278 Results from 2008, /retail
Retired Member
Why is the the contrary view so devalued these days? In years gone past, savvy managers would ask people (the 'yes buts', or Devil's Advocates) to think about the downsides of any proposed course of action, not necessarily to stop an initiative in its tracks but to tease out the wrinkles, analyse them and improve the initiative before launching. ...
25 November 2008 /retail Transaction Banking
"In it's sixth Sepa progress report, the ECB welcomes the effort made so far, but stresses that work 'urgently remains to be done' to ensure the success of the Europe-wide project." You don't say? Is anyone surprised? Talk about stating the obvious... With banks being bailed out and IT budgets across the board slashed beyond recognition...
24 November 2008 /payments /retail EBAday
Matt White North America editor at Finextra
With the dire state of the economy forcing people to tighten their belts, it seems most Americans would rather forgo that pair of socks or pointless gadget this Christmas in favour of something they can actually make use of - a gift card. Research from the National Retail Federation suggests 55% of Americans will ask Santa for a gift card this year...
24 November 2008 /retail
There are a couple of reasons why the rumoured reduction in VAT is more likely to fail than succeed. One is the fact that much of peoples' basic spending is not subject to VAT and the other is one of relative size. This change in 'price' highlights a problem that all large institutions face, and a converse benefit in some instances, in that the p...
24 November 2008 /retail Transaction Banking
Notwithstanding the complete ar*e the banks have made, at the macro level, of the world's finances, most bankers at branch level can probably still be relied upon to make sensible decisions about lending to viable businesses. Whilst of course they can be subject to diktats from senior management at the centre as to pricing policy, generally speak...
21 November 2008 /regulation /retail Transaction Banking
Elton Cane Digital product delivery at News Corp Australia
Will state involvement in bank ownership stifle innovation at those groups that have taken bail-out money? As banks step back from serving the low end of the economy, which is perceived as too risky, will governments have to step in and offer basic financial products to this sector of the economy? I had an interesting discussion over breakfast at...
19 November 2008 /retail /wholesale Innovation in Financial Services
What do you do when the bills are piling up, but you're a bit short of the government sanctioned fiat currency? Well you could try paying your bills in a more creative manner - as a man in Australia recently attempted. The email trail is what really makes this story. Who knows, if enough people believed drawings of spiders to be of value, we migh...
19 November 2008 /retail
Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research
At last weeks EMXCo quarterly update Max Wright their CEO and mastermind leading the way in bringing STP into the investment funds announced the exciting news that they have the first firm using settlement messages. The packed audience of distributer's, brokers and fund managers almost purred with appreciation. This really is breaking new ground f...
19 November 2008 /retail /wholesale MiFID
I heard on the radio this morning that the prize fund for premium bonds has dropped. The reason given was because of the drop in interest rates, and so therefore the chances of winning money through this vehicle also had to drop. Yet again, those with money saved have seen a reduction in their return (albeit this one is a gamble, rather than a d...
19 November 2008 /retail Online Banking
FastPayments.co.uk are undertaking a survey into the current state and progression of the scheme following its public launch some months ago. We are interested in understanding an industry view of the schemes benefits, challenges, implementation progression, and likely future development. In a wider sense we expect this survey to inform industry ...
19 November 2008 /payments /retail UK Faster Payments
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