There were 6.4 billion retail banking contact center interactions in the United States in 2011. By 2015, that volume is expected to drop to 6.1 billion as banks improve functionality and information availability in other channels such as online and mobile banking. But the high-level numbers don’t tell the full story. Read More »

Internal business functions, such as operations, risk, compliance, and reporting are all affected by new tenets of financial regulation, which is advancing the reference data agenda among institutions. Now that some parts of the Dodd-Frank Act, Basel III, EMIR, among others, are becoming better understood, securities firms can begin to identify and develop practices for having an enterprise-wide view of books and risk, which can only be achieved through accurate reference data.   Read More »

More than 70% of Financial Service Institutions (FSIs) that are planning to adopt or replace technologies for Payables Automation will do so next year. The majority affirm that this technology area is of high value to their company and represents low risk when a factors such as integration, complexity, risk of catastrophic failure, and dependence of resources. Read More »

Virtually all insurers are wrestling with legacy system modernization.  There are many strategies for accomplishing this but foundational to all initiatives is data.  Delivering true business value internally and externally to distributors and consumers cannot be achieved without sound data, at an enterprise level.  Our research shows that leading insurance executives believe that data driven decisioning is not an aspirational goal but rather a business imperative. Read More »

The time is right for cost cutting.  Fewer customers are visiting the branch as they turn to alternative digital channels for basic banking transactions.  In fact, branch transactions will fall from 21% of total banking transactions in 2009 to 15% in 2013.  Yet branches are not dead.  Customers still count on the availability of the branch when they need advice or they need help resolving an issue.  And FSIs need branches for brand recognition.  There is still no better way to announce one’s presence in a new geographic area than to open a branch on a prominent street corner. Read More »

As the economy gradually awakens from the 2008 recession, keeping sufficient capital and retaining assets continues to challenge life and annuity insurers.  2011 sales were especially low for life products with an increase of just 1% in policy face amount.  The problem worsens if agents neglect to provide after-sale service or when customers surrender policies for fast cash. This accounts for a steady and stubborn policy leakage problem averaging 7% each year in lost life and annuity policies, and totaling $811 billion (USD) in face amount coverage in 2011. Read More »

Fraud costs US businesses and consumers $200 billion annually. Beyond the direct costs attributed to fraud, the damage to financial institutions’ reputation and their customers’ satisfaction can lower account retention and decrease future revenue opportunity.   Read More »

The vast majority of wealth management clients do not use social media for their wealth decisions and interactions with their providers, but that doesn’t mean  they steer clear of social sites. 50% of banking clients use social media for non-financial purposes, and no one can ignore the future transfer of wealth to younger and more active Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter users. Read More »

In 2011, US financial institutions reduced staff by more than 63,000 people. Across Europe and the US, even higher staff cuts will occur by the end of 2012. Cost cutting comes at a price and can create gaps that debase overall operations and create unintended consequences that leave an institution open to risks unacceptable in today’s industry — risks such as not meeting customer expectations, falling short of regulatory requirements, or of simply becoming ineffective in day to day business operations. Read More »

Receivables has been traditionally a bank domain with internally managed and proprietary systems around lock box processing and managing mismatching documents for payments, invoices and remittance information.  However, a number of drivers are causing renewed investment in the space.

The drivers causing renewed investment in receivables management systems include: Read More »