Archive for Featured

  • Kicking the branch habit Kicking the branch habit

    OPINION In a world where the bank is no longer a place you go, and banking has become something you just do ('Banking's new normal), the role of branches is back in the spotlight. The prospect of closing branches — always a sensitive political issue— has returned, following the release of ...

  • Cloudy with a chance of competition Cloudy with a chance of competition

    OPINION The plans for Sony Bank in Australia, Rogers Bank in Canada and Movenbank in the US  are all proof banking competition of the future is going to come from non-traditional players. The first big driver for this is the mobile channel, which is leading to a rethink of the way people can ...

  • On the virtual money? On the virtual money?

    Virtual currencies are a nightmare for governments to regulate, but social media savvy customers find them engaging and convenient BY CHARIS PALMER Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin are here to stay and represent an opportunity being overlooked by financial institutions, says Gartner bankin...

  • The downside of downtime The downside of downtime

    OPINION Bank technology has been in the headlines of late for all the wrong reasons. Online banking downtime is becoming a more frequent occurrence, or at least an occurrence that gets noticed more often, as more customers shift online and banks struggle to service them consistently with decades ...

  • Never mind, I'll do it myself... Never mind, I’ll do it myself…

    OPINION Connecting strong face-to-face service with online and mobile technology is one of the major challenges facing banks today, says Kiwibank chief Paul Brock (You can read the full issue in Retail Banking Review's March/April edition)). Regardless of the channel customers choose, they’r...

  • Substance over style Substance over style

    OPINION The recent launch of the iPad2 did not disappoint Apple fans, with enough new additions to keep technology analysts entertained. Focus will now turn to the iPhone 5 and ongoing speculation it will include NFC technology to enable payments. The fact each new Apple release receives so mu...

  • Competition takes a Swan dive... Competition takes a Swan dive…

    OPINION In January 2009, on the back of the worst financial crisis many had lived to experience, we asked if the industry was about to see the death of competition. The removal of St. George and BankWest as serious competitors to the major banks delivered unprecedented market share to the Big ...

  • Glitches and tweets Glitches and tweets

    NAB's recent batch processing failure had a big impact on customers. It was also a test for the bank's relatively new social media service team BY ELTON CANE The failure of NAB's batch payments processing and subsequent transaction delays and duplication for customers was big news in late No...

  • Are Australian banks slipping into psychopath territory? Are Australian banks slipping into psychopath territory?

    OPINION In his 2004 book and documentary The Corporation, legal scholar Joel Bakan argues if the corporation were a person, it would be a psychopath. Bakan makes his case, with emotive language and images, that the corporation is self-interested, inherently amoral, callous and deceitful. The c...

  • Lessons in the making Lessons in the making

    OPINION There's often no prize for being first in banking, which is why the fast follower strategy is so common. But being second, or for that matter, third, fourth or fifth, is only worthwhile if you learn from those who came before you. The industry is currently contemplating MAMBO 2.0 (Bank...

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