All articles by Meghna Mukerjee
Meghna Mukerjee
SunTrust and Regions debit card fees U-turn
It is consumer victory yet again as SunTrust Banks and Regions Financial have announced the elimination of a monthly debit card fee, following Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase. SunTrust, the ninth-largest US bank by deposits, and Regions, the thirteenth-largest US bank by deposits, will drop the card fee on its Everyday Checking account and CheckCard service respectively. The debit card fees elimination will be effective for SunTrust as of 2 November, and all charges incurred before 2 November will be refunded to customers. The refunds will automatically take place during the next 30 days, SunTrust has said in a statement.
FirstRand delays retail branch launch in India
South African lender FirstRand Bank has postponed the launch of their retail branch in India from early December to a later date in January 2012. FirstRand, South Africas second-largest bank by market value, has been advised by the property developer and the local municipality in Mumbai where FirstRand was supposed to set up its first Indian branch that the building will not be ready for occupation in early December.
Reserve Bank of India asks NBFCs to phase out cheques
The Reserve Bank of India has asked all non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to gradually phase out use of cheques and shift to electronic payment system, as part of its green initiative. The Reserve Bank of India said in a statement, The Government of India has suggested that steps be taken by entities in financial sector, including NBFCs to help better utilisation of their resources and also better delivery of services. NBFCs are therefore, requested to take proactive steps in this regard by increasing the use of electronic payment systems, elimination of post-dated cheques and gradual phase-out of cheques in their day to day business transactions.”
Chase promotes Freedom credit card on Facebook with $1m prize money
JP Morgan Chase has been promoting its Chase Freedom credit card through Facebook, by entering people who like it on Facebook into $1m sweepstakes. Between 3 October and 23 October, Chase invited people to like its Freedom credit card on its Chase Freedom Facebook page and then enter a sweepstakes. The Chase Freedom page has accumulated over 474,000 likes for the page, and Chase will reveal the $1m winner next week. The Chase Freedom page on Facebook was set up last year to promote the Chase Freedom credit card and its cash back theme.
Sybase aims to redefine mobile wallet
Mobile financial services wallets have gone far beyond simply offering mobile banking and payment options. Carsten Kress, EMEA director of sales for SAP subsidiary Sybase 365, tells Meghna Mukerjee that the vendors upgraded 3.0 offering will provide an integrated range of services over the mobile platform
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Social media: passing fad or business tool?
Does social media really matter in retail banking? The Retail Banker Interactive webinar, Social Media and Retail Banking Webinar: Passing Interest or Business Tool?, held in association with Finacle from Infosys and featuring first directs Natalie Cowen and Digital MRs Michalis Michael, set out to find the answers.
Wells Fargo the latest US bank to drop debit card fees
Wells Fargo, the fourth-biggest bank in the US by assets, is the latest American lender to back away from charging debit card fees. Wells Fargo has dropped a five-state pilot plan in which customers who used the debit cards for purchases would have been charged $3 a month. The $3 charges were slated to start appearing on customer statements beginning 15 November, but Wells Fargo has withdrawn from charging customers debit card fees.
Nationwide ramps up online channel
The UK’s largest building society Nationwide has revamped its online channel and added new features, and transformed its advertising strategy Meghna Mukerjee speaks with Nationwide’s marketing director, Andy McQueen, and head of channel integration, Richard Searle, about the drive to become more customer-centric.
Paragon buys unsecured loan portfolio from RBS
Mortgage provider Paragon has bought a portfolio of loans from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with the aim of kick-starting its own lending activity. The buy-to-let lender bought £43.2m ($70m) of personal loans that RBS deemed non-core. Paragon was forced to stop lending in 2008 as it struggled to obtain financing. It resumed buy-to-let lending a year ago and intends to broaden its offering to include personal loans.
Huntington partners with MasterCard to offer enhanced debit card
Huntington, the 23rd largest retail bank in the US by deposits, has partnered with MasterCard Worldwide and upgrading all Huntington customers to a platinum debit MasterCard card, as part of Huntington’s ‘Fair Play Banking’ philosophy. Huntington has confirmed it will remain fee-free for debit card usage for its customers as the next step to its Fair Play Banking philosophy. This follows Huntingtons Asterisk-Free Checking that was introduced in May 2011, which is free to open, has no monthly checking maintenance fee, no minimum balance, and no check or debit card usage requirements.