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@JoãoBohner: I think it was tried and given up because not everywhere the notes go can be expected to have an RFID gantry, without which the RFID chip can't be read.

Cash is still the ONLY retail payments method that's realtime and not dependent on third parties (Source: DB Research). This is a very significant benefit for payors and payees who are the two most important stakeholders of a payment transaction. Most articles and alternative payments advocating cashless payments conveniently ignore this point. Not surprisingly, 85% of all payments in the world still happen in cash (Source: PayPal CEO Dan Schulman on the ‘Venmo line’ and the fact that cash will never die).

@HamzaAbu-Musa: You can find more details of timeframes etc. at http://qwt.io/s_ketharaman/Ivfg

@JeremyMugridge: Looks like the situation is the same in India and UK! I agree that investment banks owned by traditional banks have to contend with legacy backoffice issues. That said, nonbank owned investment platforms also have their own problems - e.g. seamy interface with funding sources - that are arguably tougher to solve since they're outside their control.

Agreed. This is not the situation only in UK. 

USA

In the same period that the TOP 10 INTERNET-ONLY BANKS GREW DEPOSITS BY $175 BILLION, THE THREE MAJOR LEGACY RETAIL POWERHOUSES – CHASE, WELLS AND BANK OF AMERICA – GREW DEPOSITS BY $1.27 TRILLION. More at http://qwt.io/s_ketharaman/Ivfg

INDIA

The central bank recently granted "Payment Bank" licenses to 10+ companies, one of which is PAYTM, originally a nonbank mobile wallet. The company has rightly figured out that its target audience of unbanked is likely to want to experience financial services for the first time in a F2F environment and has announced plans to set up branches. To build scale, it has also announced bancassurance partnerships with leading traditional banks to distribute insurance products at its branches.

(contd...) 

Unfortunately, fintech (i.e. nonbank) investment platforms suffer from a lot of friction, as I'd highlighted in Banks Have Nothing To Fear From Neobanks. As a result, I wonder if bank-owned investment platforms have too much incentive to find ways of enhancing CX.

Agreed. I moved my stock trading online as soon as ICICIdirect.com - a subsidiary of the leading ICICI Bank - launched in circa 2000. Since then, the platform has expanded to include many more asset categories e.g. IPO, Mutual Funds, etc. However, in 15+ years, I've noticed very little by way of features that deliver an enhanced CX.

A Relationship Manager from the company called me around a year ago. Noticing that my trading volumes have dropped in the recent past, he offered to slash his brokerage. I assured him that I haven’t even noticed his charges, and promised to double my trading volumes – with no reduction in brokerage – if only his company gave me proactive buy / sell / hold advice through a native mobile app. He promised to pass on my feedback to his management. I haven't heard from him since then.

Just like a bank. In his latest book "Flash Boys", Michael Lewis features a leading investment bank that borrowed a lot of open source code to build its algo trading platform and then claimed proprietary rights to its platform!

A week ago, I went shopping at a leading fashion store chain. I paid with credit card. At the bottom of the chargeslip, I saw an "ad" from a third party company - presumably the PSP for this fashion store - saying "Ask for Instant EMI on Bank Cards anywhere you shop". So, I asked. The cashier had no clue about this EMI "product". He then called the Floor Manager, who didn't seem to know much more than the cashier but he knew enough to chide me for not asking for EMI before handing over my credit card. I replied by asking him how I could do that when I only learned about EMI from the chargeslip - there was no POP material anywhere - which came out after my credit card was processed. He had no answer to that and quietly slipped away. 

I just mused to myself that this is just one more retail payment "innovation" that's likely to bite the dust because of poor marketing by its vendor combined with apathy at the retail shop floor.

When I read this post, I was reminded of MoneyAisle and TransFS, two new startups that had launched back in 2008.

MoneyAisle hosted live bids from banks for Certificate of Deposits and many other retail banking products. More in my blog post titled Seller-Side Auctions for eBay-Weary Buyers. When I just checked, this company seems to have shuttered down.

TransFS found credit card processors for SMBs offering the best rates. More in Seller Side Auctions Gaining Traction: Part-2. When I just checked, this company seems to have pivoted to a financial advisor.

I know timing is everything but I'm keen on knowing your thoughts on

1. What is Ripple's secret sauce that gives it a better chance at succeeding now;
2. How easy is it for corporate ERPs to be modified to work on the fly with any random bank that wins a particular bid without the prior existence of a C2B interface with that bank.  

PS: Hyperlinks of my blog posts removed to comply with Finextra Community Rules but the above mentioned posts will appear on top of Google Search results when searched by their titles.