I was jut updating a presentation about mobile payments. The presentation was from May 2011 and talked extensively about Google Wallet, Square and M-PESA. One year on and the presentation still talks about the same things but I am shocked and amazed about how much things have changed in just eighteen months. For example, the…
The real challenge for the banking system is how to protect their firewalls from attack by hacktivists, goverworms and cybercriminals and, conversely, how to deliver easy access to online banking for their clients and customers. It’s a real dilemma. On the one hand, everyone wants mobile access to his or her account balances and to…
I ‘ve been talking about contactless for years now - I remember talking about the Octopus card system about ten years ago after it launched in Hong Kong in 1997 – and still find it surprising how invisible it is. Sure it got some coverage at the Olympics but some, like Forrester, reckon that NFC mobile payments…
This week’s TIME Magazine has a spread all about how mobile technologies are changing our world. There are stories of how it’s changing elections, charity, privacy and more, as well as getting rid of our wallets of course. The wallet piece is pretty weak to be honest, with the story of one of their journo’s spending a…
Standard Chartered paid off the new Sheriff of New York City, Benjamin Lawsky, to the tune of $340 million to get rid of the pest. As Investec's commentator Ian Gordon said yesterday, they “acted with pragmatism and integrity in the face of extreme provocation”. What really gets me here is the whole USA versus the rest…
More conversations about mobile payments with a wave of news this week: Google, Carriers, Credit Cards Unite on Mobile Payments Committee How Cheap NFC Changes the Mobile Payment Race What Square’s Starbucks Deal Means For Mobile Payments And An Apple iWallet My Mobile Payments floats operations in Britain Deutsche Telekom AG : Next step in…
There’s a buzz that’s started about Facebook banking asCommonwealth Bank of Australia and ICICI Bank get into Facebook banking apps, with Citibank fast to follow. What’s going on? Originally, we all though Facebook would take over bank functions through stealth creep via Facebook credits. Facebook credits are in fact worth around $1.5 billon a year…
As per our regular research surveys, the Financial Services Club is repeating the survey started in 2011 reviewing the changing face of payments infrastructures. We would be delighted if you would join this year’s survey: click here to take part. By participating, you are guaranteed to receive a copy of the results when they are…
We had a great discussion at the Financial Services Club Central & Eastern Europe (FSClub CEE) this week. Now in its fourth year of operation, the Club meets regularly at the residence of the British Ambassador in Vienna, Austria (see postnote if you want a laugh). The theme of the meeting was: “the future of…
More interesting dialogue about banking yesterday, and this time about financial inclusion. The fact that mobile phone ubiquity is creating a wirelessly connected planet, is a key part of changing our world for more inclusion. First, six billion people now have 1:1, P2P connections. You only need to look at mobile densities by continent to realise…
