For operators, it should be ‘software-first’ to take the ATM into its next decade

As the ATM is turning 50 this year, it is at the centre of a massive overhaul of the retail banking landscape. Banks have to completely rethink the way in which they interact with their customers while the digital revolution is taking hold of the sector. The speed at which this change is happening is breath-taking: Data company CACI predicts that the total number of mobile app log-ins by banking customers are going to increase from 427 million in 2015 to 2.3 billion in 2020, while the number of bank branch visits is expected to almost half to 268 million per year over the same period.

With the banking revolution right under way, most ATMs today are still based on a ‘cash and dash’ model with limited additional functionality. However, with the right software strategy, they have the potential to become a cornerstone for the omni-channel banking world as the last remaining touchpoints for banks in the majority of local communities.

MAS: Bringing compliance closer to the cloud

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has helped dispel some of the uncertainty around outsourcing and cloud-based models in the governance, finance, risk and compliance (GFRC) context, with the inclusion of guidance on cloud computing services in its updated guidelines on managing the risks associated with outsourcing. Here Wouter Delbaere, Asia-Pacific Market Manager, Regulatory Reporting, for Wolters Kluwer’s Finance, Risk & Reporting business, explores this welcome development that should pave the way for greater adoption of these services - and hence a more efficient and cost-effective approach to GFRC - among financial institutions.

Banks in Asia are increasingly aware of the potential of cloud computing to reduce the costs and enhance the flexibility of their information technology infrastructure, and many are turning to cloud solutions in areas such as software development or customer relationship management. However, the security concerns and regulatory restrictions surrounding sensitive customer and financial data make service-based IT approaches to governance, finance, risk and compliance (GFRC) less common.

EuroFinance 2015 in Copenhagen: Witness the treasury fitness

Denmark and Copenhagen are two European locations that have polled as the happiest and healthiest in the world. What better place, the organisers of EuroFinance must have thought, to host a conference on ensuring that the treasury industry remains happy, healthy and fit for purpose? Health and exercise parables were abundant in Copenhagen, where delegates were encouraged to give their company strategy a check-up.

SIA Expo 2014: the inside track

Panel discussion at SIA Expo 2014

The main theme of this year's SIA Expo conference in Milan was that we are moving towards a more digital world, enforced with the strapline: 'Don't worry, be digital'. Although the majority of Italian citizens believe their country lags behind the rest of Europe in digital payments, speakers were keen to explore how attitudes could be changed in the country. The event focused on payments, mobile technology and innovation in the financial services space and was organised by Italy-based service provider, SIA.