Community

Excellent point Ketharaman. This is another barrier to the open nurturing of Fintech start-ups by existing Fintech. It doesn't happen everywhere, but it's certainly a factor in some instances. Jealousy is a terrible thing! We need to break down such barriers.  

I really like the analogy, and I think in some parts of the world, and in many organisations, it definitely still rings true. However, in the six years since 2009 the momentum for change has increased significantly. Driven by the customers desire for real time delivery, service transparency, and omni channel engagement, banks are having to address major challenges to remain competitive in the market. They are starting to realise that it is no longer viable to 'stay safe'. They need to standardize their processes to ensure efficiency whilst supporting flexibility & speed to manage constant change created by new XML clearing standards, new real time clearing services, alternative payment services, proliferating customer channels, regulatory mandates, customer sophistication, and increasing volumes. The day of the system tweak and little enhancements here and there are past us. The days of payment infrastrucure overhaul and payment hub implementations are here. Not everyone is doing it yet, but when one sees the major, regional players in emerging markets starting to lead the charge, which is what is happening now, then one has to say that the corner has been turned and no one can wait indefinitely anymore. Godot has arrived!   

That's interesting Ketharaman, as I'm aware of quite a few payment hubs that handle diverse payment methods, certainly combining RTGS, international, and local, in various jursdictions, including SCT and TARGET2. However, I grant you that Real Time clearing can mandate the need for a second 'pipe' in some organisations. On the other hand, I think that there are quite a few payment hub vendors out there who are pushing the 'one hub to rule them all' story, and I don't doubt their belief in their solution's ability to meet that challenge. In reality, whether an organisation needs one hub or a combination of systems to address the challenges faced in today's dynamic payments market, they still need to actively transform the incoming and outgoing transactions into these service pipes, and that problem is still the fly in the implementation ointment for any new payment system.