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Interesting. My belief, however, is that the reason to switch is based on faith in the institution and the services it uses. FPS gives a faster response for the account holder to verify that a transaction has taken place, successful or not. BACS on the other hand gives a three to six day transaction cycle with confidence in the success of the transaction increasing over the period. No nonrepudiatly, if such a word exists.

Oh the security aspects of this leave me reeling!

So, the use of a proxy database using mobile numbers or email addresses has hidden benefits, the outcome of the law of unintended consequences. Could, at a stretch and in modern parlance be called an application of tokenisation. Who would have thought!?

Well, step aside and let loose the cannon of the law of unintended consequences! Chasm Management Limited recommends a utility bank approach whereby a bank-neutral service is provided to process current accounts. The consumer interfaces directly with this service. The service in turn interfaces with each financial institution. What this actually means is that the consumer is not tied to any one financial institution anyway, so no need for account portability.

So far so good! The technology was always there, the motivation lagged behind. Now it is proved to be a success. What does this give us? 1. It puts power to choose back in the hands of the consumer. Safely, quickly. 2. It enables a change in perception of the bank/consumer relationship. The question is, will it encourage further change demands in this space? I would predict, and like to believe, that it will encourage the consumer to demand: a). A conformity across financial institutions when it comes to basic and current account processing, probably provided by a trusted white label provider, b). A shift of FI's emphasis onto their blackend and relatively specialised product portfolio - some real differences between offerings, c). The launch of a comparative website, maybe even one that autos witches when it finds a distinct value difference for the consumer. d). Automatic provision of federally required MIS reporting, the so called "system of systems". Blue sky thinking? Pigs can fly attitude? Mmmmmmmmn we'll see.

Banks should do banky thing. IT service providers should do ITy things.