Community

It is possible that some of the perhaps unusual behaviour that you quite rightly point out has its roots in the slightly odd and contrived manner in which TSB plc was conceived and then finally born.

In its whopping 332 pages, the public prospectus ( http://goo.gl/oJDS7x ) provides some revealing insights into the business model that perhaps start to explain the focus on web branch locators and maybe inhibitors to technology innovation.

The bank was born into an apparently bright new world where it could become a real challenger. But in TSB's case a world that also required it to hold, dare I say, 'old style' fixed distribution channel, comprising 631 branches, and a requirement to buy IT and Payments Related Services from Lloyds until the age of about 10 years old (no wonder they say online banking isn't changing).

Growth and innovation is pretty hard at the best of times but must be significantly harder when a major distribution channel is fixed (and worse, regarded by many as yesterday's channel) and technology differentiation is to a large extent based on and sub-contracted long term from a competitor.

The opportunity remains to properly engage with customers (and prospects) but the ability to do this digitally appears dependent to some greater or lesser extent on just how digital Lloyds wants to be. And you have to maintain that branch network of course... 

Unfortunately, even when you can enter more than 18 characters there is no certainty that the extended information will make it through the next phases of payment.  Even more frustrating when you are allowed to enter the information as though it will be transmitted, only for it to be lost before it reaches the receiver.

We are moving office and here is something from the past I was prompted to share.

Disaster Recovery in a shipping container...

http://t.co/iDxUU9SVBC 

I took a call from a member of the Lloyds Group, who said there was an unusual transaction on my account and they wanted to check it.

Went through the same dialogue of 'you show me yours and I'll show you mine'.  Did establish that they were probably genuine but wasn't sure because the branch they were calling from wasn't my local branch - I knew where it was but I had never been there [subsequently found it is the closest branch to my postcode; clue #1].  Asked specifically whether this was a sales call.  No, categorically not - there was an unusual transaction on my account I needed to check out.

'We' agreed I would ring head office.  Did so.  The caller was genuine.  But in fact, a genuine sales person at a Lloyds Group branch looking to invest my 'unusual receipt' - my monthly wages (which I've had for 10 years in a row) [Clue #2].  Head office said I had probably not checked the privacy box on my preferences - oh, the head office person says I had.  Oops. 

Received a similar call a few months later, someone different but same storyline.  Same pretence - but this time I knew the game.  Thinking about it, I've had a number of these calls over the years but just put the phone down.  Then home phone rings and same story.

Shame they are using the 'unusual transaction' angle since banks need all the help they can get in combating fraud - not 40 year customers who have been through this and just hang up.

My calls ran very, very much like yours.

Or, if you want to keep your lock picture...

Open picture on PC

Open Paint using menu from within the picture view

Annotate picture with "If found please call" text

Save picture

Send picture as attachment to iPhone

Open email and add picture to Camera Roll

Open picture in Camera Roll and select Use as Wallpaper for phone lock

Done

This is the end of dial-up access to RBS data for corporates.  Right?

Would it be crazy to assume that HMRC has mandated ISO 20022 message formats?  Or is it EDIFACT?  Or is it EDIFACT modified to be ISO 20022?  Hmmm.  I suspect its EDIFACT.

Looks like we are sending data separate from the payment message - oh well at least the data will be real-time.

I find it odd that in their group accounts for 2011, RBS, who run the said insurance business, don't actually use the word 'float' at all (by which I mean the cash received in advance - not an IPO of the insurance arm!).

Compare and contrast that with the Berkshire Hathaway description of an insurance business; it's all about the float. Take a look at Warren Buffet's letter to shareholders for 2011 for a clue:

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html

Hopefully, the RBS Insurance prospectus will look more like the said description otherwise, who knows, Geico might even steal it at the altar for the right price.

"I can't see a digitally savvy consumer going to a branch for services or information"

Yes, those digitally savvy consumers are all too busy going to the Apple Store for services and information.

Those crazy Apple guys, don' they know the retail outlet concept is dead?

Yes, companies out there continue to struggle with the disjointed payment / remittance process.  Where they exist, email remittances (now printed direct from the fax machine that used to receive them over a phone line) are the norm - they come out of SAP / Other ERP systems as pdfs and arrive typically one or two days before the payment at the target email address.

Oh for the day when the payment itself carries the remittance and we can really start STP.  Until then, we will remain in the dark and grateful that we have at least received the cash from our customer - adding it joyfully to the growing pile of unallocated receipts in the sales ledger.