The Finanser’s Week: 2nd February 2015 – 8th February 2015

Our biggest stories of the past week are ...

Why banks are hated and what to do about it

I often find headlines around the world that banks are hated, and was reminded of this today when Australian websiteThe Conversation had the headline: Why do people hate bankers? No, really… 

The future of Visa and other card schemes

Someone asked me yesterday: what do you think will happen to the card schemes in the future?  I hadn’t thought about it much lately, but suddenly realised that the card schemes face a real melting pot of change. 

Killer blow to PayPal? Facebook powered by Apple Pay

So Apple has just announced record Q4 profits, and we all go ooh and aah, but I went: what’s happening with Apple Pay?  After calling Apple Pay a winner two months ago, several people claimed it would fail (although many have personal stakes for saying so).

The future ain't what it used ta be

We were having a debate on twitter, me and a few of my fintech pals, when one of them posted a link to this blog.   The blog is on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) website and written by Rishad Tobaccowala (great name!), and provides a view of 5 insights and 3 predictions from Davos.  The five insights are:

In strategic change programs, don’t assume anything

I was running a workshop for a bank the other day and asked the group: “what are the toxic assumptions in the bank that will stop it from succeeding to change?”  The resultant list was fascinating and long and, to give you a flavour of what the group came up with, I’ve bucketed them into five key areas:

 
 
The major general news stories of the past week include ... 

Here's Why Your Bank Account Is Less Secure Than Your Gmail - Gizmodo
When I log into gmail, the system texts me a one-time key which I use to verify that it's me trying to get in and not some jerk who got my login info from a password dump. You'd think my bank would have the same level of protection to make sure bad guys can't get a good whiff of my money. Nope.

Paper bank statements make it easier to manage finances, study says - The Guardian
Research finds consumers twice as likely to correctly identify how much money in account if they didn’t use online statements

RBS, Barclays and Lloyds downgraded over fears government will not help them in next crisis - The Telegraph
S&P says new EU law will make it less likely the UK government will help banks that get into trouble

Handelsbanken revives the role of the British bank manager - Reuters
'The branch is the bank' sounds like a slogan from before digital technology was seen as the future of banking. But that mantra has enabled Sweden's Handelsbanken (SHBa.ST) to expand in Britain at an unprecedented rate since the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009.

Botín charts Santander’s digital course - Financial Times
Chairman addresses tech groups’ threat to traditional banking

McDonald's launches new method of payment: Lovin' - The Independent
McDonald's latest promotional campaign launches tomorrow: for the next two weeks staff will accept "Lovin'" as payment.

City damaged by UK's 'diminishing influence' in EU - The Telegraph
Lords warn that political interference has created inconsistent financial framework that puts City of London at risk

Bailed-out banks set for windfalls as distressed debt markets recover - The Independent
Britain’s state-backed banks could offload billions of pounds of bad loans, amid huge growth in demand for distressed debt.

Free bank accounts unsustainable, says PwC - The Telegraph
Current prevalence of free accounts is harming consumers, but barriers to introducing fees means change will be slow

Jesus stickers cause insurance row - BBC
An insurance company threatens to void the policy of a Christian minister who put religious stickers on her car.