A Tale of Two Wallets

Wallets, or purses, have been around since bartering was replaced by the exchange of goods for currency of whatever variety. Therefore they were handy means of carrying that currency in case you needed to ‘buy’ something on your travels. 

Centuries, if not millennia, have passed and we are now in the electronic, or digital, age. The wallet and/or purse are still with us albeit with that all important prefix the ‘E.’ 

Branches and mobile banking: do you need both?

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One of the discussions at the Payments Knowledge Forum, which took place in London last week, was whether or not both branches and mobile banking are needed? While there were plenty of good arguments for both sides of the debate, the main common point was consumer experience. Consumers want to have an enjoyable banking service that is easy to use and consistent, whatever the channel. Robert Johnston, marketing director at NCR, said that a key differentiator from one company to another is the quality of consumer experience, more so than the products that are on offer. 

Why are P2P payments slow on the uptake in the US?

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After speaking with Chris Burfield from FIS about the vendor’s recent person-to-person (P2P) payments project at US-based Everbank, a question arose: why are these types of services slow on the uptake in the US?

SAP Financial Services Forum: The inside track

This week’s SAP Financial Services Forum in London was a reminder of the supplier’s strengths and weaknesses in this sector. It was also a reminder of just how far SAP has moved in the last few years from its Walldorf and ERP centricity. In part through some major acquisitions, of course, it is now far more diverse and international than it was, with this also a key reason for almost ten per cent of its revenues now coming from the financial services sector.