All articles by Duygu Tavan
Duygu Tavan
Bank of Ireland to push circulation of contactless cards
About seven in ten transactions in Ireland are still cash-based but now the Bank of Ireland is going to issue one million contactless-technology enabled debit cards before the end of 2011 to migrate consumers to electronic payments.
UK lobby group CBI opposes ring-fencing proposals
The Independent Commission on Banking has come under has come under fierce criticism from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) for its proposed break-up of banks’ investment and retail divisions. The UK government-appointed Commission recommended a ring-fencing of UK banks in April and also demanded that banks hold 10% of their capital against assets proposals which it argued would shelter the retail banking units against another financial crisis. But on the last day for responses to the Commissions policies, the director-general of the lobby group for UK businesses, John Cridland, voiced doubt over the commissions recommendations, saying:
DnB Nor rolls out NFC payments in Norway
Norwegian bank DnB Nor has gone live withwhat is believed tobe the first contactless mobile payment service in the countrys capital Oslo. The bank has partnered with mobile network operator Telenor and issued 250 Samsung S5230 handsets which support near field communications technology (NFC) to Telenors customers.
UK Payments Council to abolish account switching hassle
The UK Payments Council has called for massive system changes for all banks to ease the account switching process. The proposals could deal a fresh blow for an already struggling banking sector as unsatisfied customers could be incited to switch banks because they will face less hassle in the process.
French lender BPCE continues African expansion
Frances BPCE, created by the merger of Banques Populaires and Caisse d’Espargne in 2009, has bought a majority stake in Banque Malgache de L’Ocean Indien (BMOI), the Madagascan subsidiary of BNP Paribas. The acquisition of a BNP Paribas’ 75% stake in ten-branch strong BMOI was carried out by BPCE’s international subsidiary BPCE International et Outre-Mer. BPCE is targetting both organic and inorganic growth in Asia and Africa and, in February, set aside an initial budget of 1bn ($1.45bn) for acquisitions.
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Zuno a hit for Raiffeisen in Slovakia
Raiffeisen International Bank’s direct banking unit Zuno has proven to be a hit for the lender in Slovakia. Since launching Zuno in Slovakia six months ago, Raiffeisen International Bank has registered 18,000 customers and over 125m in deposits ($181.63m).
Lloyds Banking Group: Bancassurance core unit
Bancassurance is going to be a core part in Lloyds Banking Groups reorganised retail banking strategy, CEO Antonio Horta-Osoria said. Horta-Osaria said the group aims for a 50% increase in the number of bancassurance clients as well as double sales and pre-tax profits by 2014 from its pensions and investment subsidiary Scottish Widows.
Garanti extends FICO contract
Turkish lender Garanti Bank is to upgrade its existing contract with data analytics and decision management technology provider FICO to deploy the vendors Falcon Fraud Manager 6 solution. Garanti has been using FICOs Falcon Fraud Manager for the past five years in Turkey and now plans to extent the deployment of the solution to its network in Romania.
GE Money Bank Latvia sold to Russia’s Otkritie
General Electric has sold its Latvian banking arm to Russian investment firm Otrikie. The deal is expected to be finalised in the next few months. Otrikie will integrate GE Money Bank Latvia under its own structure and brand.
Erste & Visa launch contactless payment for transport in CEE
Erste Bank and Visa have rolled out the first contactless card with transport application and loyalty rewards in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The Smile contactless card will be introduced by Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), the largest Romanian bank by assets and a member of Erste Group Bank, and is to go live in the Romanian capital Bucharest.