When Credit Card ID Checks Go Awry
I’ve always had mixed feelings regarding handing over my ID to a merchant when paying by credit card. On one hand it’s great that the merchant is protecting its business and you from fraud. On the other hand you are handing over your personal information to a complete stranger.
I was shopping last week with my wife at a Coach store in Florida. We made a small purchase and the sales agent asked for my ID. I handed over my credit card and ID and started chatting with my wife. I then noticed that the salesperson was studying my ID and appeared to be typing my information into her computer.
Continue reading and post comments on the Celent Banking Blog
Bank IT Spending and Trends: What Does 2012 Look Like?
The new year brings lots of questions, planning and decision making. IT spending is tied directly to these elements, and as in past years, we have been receiving a truckload of IT spending questions. After a rocky few years folks are curious as to if the figures are on the uptick in 2012. The short answer is yes, but growth rates are down in all regions, and some regions are doing better than others. The long answer, well, you will have to read the reports!
Continue reading and post comments on the Celent Banking Blog
Applications Open for the $50K Innotribe Startup Challenge
I’ve recently agreed to serve as a judge for the 2012 Innotribe Startup Challenge. The event provides an opportunity for FinTech and Financial Service startups and innovators to meet potential investors, customers and partners from financial institutions and FinTech investors. See the bottom of this post for info on how to receive an invite to the event.
Sponsored by SWIFT (www.swift.com), the Innotribe Startup Challenge (http://www.innotribestartup.com) fosters collaboration between emerging FinTech and Financial Service innovators and SWIFT’s member community.
Continue reading and post comments on the Celent Banking Blog
Celent Banking Blog – 2011 in Review
I thought it would be fun to recap 2011 by calling out the top 10 posts on our blog from 2011. The following list is based on total number of unique visits to each of these posts. Some of these are bang on as far as topic interest goes others may be surprising. Happy reading!
Continue reading and post comments on the Celent Banking Blog
Should Social Sign-in be Used For Financial Services?
Earlier this week, startup Movenbank came under fire for allowing users to its alpha site to sign in using Facebook credentials. Should Facebook be used to identify and authenticate users at a banking site? I commend the Movenbank team for trying something different and for attempting to use a standard that’s already in place. I understand the concept and the idea behind using a social tool. However, I don’t believe that a Facebook Connect login has a home on a secure banking site. Firstly, Facebook and privacy don’t exactly go hand in hand. Even more importantly, Movenbank is a front end solution and is going to require bank partners sitting in the background. I’m not aware of too many banks that are going to be comfortable with the notion of a Facebook login. Facebook and banking are still like oil and water and it’s going to take quite some time before that changes. There’s good reason for this. Facebook is still too much of an open book and Facebook Connect isn’t exactly the most secure thing around. The online video site Hulu is an excellent example. Earlier this year, a small number of Hulu users found this out the hard way – users were being erroneously logged into the accounts of other users.
Continue reading and post comments on the Celent Banking Blog
Social Media Best Practices for Banks – “Be Cool.” Good Luck With That!
I’m still inundated with inquiries from financial institutions regarding social media. Everyone seems to be so concerned with getting on Facebook or Twitter. It’s as if that would solve all the woes of the banking industry.
A very popular website, Mashable, put out an article yesterday titled, 5 Best Practices for Financial Institutions on Facebook. Needless to say I read it with great interest and much disappointment and disdain. My favourite is best practice #4, “Be Cool.” I can already see the catch phrase emblazoned in the social strategy of every financial institution in America. Good luck with that!
Continue reading and post comments on the Celent Banking Blog
The Tablet Will Act as a Catalyst to the Redesign of Online Banking
I’ve been thinking about this for some time and wrote about it in a report I published this past June. It’s already starting to materialize. This week, Citi unveiled it’s new website, and it’s modeled after the mobile and tablet experience.
To get a feel for the changes, have a look at the video Citi has on its preview site.
I was out at the Bank Systems & Technology Executive Summit this week and had the opportunity to chat with a Citi executive about some of the changes. No doubt it’s a step in the right direction. I’m curious to hear what consumers think about the changes and the redesign. I’m also very intrigued regarding how adoption of PFM will materialize (see my blog post, Is PFM The Future of Online Banking? and my recent report, Personal Financial Management: The Devil Is in the Details). American Banker is reporting that Citi engaged Yodlee for the aggregation and PFM components of the site.
Continue reading and post comments on the Celent Banking Blog
