Join the Community

22,287
Expert opinions
44,289
Total members
347
New members (last 30 days)
181
New opinions (last 30 days)
28,772
Total comments

Latest expert opinions

clear
clear

3641 Results from /retail

Paul Penrose

Paul Penrose Head of Research at Finextra

Steam age security at Halifax

Here’s a story straight out of the steam age of information security. UK high street bank Halifax has been forced to apologise to 13,000 mortgage customers after losing a computer print out containing personal information. The documents were in a briefcase stolen from the locked car of an employee last week. Around 1,800 of the customer records inc...

/security /retail

Paul Penrose

Paul Penrose Head of Research at Finextra

Missing Link mystery solved

I blogged Monday about a curious report in the Sunday Times that identified the UK’s Link ATM network as the frontrunner to buy Lloyds TSB Registrars, the share registration arm of the UK bank. Lloyds TSB Registrars acts as registrar for more than 800 companies, including 60% of FTSE 100 companies. The business is valued at about Β£600 million. ...

/retail Finextra50 fintech index

Retired Member

Retired Member 

RBS and an unusual approach to staff morale

Listening to the Today programme this morning I was astonished by the story that RBS were threatening to discipline staff who banked with competitors. RBS state that candidates are told at interviews that they must have their salary paid into an account from a bank within RBS group, although staff may open additional accounts with competitors, whi...

/retail

Paul Penrose

Paul Penrose Head of Research at Finextra

LloydsTSB appoints head of innovation

James Gardner, director for retail banking in the global financial services group at Getronics is to take up a new position as head of innovation and research in group IT at the UK's LloydsTSB. "Its an exciting role, and my team and I will be looking at ways we can productionise innovation, both from a business and technology perspective,&quo...

/retail Futuristic Banking

Elton Cane

Elton Cane Digital product delivery at News Corp Australia

Bank branch technology and the leapfrog effect

I was talking today to Andreas Andreades, CEO of core banking system vendor Temenos, about the company's tie-up in the US with Metavante (more on that in my next post). Something he said as an aside particularly caught my attention: "Bank customers in Thailand get a better in-branch experience than bank customers in the UK." The context ...

/retail Trends in Financial Services

Paul Penrose

Paul Penrose Head of Research at Finextra

Time trials tax Banksys m-pay programme

For merchants and consumers alike, speed of throughput at the check-out remains the primary incentive for uptake of a new payments format. This is why SMS-based mobile phone payment programmes such as that promoted by Belgium’s Banksys and wireless operators Base, Mobistar and Proximus, will never make the cut. It may be cool and funky to pay by ...

/payments /retail Futuristic Banking

Retired Member

Retired Member 

Liverpool Victoria name change shocker

Having survived since 1843 on their name, the Liverpool Victoria appear to have had a sudden attack of expensive rebranding. The new name, which only slightly resembles a typo is the catchy LV= as explained on their site. "..after listening to our members, customers and staff we decided that our brand name needed to evolve to make it more r...

/retail Cringeworthy marketing gallery

Retired Member

Retired Member 

More on recovering bank charges

I too have been trying to recover unnecessary charges; from my bank of choice, The Abbey. About two weeks ago I sent in my Β£10 cheque (It took me a while to remember where my cheque book was and blow all the dust of it) and my request for my last six years of statements. To my amazement they replied yesterday with FOURTEEN envelopes! Each envelop...

/retail Trends in Financial Services

Steve Ellis

Steve Ellis Founder at Finextra Research

Does mobile banking fix it for the world's unbanked?

South Africa's Mail & Guardian has a news report looking at the use of Cell Phone banking to bring low income groups into the banked population, and thereby increase their potential for economic participation. The story looks at research among customers of South Africa's Wizzit Bank and a sample of the unbanked. There's also a related researc...

/retail

Paul Penrose

Paul Penrose Head of Research at Finextra

Undercover reporter blows the whistle on Barclays

Offensive stereotyping, routine mis-selling, lying to customers. All in a day’s work for Barclays Bank staff, according to an undercover investigation by the BBC’s Whistleblower programme. The serious customer services failings were allegedly uncovered by BBC reporter Amanda Egbujo, who got a job at a Barclays Bank call centre in Sunderland, then ...

/retail

Now Hiring