There's a certain level of risk involved in investing branches with new technology. If the goal is to get closer to customers, it is important that they are wowed and not confused. Before committing to major investments, banks should consider going through...

High Frequency Trading (HFT) continues to capture headlines even after markets have long since recovered. Since the first Atlantic cable, markets have invested in faster execution - lower latency. So what's the problem? The FSA referenced one - spoofing...

I bumped into one of my colleagues, Dave, the other day in the office. I was surprised to see him there. "How can you work at home so much," I asked. He replied, "I am better off there. I have my own office, and much better kit." Some of us have better...

New regulation and technology begs the question what will the bank of the future be? Banking has changed radically over the last decade, and will surely change significantly over the next. A big change was the abolition of Glass-Steagall. But Dodd-Frank...

The first decade of this century has been the warmest on record, while those of us who live in the northern hemisphere must have noticed how cold it now is. These extremes of temperature are symptomatic of a planet getting warmer. If we haven't got the...

Clay Wilson was excited about the start of a new decade, the second of the 21 st century. His start-up company was enjoying its first year of profitability, but he was too tired to drive home. So he put his car on auto-drive. His GPS chose the best route...

Bank channels are often separate and rarely equal. They are also transaction focused and have changed little over the years. But the technology of user interfaces (UIs) has changed dramatically, creating new opportunities for banks to reach customers...

My 80 year old father recently sent me a letter. He had been trying to master email, but finally despaired and wrote to me instead in the way he had done throughout his life. Normally my mail consists of bills and brochures. But this letter really stood...

The history of computing is one of more and more power using less and less space with an ever more compelling user experience. The CES show in Las Vegas witnessed another chapter in this story yesterday, when Microsoft unveiled its plans to launch the...

BCG coined the phrase 'two speed world' to describe the difference in growth prospects between the developed and the developing world. [i] [i] Ashley and Lloyd see a world of incremental change and disruption in their new book "Two Speed World." [ii]...

Almost fifty years ago, pirates controlled the airways. In 1964 a radio station called Radio Caroline challenged the BBC's monopoly by broadcasting popular music from a ship off the coast of England. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who and many other...

Like many businesses research has reached an inflection point. Scientists, analysts and academics are amassing data at unprecedented rate. Thanks to the growing need for collaboration within and between disciplines huge amounts of data and content must...

The law of accelerated returns says the rate of technological growth is exponential. Instead of 100 years of technological growth in the 21 st century we might have 20,000 years of technological change in current technology year terms. This implies a...

Tougher markets encourage deeper, more profitable customer relationships. The need for banks to treat each of us as unique is becoming more important. Three technologies in particular are making selling to a market of one a practical option; digital marketing...

2010 has been a game-changing year for technology. Slates, smartphones, 4G networks, user interfaces and cloud computing all captured headlines. We are living through an amazing period of disruption. While slates and smartphones capture our imagination...

The outlook for banking in 2011 remains challenging. The housing market remains weak, unemployment high and the recovery fragile. For retail and commercial banks this means continued pressure on portfolio quality and margins. For investment banks 2011...

Wiki Leaks may be the next systemic risk banks face. At a time when we must become more collaborative and share information, are we exposing ourselves to more risks? If so, what protection do we have? In a world of flash drives and file transfers, how...

In an era when one in five relationships begins online, some have questioned the future of branches. According to one research firm, visits to branches are down by 20 percent since 2000. Consumers seem more enamored of smartphones then teller lines, as...

The new generation of smartphones has been very popular with consumers. As many consumers are also employees, financial institutions are trying to decide whether there is a fit for the enterprise. The new Windows Phone 7 is specifically designed for...

When we think about the future of financial services, a paperless environment is a likely outcome. But transitioning from a paper based to a paperless i.e. electronic environment is not as easy as it looks. Here’s a lesson from the past. During...

There is an ongoing debate in the financial servic industry about how much capital banks really need. Regulators seek higher rather than lower capital ratios. But if a bank’s risk management goes haywire, and it loses public confidence, no amount...

We are experiencing a game changing leap in the technology of user interfaces. Virtual key pads touch screen technology, and, with Microsoft’s Kinect, commands driven by speech, gestures even emotions create a quantum leap in computing. In contrast...

By David Cox In recent years we have seen enormous changes, but we are only at the beginning of a revolution in technology. Since the 1970s, computers have altered little in their basic functions although they have become more powerful, portable, accessible...

By David Cox In their book, The Power of Pull [i] , the authors claim that we are moving from a world of push to one of pull; from a world of forecast driven resourcing assuming a predictable future to a world of search, engagement, collaboration and...

When we talk about Cloud with our peers in the Industry, the conversation immediately goes to the Data Center level, Infrastructure as a Service is the best understood part of a very complex and new environment. But recently more and more conversations...