All articles by Duygu Tavan
Duygu Tavan
ANZ set to upgrade website
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has announced that it will be spending $100m to improve the functionality of its online platform. The revamp of the banks online offering is an aggressive initiative to create and generate more online sales, the bank said. ANZs Chief executive Mike Smith has mentioned upgrading the online platform since he came into the office in 2007.
Korean bank Hana to increase China presence through CMB partnership
South Koreas fourth largest lender by assets, Hana Financial Group (Hana), has announced it is collaborating with China Merchant Bank (CMB) to strengthen its business in China. A statement issued by Hana said that the co-operation agreement was part of the banks strategy to grow global sales. The partnership will cover all banking areas, including retail banking, with a particular focus on growing Hana’s credit cards business in China.
Citibank launches smart banking branch in Romania
Citibanks Romanian unit has launched its first smart banking branch in the countrys capital Bucharest. The launch follows the opening of such branches in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. Citi Romanias smart banking branch has an ATM that dispenses the local currency, lei, and euros.
25% of customers unhappy with their banks in the Gulf region
A quarter of all retail banking customers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) made up of Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are planning to switch their bank accounts in 2011, according to a survey by Ernst & Young. The Retail Banking in the GCC: Competing for customers survey looked at customers needs, the quality of their banking experience and also analysed measures to encourage customers to recommend their bank.
Tesco Bank deploys FICO’s banking solutions for risk, fraud management
Tesco Bank, the UK-based banking arm of supermarket Tesco, has announced that it will deploy Ficos collections, risk and fraud solutions from this year on. The bank, which has 6.5m customer accounts and 28 product lines and services, bought several of Ficos analytics and decision management technology solutions, including:
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TEB leads cards innovation in Turkey
But Blent Ersz, card payment systems director at TEB who led the launch of the worlds first digital card, tells Duygu Tavan that TEB will prosper from further cards innovation. Banks in Turkey have been pushing retail banking innovation in two key areas in the past two years: cards and direct channels
RBC apps top 250,000 in first month
Hot on the heels of major branch, online and call centre investment, Royal Bank of Canada has expanded its mobile banking service James McGuire, vice-president, digital strategy and experience at RBC, tells Duygu Tavan that the bank now offers the countrys first fully integrated mobile banking application for smartphones. For once, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of the most successful retail banks in the world during the financial crisis, cannot claim a first.
Google replaces financial advisers
Google has overtaken branch-based financial advisers as the primary source for UK-consumers to seek advice on retail banking services, according to a report from Greenlight. The survey from the UK-based digital media agency reported an increase of 59% in the UK for searches relating to retail banking products between July and October on Google. Greenlight classified 750 of the most popular search terms that are typed into Google and then profiled consumer search behaviour for retail banking-related terms such as bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards, mortgages, ISAs, online banking and loans (see chart below).
Nigeria’s bank deploy Microsoft’s counterfeit software
As Nigerias Banks are converting banking practises to international standards, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), a unit of the countrys Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has began to deploy Microsofts state-of-the-art software to track financial crimes among banks. The software is already installed in the NFIU centre and has been linked to the GSM and ATM networks of all 24 banks.
Jordan Commercial Bank applies Iris recognition system for banking
Jordan Commercial Bank has replaced the need for personal identification cards in banking transactions with the deployment of the Iris Recognition System. The bank said that it launched the Iris Recognition System in selected branches to make banking more secure and use the latest banking technology.