Banking Innovation: What's the Same, What's Different, In the Developed and Developing World

If there wasn't enough focus on it already, the financial crisis has taken innovation to the top of most banks' agendas. In mature as well as emerging markets, banking institutions are differentiating their value proposition from that of their competitors by innovating upon their offerings, benefiting both customers and the organization in the process.

The pursuit of globalization and global standardization by banks has meant that innovations that originate in a particular region make their way quickly across the world, so that banking customers everywhere enjoy a similar, if not the same, usage experience.

That being said, there are many differences in the way that banks from the developed and developing worlds innovate, arising from other fundamental differences in their respective markets. The nature of these factors and their causative impact on innovation differentiation is discussed below:

Market Maturity

A research report presented by The Asian Banker and Finacle from Infosys on the innovation trends and practices in Asia made an interesting observation about how banks go through successive stages of innovation - from Product to Sales to Market Share to Customer Service Innovation - depending on market maturity. Therefore, while banks in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and rural China and India, which have large unbanked segments focus on introducing basic products, their counterparts in the competitive Australian, Singapore and Hong Kong Markets are more intent on defending their market share by providing accessibility, convenience and cheaper distribution.

Future Technology and Innovative Concept Topics and Ideas for Think Tanks and Radio

Greetings and welcome my radio listening audience and online article readers. On this 19th day of October 2012 we will of course be discussing future technology, future innovations, and futuristic concepts. Indeed, I surely hope the Mayan calendar was wrong, or perhaps those carving it merely ran out of stone simply, ran out of rock to chisel on, therefore the world will be saved from whatever it was that the Mayans thought might bring about a new age or renewal.

Okay so, I'd like to dive into our topics for today's radio talk show and I'm sure by now you understand the format, basically, "I will do the talking for about 30 minutes minus commercials and your job is to listen carefully, come up with comments and questions, and then I'll open up the phone lines to hear what you have to say." As you also probably know I do not respond to online comments which are not intellectually based. That doesn't mean you can't have an opinion, nor does it mean that it has to be the same as mine. In fact, if you do too much preaching to the choir, I will simply cut you off, perhaps agree with you, and go to the next caller.

History of Previous European Currency Unions

The Euro feels like a novelty - but it is not. It was preceded by quite a few Monetary Unions in Europe and outside it.

To start with, countries such as the USA and the USSR are (or were in the latter's case) monetary unions. A single currency was or is used over enormous land masses incorporating previously distinct political, social and economic entities. The American constitution, for instance, did not provide for the existence of a central bank. Founding fathers, the likes of Madison and Jefferson, objected to its existence. A central monetary institution was established only in 1791 (modelled after the Bank of England). But Madison (as President) let its concession expire in 1811. It was revived in 1816 - only to die again. It took a civil war to lead to a budding monetary union. Bank regulation and supervision were instituted only in 1863 and a distinction was made between national and state-level banks.

By that time, 1562 private banks were printing and issuing notes, some of them not a legal tender. In 1800 there were only 25. The same thing happened in the principalities which were later to constitute Germany: 25 private banks were established only between 1847 and 1857 with the express intention of printing banknotes to circulate as legal tender. In 1816 - 70 different types of currency (mostly foreign) were being used in the Rhineland alone.

Enabling Transformative M-Payment Solutions Through Distribution

Given all the hype about m-payments, every bank and mobile network operator (MNO) is attempting to determine what it is that defines a winning m-payments value proposition. Confronted with literally hundreds of technology providers, they might be forgiven for freezing in the headlights as the mobile train appears on the horizon. Alternatively, they may find themselves deciding to buy a ticket for the ride, even if they are still unsure about the destination.

Success stories in both South Africa and across the African continent show that the technology being leveraged by successful operators is not significantly different from that being used by less successful competitors. While a number of important factors, including simplicity, marketing, customer education, pricing and ease of registration clearly influence take-up, the most important factor in cash-based societies is distribution. What is most important to customers or potential customers is whether they will be able to get their money in and out of the system with relative ease.

How to Hide Your Money Offshore

'How to hide money offshore' is not something many bankers or offshore writers would dare to choose as a topic these days. 'Financial Privacy is Dead' would certainly be a more politically-correct topic. I sometimes push the limits, but I don't have a death wish either... so let me make clear right now that this article is not about how to evade taxes or do anything else illegal. It is about the best ways to achieve financial privacy in 2011, assuming you are fully compliant with all applicable tax and reporting requirements, but you still want to keep your affairs private for asset protection or catastrophe-planning purposes.

We do not condone tax evasion. It is well known that we are not big fans of tax in general, but the fact is if you think you are paying too much tax there are plenty of ways to reduce your tax bill legally. We write about these techniques from time to time in general terms, but since we write for an international audience, and everybody's circumstances are different, you need to talk to an expert who is familiar with the laws in your home country about your individual situation if you want to know how to reduce your tax bill legally. That much should be obvious. The most basic option to reduce your tax bill is to physically change your residence to one of the many countries in the world where you can live happily and tax-free. (And, only if you are a US citizen, you need to change your citizenship as well, which means starting the process of acquiring a second passport.) But I digress...

Money Laundering

Money laundering is the process of moving money from the illegitimate to the legitimate economy. The crime of money laundering consists of knowingly disguising the source, origin or ownership of illegal funds.

Any criminal transactions are carried out in cash and the function of the money launderer is often to translate these small sums into a larger, more liquid sum which will be difficult to trace and more easy to invest. Money laundering has emerged on a massive international scale with the globalization of the world economy and the internationalization of organized crime.

Money earned in one region can, with increasing facility, be transferred to another part of the world, preventing its eventual recovery by law enforcement. With the globalization of organized crime activity, money is earned in all regions of the world and must be collected, consolidated and moved.

Analysis Of Pakistan's Anti-Money Laundering Bill

It is agreed that Pakistan needs to enact an Anti-Money Laundering legislation to comply with its international obligations and commitments. However, there is a growing consensus that the Anti-Money Laundering bill presently pending before the parliament be modified to accurately incorporate these obligations.

In the wake of post 9/11 counter-terrorism efforts, and a universal desire to eliminate financing opportunities for sponsoring acts of terrorism, it has become crucial for states to be able to keep track of any suspect transfers of money. This requires the assistance of financial institutions and most banks have already developed compliance departments with specific Anti Money Laundering (AML) contact points within such departments. However, Pakistan needs to enact a proper legislation for ensuring such compliance, and properly investigating, criminalizing and prosecuting money laundering offences

The enactment of an anti-money laundering law has been an agenda item at most top level meetings and Pakistan has been under pressure for the quick passage of the said law from western governments, loan granting institutions and other international forums such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Asia Pacific Group (APG).

Money: Gold and Silver, or Paper and Plastic?

"Money" of any kind obviously represents the fruit of our labors, because we trade our labors to get it. Of course, most of us really could not care less what form the money comes in, as long as we can spend it. However, when it comes to savings-or storing the "fruit" of our labors for future consumption-its form surely does matter.

The Modern Two

There are only two choices of currency today. In fact, the same question faces us about money as it often does regarding the packaging of our groceries: Paper or plastic?

"Paper" money is the printed kind. We could even include today's common coins within this category, as they are used to make change for the other. This is "physical" currency (though it is not real money). We can hold these currencies in our hands.

At one time, these currencies represented specific claims on real money-gold and silver. The government-issued coins that people used in daily commerce were even made from these precious metals. Nevertheless, neither of these two facts are presently true.

Banks' Rights - Is Your Money Safe?

Nowadays, after all the additional selling targets set for bank staff, it is not unusual for a customer to have a current account, a savings account and a credit card account - all with the same bank or building society; after all, you trust them to do the right thing by you, don't you? The same customer might also have a loan, an ISA and a mortgage with that bank or building society. Many of those accounts might be held jointly with someone else, usually a spouse or business partner.

Quite reasonably, your bank or building society is likely to be the first place you will visit to sort out your financial requirements.

In this article we look at one of the most commonly asked questions seen by the Advisor Team at National Money Helpline when dealing with individuals' debt problems:

What can the bank or building society do where a customer does not have enough money in a particular account to make payments due from that account, but does have sufficient funds in one of their other accounts with that bank?

Scam! Fraud! Alert! Ripoff! The Check Cashing Wire Transfer Nightmare!

It was such a bonus!

I got a letter in the mail today from a company in Canada. (I don't want to give out the name because this matter is under investigation with State, Federal and Canadian Authorities.)

Imagine my surprise when I opened it up and found a check made out to me for $3,860.00!

Apparently, I was the winner of a sweepstakes and this was a partial payout for winnings that totaled $55,250.00. Within the letter were instructions to call a number, ask for a certain agent and be prepared to have my claim number available. Immediately, I became suspicious because I never enter sweepstakes, but I kept staring at the check wondering...hey what if!

After re-reading the letter several times I decided to take the check to my bank to see if it was indeed a "legitimate" . They verified that it was by appearance, but told me that this probably was some kind of Scam. The bank said that if I deposited it, they would hold it for 10 business days before releasing the funds. I of course did not want to deposit it. But because I love to uncover a good Scam, I decided to do something about it!

Before I placed a call to these lovely folks that wanted to give me $55,250 I went to the Internet and researched the addresses that were referenced in the letter. The letter came from Canada, but the check was from an American Company in New Jersey. Curiously enough the address for the Trust Company in Canada was actually an Automotive Garage. The address on the check was truly from an existing business in New Jersey. OK...I was ready to place my call.

My agent wasn't available, but I spoke with a rather peppy woman who said that on June 10, 2007 I had filled out a sweepstakes entry for a Readers Digest Contest. Didn't I remember filling it out, she asked? I assured her that I must have other wise I wouldn't have won, right? And you know what, in the background, I could hear clanging and before she could put me on hold several times, I could also hear the sound of power tools! Hey, was this a Financial Trust/Guaranty Company or an Automotive Garage?

Now, what she told me next, was so appalling that I made it my mission to get the word out there about this Check Cashing --Wire Fraud Scam!

They were so happy that I had called in to claim my prize, but before I could receive my $52k I had to pay taxes on the money. So I needed to cash the check, wait until it "cleared" , she said that should be within 3 to 5 days. Then, I needed to go to "Money Gram" and wire transfer $3,680.000 to a Person in Brooklyn, New York. Now, to wire transfer that kind of money, I would supposedly incur Money Gram Fees between $60 and $180.00! There goes my $3,860!

I asked her why they could not just take the taxes right out of my winnings like the Lottery does. She said that they were Canadian so they couldn't do that. Then I asked why Canadians were worried about the IRS? Of course they weren't worried, but I should be. Then I inquired as to why I was sending "taxes" to an individual and not the IRS. She actually told me that the person I was sending the money to worked for the IRS. OK, so if they weren't asking for any type of identifying information, why would I send money to the IRS without the proper Form and personal info so that I could be credited for paying taxes on my winnings?

Well, according to her, I could do that when I received my $55k check! I cold even have an attorney present if I wanted because they actually came to my house to present it to me in person. I ended the call with her assuring me that this wasn't a scam, and that the woman from the IRS that I was supposed to transfer money to would contact me the next day with any questions that I might have.

Alright, on to Readers Digest. I spoke with a Customer Care Representative from their Pleasantville, NY office and she said that this definitely was a SCAM! Sadly, they receive about 3 calls with the same story everyday! Worse yet, so many people actually wire the money only to find out that the check eventually bounces. Readers Digest referred me to the Consumer Protection League in Washington DC.

There I spoke with a Gentleman who explained the whole scam to me and said that they receive 10 to 15 phone calls like this everyday. Here's how the scam works so Please pass this information on to your friends and family. Especially Senior Citizens and College Students, given the statistics, they seem to be the majority of victims in cases like this.

You go to your bank and deposit the check. Some banks will make the funds available to you in 3 days, some 5, and very few 10. It all depends on your bank, and quite frankly how much money you already have in your accounts. Most banks want their customers happy so they will try to make funds available as soon as possible. In the meantime, you check back with your bank and the everything seems to be OK. So now they release the funds and you wire transfer the money to whomever! Which by the way doesn't necessarily have to be picked-up at the location that you wire it to. Since the recipient has the pertinent information, the money can be pick up anywhere, sometimes even in another country!

Unfortunately, these crooks have it down, they know that the check can bounce not once, but a couple times. Technically, just because the funds were made available to you doesn't mean that the check "cleared". That can actually take up to 21 days and the thieves know this! So that makes you feel secure enough to wire transfer the money. Now all you have to do is wait for that entourage of people to show up at your house with the BIG check, right?

WRONG, here comes the mailman with a letter from your bank saying that the check bounced and now YOU owe the Bank $3,680! Nice eh? Rule of Thumb here, There is NEVER a reason to send money in order to collect winnings, period. If you receive a letter like this in the mail, or know of someone that has, please refer them to www.fakechecks.org. Click on "prevention" then "report it". Fill out the form and the proper authorities will be notified.

Additionally, you might want to notify your States Attorney Generals Office. Many of these have online forms that you can use to report this type of Fraud. Together, we can help stop this kind of Malicious Crime!

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/853777

When Money Becomes the Root of All Evi

Greed is evil, but is money? Remember the saying, "The love of money is the root of all evil?" I think that's even scriptural. Here the word "love" is key as in "love of money." That "love of money" is what leads to greed, not the money or having money itself.

Money can lead one to being evil but having money doesn't make everyone who has it evil. Only evil people are greedy with money. We have plenty of wealthy people who are not greedy. Some wealthy people are among the kindest and most generous and charitable among us. There is nothing evil or greedy about them. Still, others blessed with wealth do meet that evil and greedy profile that all good people despise.

A good analogy is those leftists who declare that guns are evil. Guns don't kill but some people who have guns do kill. However, the overwhelming majority of gun owners are not killers. There are probably far more violent people who don't own guns then those who do.

They're also plenty of people of modest means who are extremely greedy and selfish. Most of us know people like that and have witnessed and/or experienced it far to often. It's about what is in your heart, not what is in your possession. We ought never lose sight of that.

MMT - Mobile Money Transfer - Opportunities and Challenges a Transformation of Business Practices

Introduction
Opportunity in adversity is an old maxim. Indian Mobile Telecom companies are defying all logic and sense in competing with each other. India is the world's fastest growing country in terms of mobile market. With basic services almost equal and the rates fiercely at par, Mobile Telecom companies have to continuously innovate to stay in the market, either for market share leadership, market quality leadership, just to survive or enter the market. Innovation holds the key for Indian Mobile Telecom Companies. Innovation in tariff or the services offered.

The Indian Payment Systems
A secure and efficient payment system would enable the circulation of money and economic activity. This would be the primary goal of any payment system globally. The increase in the number of payment systems, the participation of larger number of institutions in the financial market, recent financial crisis have made brought in focus the public policy makers. Over the recent yesteryears, Indian Policy makers especially on the economic and technology front have taken some bold yet cautious forward steps. The caution has borne fruit, by the insulation the country had during the recent crisis.

Today, there is a positive struggle between the policy makers and the market to drive the economy forward at a faster rate; the payments systems are continuously fine tuned and enhanced with newer payments systems. Gone are the days of manual clearing. Today, the customer has a bouquet of payments systems to choose from: from paper transactions to paperless transactions, from netting to gross settlements, from T+3 to real time settlement. Viz. Speed Clearing, Electronic Clearing Systems (Credit & Debit), National Electronic Funds Transfer, Real Time Gross Settlement, Internet Banking.

The Payment Visions document of RBI envisages Triple-S and E standing for Safety, Security, Soundness and Efficiency. The payment systems in India reflect retails payments and large value payments, both paper based and electronically based.

Across the globe, various type of payment systems are followed, both for paper based and electronic. Variations in structure and delivery channels are also diverse. The ownership of the systems varies from Central Banks, financial institutions to separate entities owned by financial institutions. While the large value and bulk payments taken care by RTGS and ECS (Credit and Debit), it is the retails payment that need attention. Still the consumers and bankers are dependent on paper based transactions.

Ten Top Tips For Money Transfer Safety

The demand for reliable, efficient and safe money transfer systems has never been greater. Increasing numbers of migrant workers, globalisation and the internet have all helped the money transfer industry to become a US $250 billion per year industry. That figure is likely to increase over the coming years as well, the current growth level is 10-12% per year. This of course has lead to more and more companies entering into an already fragmented money transfer market and they are naturally all keen to get their slice of the revenue.
Many companies enter the market with new innovative ways to transfer money both on and offline and offer very competitive transfer fees compared to the traditional market leaders such as Western Union and Moneygram. In the main most companies are genuine and reliable and offer good services however with money, accoutn numbers, personal details and so on all being involved the need for safety and security within the company is very high.

Of course everybody wants to save money but the cheapest company may not always be the best option. Here are ten tips that will help you transfer your money safely:

1) How big is the company? If the company is a new outfit with only a couple of members of staff in a home office then there is probably going to be a higher chance of something going wrong with the transfer. A medium to large sized compnay would probably be a better bet.

2) For large sums of money it is generally accepted that a bank wire transfer is the safest method of sending your money. The main reasons for this are that a) all customers will have had to supply appropriate forms of identification and b) the actual wire transfer is a message sent to another bank in the formof a highly secure encrypted message which is extremely difficult for anyone to intercept and interpret.

3) Certainly never send money to strangers and people who you do not know. The most likely time for this to occur would be from an online auction or from other internet purchases. There is always the chance that they will simply take the money and run.

4) Look out for phishing scams. These are often entered into first when someone receives an email which pretends that it is from a genuine business that may normally need your personal and financial details such as a bank, Paypal, Western Union and so on.

The structure and presentation of the email may well be very difficult to tell apart from the legitimate business. Of course on this occasion the email is a fake and will probably attempt to get you to click on a link which will forward you to another fake web-site again looking very genuine. Here they will attempt to get important personal/financial details from you. The best way to avoid such scams is to simply go direct to the merchnts site and not through a link in an email.

5) Can the company answer the following questions quickly and easily: What is the exact fee and exchange rate for the transfer? How will the money physically end-up in the hands of the proposed recipient? When will the funds become available? Are there any extra fees for using credit cards?

If the company can answer those questions easily it is a good sign that they are at least well organised.

6) Advance fee frauds. This fraud also known as the 'Nigerian fraud' or the '491 fraud' is one of the commonest online frauds. These can result in considerable financial losses and occasionally personal danger. Usually they involve you puttin up front a large amount of money in order to gain a further considerable amount of money later, which then never appears.

Initial contact is usually via email and the sender often claims to be from some Third-world country. They may go on to give a semi-plausible explanation for why they need money, for example: a large amount of money needs to be claimed in order to prevent the government from taking it. Sometimes the message may contain references to topical news events to try and convince you that they are genuine. The sender will eventually offer to give you a cut of the money if you help them get the money. Usually they say that they need the money up-front in order to bribe corrupt officials or for some other legal purposes that will help release the money.

So, never believe anyone is who they say they are in an email and certainly do not be lured in to parting with any money or personal details.

7) For online transactions never share any passwords with anyone. Chane it if you think someone else might know it and try and change it regularly as good practise. Include numbers and figures in your password and make it random and hard to guess. Do not use the same password for different accounts or services. If you think someone may have your password, change it immediately.

8) Be educated, fraudsters are constantly coming up with new ways to fool you. Here are a few scams that you may see: Lottery frauds, Up-front payments, millions waiting to be shared, jobs involving you acting as a broker. If something seems to good to be true then it probably is!

9) Furthermore here are a few questions you may wish consider asking in order to double check on the company: If the money is not received by the specified time/date will I receive any compensation? What rights do I have if this situation were to occur? Does the recipient have to pay a fee as well? What rights do I have if the money is not received at the promised time? If the recipient is unable to pick up the money transfer for some reason, what is the refund policy? What ID is acceptable for the recipient to provide in order to collect the money transfer?

And finally...

10) Use your common sense. Do this and you will avoid the majority of scams and will be able to transfer your money safely, quickly and easily.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/997726

DIAMOND BANK CENTENARY CHALLENGE

Will you like to win an iPad Mini and cash prizes? You’d love that, right?

Enter for the Diamond Bank Centenary challenge and stand the chance to win mouth-watering prizes.

How

WRITING COMPETITION PROCEDURE:

•          Write short article in not more than 100 words on what makes you a true Nigerian
•          Send your entries with your name and phone number to diamondgames@diamondbank.com
•         Closing date for entries; 7 February 2015 at 11:59 pm
•          All entries will be reviewed by our esteemed panel of judges and the five (5) best articles will be selected for the final round.

Diamond Celebrates Nigeria's Centenary

As a proudly Nigerian brand, leading bank, Diamond Bank PLC has unveiled a television commercial in celebration of the country’s centenary celebrations scheduled for 2015.

Diamond Bank began business in 1991 and has over 200 branches across Nigeria with presence in Francophone West Africa as well as in the United Kingdom. The Bank is adjudged the largest supporter of small businesses in Nigeria.