Technology

A recent report by Access to Cash has suggested that cash transactions could fall to just 10% of all payments within the next 15 years. This is not very surprising given thatlast year, debit cards officially overtook notes and coins as the UK’s most popular form of payment.

There has been a rapid increase in the size and number of investments into UK fintechs with the likes of Monzo and Revolut leading the charge. Interestingly, it is not just the VC funds driving this; banks are also investing or in many cases, acquiring fintech companies outright.

It’s now pretty much universally acknowledged that the UK retail banking market is being disrupted by new, digital-first competitors – the so-called ‘direct’ banks. The narrative is that these agile upstarts are stealing customers away from incumbents by offering compelling new services and unprecedented levels of convenience.

In 2018, MPs announced a planned inquiry into several major IT failures that plagued banks with various subsequent issues within their services. A Treasury Select Committee will look at how financial services companies deal with service disruption or stop it from happening altogether.

In any transaction, especially when money is involved, it’s important to know with whom you are transacting. The internet has brought to banking efficiencies and cost-savings but also potential for identity fraud and theft. Fortunately, banks can make their online dealings with customers safe and secure through digital identity-authentication methods. A unified, across-the-board banking system that is designed well and worthy of customer trust could become the model for all industries.

Ransomware, one of the fastest-growing malware hazards of the 21st century, continues to threaten businesses and public institutions around the world. Mostly targeting computers and mobile devices, it quickly spreads across networks, quietly encrypting every data file it finds until the entire system is compromised.

The word compliance may hit a sour note for some bankers, but in the end, compliance demonstrates commitment to transparency, integrity and best practices. If only compliance wasn’t so complicated and costly. Effective data archiving is necessary to make data repositories what they must be. Most banks archive data, but many need to upgrade their processes. What are the five elements that financial firms should include in their data-archiving overhauls?

Cloud-native technology is revolutionizing not only software development but also banking operations, as banks that have already begun employing it are finding out. Is it hype or the inevitable future of banking? Cloud native’s benefits that include fast innovation, low cost, low risk, scalability and potential for profitable niches speak for themselves, and banks would do well to listen!

What’s not to like about a process that simultaneously slashes costs and boosts efficiency? Increasingly, senior executives of financial-services firms, with eagle eyes focused on the bottom line, are jumping enthusiastically into the RPA game. Perhaps surprisingly, others in these organizations, such as IT employees, are reluctant. But adopting robotic process automation to best advantage must involve the active participation of the whole company-wide team.

With the new year comes new priorities for business and technology leaders, new trends to look out for and new best practices and ideas. While it can be hard to sift through all of the information to understand what it is that will have the biggest, most positive impact on your financial organization