All articles by Charles Davis
Charles Davis
Sun National pushes mobile banking
Abraham Lincoln is brought back to life with the latest Sun National marketing campaign aimed at Generation Y consumers who put their Blackberry and internet connection at the forefront In some New Jersey commuter trains, passers-by receive quite a shock these days: a lifelike image of Abraham Lincoln wearing a Bluetooth headset staring out the window with the other commuters, or George Washington on a Blackberry.
ING cashes in on CARD Act fees ban
ING Direct USA, the countrys largest direct bank, has served more than 7m Americans with savings accounts since setting up shop in 2000, in the process growing total assets to more than $90bn Now ING is reporting huge growth in current account numbers, boosted by the CARD Act, reports Charles Davis. The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Acts ban on automatic overdraft protection has US retail banks scrambling to figure out how to hold on to income from overdrafts that totaled $38.5bn last year.
Green Dot aims big with IPO
Founded in 1999, California-based Green Dot Corporation has become one of the leading providers of prepaid Discover, MasterCard and Visa debit cards in the US
Card transaction alerts by text
Wells Fargo is the first bank to deploy a Visa platform which notifies credit card customers of transaction details via mobile phone within seconds of the purchase
The hard-to-reach in their sites
With their vast array of articles, consumer guides, videos, podcasts and tips designed to help visitors through the intricacies of shopping for financial services, some banks are using microsites within their own websites to break the marketing mould and attract niche markets First there were the standalone financial services websites, which gave way to the trendy do-it-all portals, then back to websites, and now, there are microsites sites within bank web sites that target carefully defined niches with tailored marketing pitches.
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Giant retailer has big ambitions
Stymied in its attempts to obtain a banking licence at home by fierce opposition from traditional banks and credit unions, US retailing behemoth Wal-Mart is looking further afield, with plans to expand into markets currently with little or no non-bank competition The US retail banking industry continues to eye warily the banking aspirations of Wal-Mart, as the countrys largest retailer continues to expand its brick-and-mortar Walmart MoneyCenter network throughout its sprawling franchise.
Savings culture resurfaces in the US
Shocked into reality by the 2008-09 economic crisis, Americans have regained the savings ethic, a shift Allianzs chief economist sees as permanent
Umpqua set for further growth
Umpqua Bank, the 162-branch-strong Oregon-based regional lender, has acquired a failed Seattle bank and boosted its capital base following a successful stock offering
End of free banking in US draws near
Charles Davis reports that free current accounts, a staple of American retail banking for a generation, may soon be heading the way of the once-ubiquitous free toaster. The end of the free current account in the US moved closer with Citi announcing plans last year to begin charging its primary current account customers a $7.50 monthly fee unless they maintain a $1,500 balance.
Risky ad strategy pays off for Ally Bank
The fact that the ads promote Ally Bank, the retail banking arm of deeply-troubled GMAC, has wound-up competitors and raised the eyebrows of regulators, reports Charles Davies. The blanket advertising campaign of Ally Bank in the US has stirred up a controversy like few other bank ad campaigns of recent years