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Location

London

Member since

2011

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Gareth's blog archive

2011 (3)

Gareth Jones

Field Operations Director at Ubiquiem

Message Posts: 3 Comments: 7

Bio Sales and Services Director at Ubiquiem Ltd, a start-up venture providing innovative multi-channel solutions aimed at improving customer experience in banking. Career History Experienced Fintech professional - over 20 years experience vendor-side with Fiserv, Misys and Temenos.

Blogs

Is PFM a good thing?

20 Jun 2011

PFM tools started out, you'll recall, as software packages like Intuit Quicken or Microsoft Money, but the latest buzz is around either bank-branded services or bank independent sites such as mint.com. Back in the day, Microsoft Money was shipped on pretty much every Windows machine. Interestingly, one or two people actually used it. But not man...

Are 'customers' good for Retail Banks?

14 Feb 2011

I’ve written and talked about this sort of thing before, but never blogged. In the hope that the blogosphere offers a little more interactivity, I going to re-articulate some thoughts and sound out a reaction – hopefully it will be a bit like lighting the blue touchpaper… Are Retail Banks that bad? Retail banks are arguably easy targets when i

Latest News Shock - Internet Banking Usability Sucks!

28 Jan 2011

Forrester says so The studious people at Forrester have just released some research that is astonishing. It’s only available to Forrester subscribers or to purchase – but their teaser says it’s all. Basically, Internet banking offerings do a pretty good job of offering functionality – they just don’t rate well from a usability perspective. H

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Gareth is Commenting on

KAL launches cashless ATM

Excuse me for being a bit cynical but this seems so wrong on so many levels. 1. It seems almost entirely focussed on the 'convenience' of the operator rather than the customer - or maybe it is just me that doesn't quite see the appeal of standing outside to start a transaction and then queuing up inside to actually get my cash. 2. Weren't ATM 'invented' to cut out the middle-man - the teller/cashier - in the first place? 3. Err, didn't cashback get there first? 4. Even payment services providers such as Paypoint (which already has 30,000 terminals in the UK, Romania and RoI) could do this if it was such an amazing idea. Maybe I'm missing something but the statement that this "is one of the most important products ever to be introduced to the self-service banking industry" seems to be a candidate for Marketing Hyperbole of the Year!. ' Course, happy to hear where I've missed the plot!

20 Jun 2012 Reply Read article

Is PFM a good thing?

Robin, I really really like (the idea of) Breeze too. However, it doesn't seem to me to be PFM - or at least not traditional PFM. Just decent mobile banking. Although... maybe that it was is good about it (!) Maybe PFM is about managing money on the move and managing money in privacy. And is two (or more) separate things? As far as mobile banking are concerned i think there are few who can touch Breeze for its usability and appeal. It's a world leader in this respect for sure. But I'm not sure it really helps budget or plan or manage But Breeze seems to be aimed at the 'too cool for school' segment. It's nice that we know who the 'coolest intern' in the world is and great they work for SC- but has it improved the service that long standing customers have received - I guess we'll wait for that one. Gareth

20 Jun 2011 Reply Read article

Halifax takes a year out to rebuild online investments Website

This is surely an April 1 post not April 7? Unbelievable!

08 Apr 2011 Reply Read article

Are 'customers' good for Retail Banks?

good point - in part that was what I was trying to elicit with the post. Here are some of the things I'd like to see- Loyalty recognition - I do want better treatment for being with a bank for 25 years. Sorry! And not 'fake' loyalty by offering me 'premium' (or ego) banking for which I pay an extra monthly fee and for which I get a bundle of things like travel insurance, phone insurance, etc. that I may already have. Better tie-ins. As I said, we need banks as facilitators not for the products themselves - so tighter integration with what I use banking products to buy for example. Not screwing up. Because of the fiduciary duty, I do get it that banks need checks (no pun intended!)and balances (same!) but there is way too much bureaucracy and process complexity. This paradoxically introduces higher opportunity for error. Changing your primary address is hard to do at most banks - and often goes from point of capture to some back-office verification stage and involves mailings and so on. There are slicker ways of doing this.

16 Feb 2011 Reply Read article