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According to the OED. Draconian mean 'unusual punihsment'. My point was not that the CBA was not harsh, but that my informed guess is that their policy is not unusual - it's just now public.

Hmmm, unfriending co-workers? Tempting... 

I am not sure whether 'draconian' is the right word for CBA's actions. I would guess that their employee policies do not differ that much from other banks (their's just got publicised - ironic, kind of). 

Deutsche Bank, although did not offer me access to their social media policy, did admit that they bar most employees from posting on social media while at work. 

Stacked linear barcodes are in the public domain. There used a lot in transport (boarding cards) because they are free and you can use them without a license. They're convenient and easy to implement, but not secure.

Oh my, didn't realise there was a debate going on here (read Finextra, Liz, Ed).

I thought I'd look at this from a consumer perspective and not a fintech journo perpective:

This will only work with a Starbuck's card? So this isn't a straight mobile payment from my bank account? (am I reading this correctly?)

As Matt pointed out with all the investment banks and providers are pouring into mobile banking and NFC, why can't I just pay for my coffee with my phone? Why the prepaid card? (I guess it's the coupon/voucher aspect, right?) I threw out my Pret card a while ago, because I was always forgetting to load it with cash and ended up paying with cash anyway. (I'm rambling now, aren't I?)

Much like the conversation I had with Transport for London, Oyster cards will soon be replaced by contactless banks cards (or mobiles) that have transport passports on them. No need for an extra card. I have a feeling that this 'Starbucks card mobile app' will be a cute app that people will use for a while, before full blown mobile payments (direct from my bank account) takes over all small transactions. 

Anyway, interestingly enough, I was talking with my best friend in the States the other day. She manages a Shaw's supermarket. She told me that her biggest headache at the store lately was the time it takes her and her staff to re-type in bar code numbers associated with store loyalty cards. 

It seems there is an iPhone app in the US with will convert your supermarket loyalty card into a bar code on your mobile. Great idea? Yes. But it seems that the Shaw's cash registers (and self serve registers) can't read the bar codes on the phone. So, iPhone loving, plastic card disposing US grocery store shoppers get tripped up by having to wait while a surly, pimpled 16 year old re-types their loyalty card number into the store's scanners. 

The future of money looks all rosy, until you place it in a lower middle class American grocery store. 

Could a Citrix-type enterprise cloud solve the enterprise control issues with the iPhone? 

Just quickly, Paul Moore was head of regulatory risk (and not the CRO) at HBOS. (if that was who you were talking about). 

Many people argued, at the time, that Paul did not have any oversight over market or credit risk at the bank during his tenure and his memo after the credit crunch was more about protecting his reputation than offering any real insight into the risk management failures at HBOS. 

Before the credit crunch, head of regulatory risk was not exactly a senior position in most banks' risk departments. Compliance is still pretty down the priority list, even today.

I wonder how iPhones will manage when new regulation comes in requiring banks to record all mobile conversations. Can iPhones run two apps at once? (I heard they can't) Or will iPhone-loving banks have to ban all business transaction conversation on the mobile? 

However, you make a really good point that, especially banking innovation, tends to come from outside the established players. That is something that I don't feel has really sunk in with most traditional banking players. 

Thanks Neil, 

I didn't mean. 'No, you don't need a Facebook page' I meant, the question should be allowed to be raised. Ultimately, discussions may lead to a 'yes, let's put together a Facebook page'. Or another firm may feel their presence on Linkednin and/or Twitter is enough. 

I think, sometimes, bandwagons get too many people jumping on them blindly. I am a big believer is having a real business reason for any new app/product/strategy etc..., whether it has to do with social networking or not. A sober step back, may lead to a better thought out strategy in the long run. 

"2. Data and system silos" 

I would make this number 1. The single biggest issue affecting all parts of the bank, whether it be retail, investment, transaction, merchant etc...- and it been this way for decades. 

It took 9/11 for the US Govenment to corrdinate its data stores (which in turn made it easier for Wikileaks to obtain the data...)

What crisis does the banking industry need to create true enterprise-wide data stores? Oh, yea....