Future Finance

Finextra and Oracle have gathered together some of the industry's top thought leaders to discuss, debate and analyse the key trends and issues within transaction banking, regulations and retail banking. This group will focus on upcoming regulations, new service offerings and industry debate shaping the new financial services landscape with regular blog posts, video interviews, webcasts debates and surveys.

Dan Barnes Writer at Information Corporation

Unlicensed premises

It must be hard trying to start out in the world of banking. There are all of these massive competitors, hoovering up business, and there is no way to match their scale. Without scale, you cannot pay the same level of wages, you cannot offer the same breadth of services and you cannot reach as many customers. What could be done? Well, regulators c...

05 December 2013 /regulation

Retired Member 

Observing retail banking behaviour in Asia

With a wide range of channel choices for retail customers, banks need to be aware of the usage and preferences for each channel which can vary for multiple reasons including the purpose of the transaction, complexity and where the person is from. On the digital channel, customers usually require a fast and convenient service such as simple transact...

04 December 2013

Retired Member 

Is now the time to invest in alternative currencies?

I wince every time I hear bitcoin reaching new milestones in value - and I don't think I'm alone. 'Bitcoin hits $300' - I shudder. 'Bitcoin reaches $500 milestone' - I cringe. 'Bitcoin tops $1000' - I could cry. I think of the missed opportunity - my poor foresight. Why didn't I buy 1000 bitcoins when they were $0.50 each? That $500 outlay woul...

03 December 2013 /retail

Dan Barnes Writer at Information Corporation

Regulators need to watch 'Friends on benefits'

Cooperative and community banks enjoy a special place in the hearts of the people, often giving them special regulatory status too. However in an age that has debunked many of the theories of capitalist economics, it worth noting that the cooperative theory of ‘Friendly Societies’ is failing too. Rabobank’s rating downgrade by Fitch last Thursday ...

28 November 2013 /regulation

Elton Cane Digital product delivery at News Corp Australia

P2P lending in Australia

It's been stop-start, but there are signs of growth. Reading Simon Strong's Finextra blog post about growing overheads as P2P lenders mature and become more regulated, and Dan Barnes' post about the growing involvement of traditional banks, got me thinking about the development of the P2P lending sector in Australia. There has been no shortage of...

27 November 2013 /regulation /retail

Elizabeth Lumley Global FinTech Commentator at Girl, Disrupted

It's time to dust off those GTB crystal balls!

Here at Finextra we are all about community and one of our favouite communities is Global Transaction Banking. So, as an end of year treat, we have gathered a group of industry thought leaders to gaze into their collective crystal ball, via a live interactive webcast, to look ahead to what is in store for GTB in 2014. Audience members will be abl...

26 November 2013 /payments

Retired Member 

What the Chinese government announcement means for Bitcoin

From purchasing property with Bitcoins, to the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, to incredible mining operations, China over the past few months has become the largest Bitcoin market in the world and a key part of the Bitcoin story. Just over a week ago we heard from the US government. While not giving a complete answer on the growing virtual curre...

26 November 2013

Dan Barnes Writer at Information Corporation

Fining money factories does not work

It is impossible to punish banking through fines. Regulators must know this. When one reads of the scale of fines in the financial services industry, it is often hard to conceive of the amounts that the firms are paying. Even more so when one considers that these payments happen every year, and sometimes several times a year. Bruno Bettelheim, the...

21 November 2013

Retired Member 

Drivers of Supra-regional expansion in Asia

To a large extent, Asian banks are in a somewhat enviable position. China is certainly the economic giant of the region, and if China’s economy slows, it does have knock-on effects, yet, the economies of individual countries in Asia, while interdependent, often expand and contract quite independently. This can mean a bank facing slower growth in I...

20 November 2013

Retired Member 

Eggs, milk and a loan please

When you've lived and worked in London your whole life you become accustomed to a certain level of convenience. You fall into a trap of thinking every high street in Britain is as similarly equipped as the Strand: a newsagent every 10 feet, a Tesco on every corner and all the banks sitting side-by-side. But anyone with a shred of common sense knows...

18 November 2013 /retail