PSR announcement ushers in new era for payments innovation

The Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) has this week announced that the UK payments infrastructure will undergo a reform, in order to increase innovation, competition, and ultimately seek to better serve consumers.

This announcement seeks to break down the current payments status quo which has remained stagnant in this country for too long. The best case scenario is that we now see a flood of innovative competitors coming to the fray, where the needs of consumers, and not the needs of the major payment players, will drive the sector forward.

#Brexit good for UK #FinTech

Behind closed doors in a small office, off an nondescript corridor, in a rather large building on Rue Wiertz in Brussels, Belgium a hushed conversation took place last month. Shortly afterwards a piece of European Parliamentlegislation was quietly shelved. It carried the rather dull title of “Directive 2009/125/EC” and it was one of the most dangerous documents in Europe!

Throwing good money after bad

Clearing house Bacs has said that it is working on a number of initiatives to boost the UK’s struggling Current Account Switch Service (CASS), following intervention by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Cashless society – what’s in it for the UK?

Cash: soon to be a thing of the past?

The UK passed a major milestone on its journey to becoming a cashless society last year when it was reported that electronic payments overtook their paper counterparts for the first time. According to the Payments Council, only 48% of payments made by British consumers and businesses in 2014 were in cash, down from 52% in 2013. On top of this, a separate survey found that 71% of British customers carry less than £20 in cash at any time, with half saying that they will walk no further than 100 metres to find a cash machine.

So what’s causing this shift in payment habits and how would cashless benefit banks, merchants and consumers?

New challengers to the UK banking market

Welcome to the IBS table of the challengers to the UK banking market.  

We have put together a list of financial institutions looking for business in the UK.

More details on the core system decisions of the respective banks can be found on the IBS website.

We welcome any input to the table and will be making regular updates, so if you would like to add to the list please contact us via email or the comments section below.

Atom Bank: second mover advantage

It’s easy to be critical of the branch-first strategy of Metro Bank in the digital age, but listening to Anthony Thomson at the launch of Fiserv’s new Agiliti system gives one a more sympathetic perspective. The cumbersome regulatory process cost the bank millions; the payments system was jealously guarded by the existing high street banks; and the capital requirement was huge, even at a time when the industry was gasping for collateral.

Heightened competition? Be careful what you wish for...

Heightened competition in any sector is typically seen as desirable, giving greater choice to consumers and encouraging better pricing and service levels, but it is seldom this simple. For one thing, it can be a case of, 'be careful what you wish for'. In financial services, payday loan companies have brought more choice, for instance, but not in a good way. And if the additional choice is just more entities providing the same types of service with the same business models as the incumbents, does this really help?

Signs of life in the UK core banking market.....at last

Is the UK core banking software market finally showing signs of life? Vendors large and small are flocking back to the once dormant space as around 25 entities are waiting for approval from the country's regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to launch banking operations.