With only a few days to go to Sibos Toronto, today I would like to introduce you to another of Microsoft’s Sibos stand partners. Cloud Trading Technologies is an incredibly innovative financial services partner with a focus on Electronic Trading...

As the countdown to Sibos Toronto continues, today I would like to introduce you to one of Microsoft’s Sibos stand partners. ProfitStars is part of Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. and is a long standing financial services partner with a focus...

I hope those of you in the northern hemisphere enjoyed your summer and took time out to be with friends and family. Now the summer is drawing to and end, the kids are back at school, and that means one other thing: Sibos is right around the corner. Just...

As the debate about digital wallets and mobile payment models rages in the US, many point to the very successful mobile schemes in markets such as Africa as proof positive that a mobile payments infrastructure can be sustained as a viable model. M-PESA...

Those of you who know me have heard that I am passionate about the game of hockey (the variety played on ice rather than grass). The NHL playoffs have just started and so this is my favorite time of year. It's a fast-paced game and it takes physical and...

Hardly a day goes by without some new innovation in mobile payments or mobile banking being announced. It’s hardly surprising, as ‘consumers in control’ are demanding banks provide services that meet the capabilities of mobile devices...

Picking up on my recent threads about mobile payments as a form factor ( NFC Payments - Build It and They Will Come? ), and with the current state of market buzz around mobile and alternative payments, I am certainly a strong proponent for advancing innovative...

What is a Mobile Payment Anyway? A somewhat rhetorical question, but every day there are new startups, alliances and technology announcements about the next generation of mobile payments: most recently, NFC enabled phones. The problem with mobile payments...

Payments processing has always demanded a high performance, and highly resiliant platfrom. This is true of Fedwire and other RTGS systems, national ACH systems, and card transaction platforms alike. As the first of these systems was implemented in the...

I just returned from my annual trip to visit partners and customers in India. In one year I could see quite a difference in the infrastructure developments, but also how the pace has picked up in developing new banking services. The economy is expanding...

It is easy to think of ISO20022 as a Europe-only set of message definitions because of the machinations around SEPA, and so the broader value of ISO20022 and its global applicability can be lost when it is viewed only as a SEPA issue. At Sibos 2010...

There are two areas of corporate payments innovation that I expect to receive more attention at Sibos this year. First is e-invoicing, a process that is gaining considerable momentum as companies seek to further digitize the financial supply chain. The...

Living in the Chicago area, I've spent my fair share of time in traffic congestion trying to get to the airport. (Anyone familiar with Chicago ORD will also know that finding a plane that leaves on time is another challenge - but that's a different story...

This last month I talked to a few analysts about the market direction of core banking modernization, and I was pleased to hear that these initiatives continue to advance. Of course, not all banks are willing to give up their legacy systems as part of...

This week RBS found the spotlight in an unenviable way when it was fined GBP 5.6M by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for insufficient controls over payments screening processes. According to news articles, the list of transgressions include a breakdown...

It’s not quite so fashionable to talk about SEPA these days. After all – aren’t we all wishing the rules and solutions were are all defined and implemented? But there’s still a fundamental challenge that banks (and corporate treasuries...

Closing the Door on Data Privacy? After 3 some three years, the EU Parliament has approved the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program ( TFTP ) which outlined the rules for investigation into suspicious payments that may have been exchanged between banks...

In the United States, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ( FinCEN ) was established in 1990 and is, in general terms, charged with implementing measure to prevent misuse of financial systems for criminal activities. With specific regard to payments...

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have some passion for integration technology when applied particularly to payments. However, fixing the plumbing is just one part of the challenge that banks face, another is understanding just what exactly...

This week I’ve been talking with a couple of our partners that offer reconciliations solutions. Typically reconciliation products are defined and marketed as GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) solutions. Of course this makes sense due to the...

In my recent posts you’ll have noticed a recurring theme of moving from batch to real-time systems. Flying back from the NACHA payments conference last week I was thinking over the future of payments services, or products. Payments are being seen...

Having blogged last week about the replacement of a custom mainframe banking solution with a vendor mainframe banking solution at Citi, this week I’m turning to an organization taking an entirely different track. Currently under the shadow of the ash...

Last month Citi, typically known as an IT innovator in the financial services world, announced it is to replace its aging legacy core banking system with another mainframe-based batch system. Because of the relatively large number of mainframe solutions...

The topic of payments system integration has in the past usually dwelled on topics such as real time or batch requirements, message queue interfaces and of course, support for payment standards. All these of course are very important in any payments integration...

Core banking system replacement is arguably one of the most challenging technology projects in banking today. I often liken core operations to the engine room of a ship: it's an area that hums away in the background, needs regular care and maintenance...