Banking rebooted

For me one of the highlights of Sibos 2011 has been the official launch of Movenbank.

Brett King, the author of BANK 2.0 and advisor to some of the world’s biggest financial services organisations, outlined his vision for the first bank to be launched globally that abolishes paper, plastic and hidden fees. Movenbank has been operating in stealth mode this year and is set to go live in October with a formal launch pencilled in for Q2 2012. The holding page promises a "third generation banking experience...built from the ground up for mobile and online."

The old guard have been out in force at Sibos 2011, but it's great to see new, innovative ventures competing for attention. An in-depth look at Movenbank will appear in the next issue of FStech.

Google Wallet ready to go

Word is the Google Wallet will launch this week in the US. The app allows customers to make purchases by tapping an NFC-equipped phone against a pay terminal.

And the first customer is none other than Seinfeld's George Constanza. Google has added an amusing teaser video on its YouTube channel. Watch it here. 

All together now: "My receipts! The chair! My tiger poster!!!"

To ring-fence or not to ring-fence?

So here's a question...The Vickers report has somewhat unsurprisingly attracted a flurry of media interest this week. Writing about the key points for the mainstream media, various hacks have gone with ring-fencing. Whilst others have opted for ring fencing and ringfencing. But which one is correct?

 

My money's on ring-fencing. Any advances on that?

Twitter ye not

Regular readers of this blog and FStech magazine will know that I took over as Editor earlier this year, joining from sister mag, Retail Systems.

 

Whilst at the helm of that publication, I established a thriving social media presence including a Twitter account which, as I write this, has 2,224 followers. After a sluggish start, retailers and retail tech vendors have really taken to Twitter and, even though I've left the sector, there are various people I continue to follow as their Tweets are insightful/amusing/informative/downright cynical (delete where applicable). Sadly, I can't say the same for FStech at this moment in time. That's not to say there aren't some excellent Tweeters out there, including @Chris_Skinner and @brettking.

 

But the same spirit of retweeting, of encouraging debate and comment, of creating a community feel, rather than remorselessly plugging one's company and services, doesn't appear to exist. Or maybe I'm just out of the loop here?

 

For the record, @FStechnology is closing in on the 1,000 followers landmark. Not to be sneezed at but someway behind our social media savvy friends over at Retail Systems.

2012 FStech Awards

The website for our 2012 awards is now live. You can find it here.

Three new categories this year: Best use of Technology in Customer Service;  Best use of Mobile; and Green IT Initiative of the Year.

This is my first FStech awards so really looking forward to receiving the entries, working with the judging panel to determine the winners and, of course, to the night itself.

Make a note in your diary: 28 March 2012 at the Lancaster London Hotel, Bayswater. Hope to see you there!

From ‘cashless’ to ‘less-cash’ society

Visa Europe has released its first Contactless Barometer to benchmark consumer take-up of new payment methods. The research, of 2,000 UK consumers, showed positive feedback about contactless technology and a hunger for wider availability in mainstream retail outlets. No great surprise there…

Mark Austin, head of contactless at Visa Europe, comments: “We are now taking the first steps on the road to becoming a ‘less-cash’ society. The Barometer offers a snapshot of changing attitudes towards payment technology and consumer experiences of using it on the high street. The two key takeaways for me are the need for retailers to keep pace with consumer demand and also for our industry to take steps to ensure consumers are reassured about the security measures present in all contactless cards.”

The key takeaway for me is that ‘cashless’ society has been replaced by the not so grandiose ‘less-cash’ society . A long overdue recognition by the contactless brigade that, however much they might want it, cash ain’t going away any time soon.

Further info on the Visa Europe research here.

Plan to end cheques under fire

It's not often that I find myself agreeing with our elected officials. Politics is just show business for ugly people, as someone once quipped. But today I make an exception. A Treasury Select Committee has warned banks not to attempt to abandon cheques or deter customers from using them. It has also taken a swipe at the Payments Council and suggested that it be brought under regulatory control.

Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the committee, comments: "The Payments Council is a industry-dominated body with no effective public accountability. It should not have unfettered power to take decisions on matters such as the future of cheques, that are of vital importance to millions of people. Banks have given customers the impression the abolition of cheques was a foregone conclusion. This type of behaviour is unacceptable."

Hear hear!