetech on the NACHA pilot which we noted a few days ago. NACHA Takes a Page From PayPal's Playbook The process sends transactions on a round-trip. When consumers at an online retailer, for example, click on the "buy" button, they are redirected via a secure network (courtesy of Sydney-based eWise Systems) to their banks' Web site where they are asked to log in. Logging in will presumably be with the exact same method the banks ask their customers to log in for banking services, relates Herd. The consumer confirms the transaction details at the bank site and … Continue reading More detail on the NACHA pilot for online debit transactions