Kearney has released the sixteenth edition of its annual European Retail Banking Radar, which tracks the performance of close to 90 retail banks across 21 European markets. The study found that higher interest rates fuelled a record year for retail banks. However, it also warned that banks should be leveraging their current financial position to prepare to navigate growing economic headwinds. Record year for banks in 2023 2023 was an exceptional year for retail banking revenue, efficiency and profitability, with the income of the banks covered by the Radar reaching €365 billion in 2023, an 18 ..read more

New research from Lloyds Bank highlights the importance of UK businesses investing in new payment technology. Two-thirds (59%) of UK Retail, Food & Beverage (F&B) and Hospitality companies were found to already put payments at the heart of their customer experience strategy, reflecting the growing importance of payment options to customers. For retail-focused businesses, 59% believe that a good checkout experience is essential to building customer loyalty, with respondents believing it is as much a competitive advantage as having the best products. Meanwhile, 57% of retailers said that ..read more

For decades now, vendors and analysts have been heralding the death of legacy payments ecosystems, but still, they remain in use. Modernising your legacy payments ecosystem Over the past 20 years, FIs have been threatened with obsolescence and plummeting market share for failing to embrace the power and flexibility of modern technology platforms with their many demonstrable benefits. Evolving is a necessity and yet, somehow, inertia rules. The industry continues to spend ever-increasing effort and money on countless tweaks to prolong the lives of their aging platforms, rather than deploying ..read more

In mid-February of this year Payments Cards & Mobile reported on a major bust up between Hindenburg Research, a prominent investor in Temenos. Temenos hits back at Hindenburg Report At the time, Temenos hit out at Hindenburg Research’s claims that there are “major accounting irregularities, failed products and an illusive turnaround” at the firm, but the damage was done and it caused the stock price to plunge 28% and for a number of clients to slow their appointment and roll out of Temenos software and services. Now, Temenos has announced the completion of the independent examination int ..read more

Boku has released a global research report entitled 2024 Global E-commerce Report: The Changing World of Payments. The report reveals the increasing preference for local payment methods and the continued decline in the market share of traditional card payments. The report surveyed 10,500 consumers and analysed data from 37 major markets across the globe to identify global, regional and country specific trends. The findings highlight significant and rapid consumer shifts in e-commerce payments away from the traditional card networks (and in emerging economies cash on delivery) towards ..read more

Synthetic identity fraud is most commonly associated with fraud in banking or against credit unions but is often mistakenly overlooked in digital commerce. Increasing sophistication of synthetic identity fraud With fraudsters becoming more clever about how they use synthetic identities, it’s a tactic that fraud fighters need to watch out for and guard against – writes Doriel Abrahams, Principal Technologist at Forter. Synthetic identities Synthetic identity fraud is when a fraudster takes a piece of real identifying information belonging to a legitimate individual and combines it with other ..read more

UK Finance, in association with law firm Addleshaw Goddard, has published a report on the use of model clauses to support the development of the Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) for commercial applications in the UK. Facilitating commercial Variable Recurring Payments VRPs are a form of payments instruction that allows customers to authorise registered payment service providers (PSP) to initiate payments from their bank account on an ongoing basis. The consent given to the PSP will enable them to make recurring or subsequent payments, where the timing or the amount might vary, within agree ..read more

As the clock ticks down to new regulations that will change the face of Open Banking, data access, and security, Alex Reddish, Managing Director of Tribe Payments, takes a deep dive into what PSD3, PSR and FIDA have in store for the financial sector. Get on your marks for PSD3, PSR and FIDA On June 28th 2023, the European Commission (EC) introduced a draft proposal for an upgraded Payment Service Package, comprising an updated Payment Services Directive (PSD3), an innovative Payment Services Regulation (PSR), and brand-new Financial Data Access Framework (FIDA). Banks, non-banks and fin ..read more

Having survived the hype cycle, so-called “bank in a box” services will shift how banking and payments work over the next five years, creating new revenue streams for traditional banking players, more competition – and greater choice for clients. By now, it’s commonplace to talk about the challenges facing retail banks – from legacy tech issues through unfavourable macro-economics to increased competition from neobanks and technology giants. Much less has been written about the opportunities banks can look forward to, including so-called “bank in a box” services. Unboxing the box  The ter ..read more

Since the announcement of Capital One’s intentions to acquire Discover in the acquisition of the year to date, the market has been abuzz with rumours of a challenge from the very active Department of Justice (DOJ). U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to DOJ Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division Jonathan Kanter, urging him to block the merger between Capital One and Discover Financial Services. “This is destructive corporate consolidation at its starkest,” wrote Senator Hawley. “If consummated, this merger will create a new juggernaut in the credit card ..read more