Nipo-research shows that consumers may be willing to pay an extra 6 to 10 euro per month for 3G/UMTS services. Examples are mobile e-mail, MMS, location based service etc.
Thursday, February 13, 2003
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
OFT's preliminary conclusion on Mastercards' Multilateral Interchange Fee
The UK Office of fair trading has released a press statement and
report in which it essentially explains that the MasterCard agreement, containing a multilateral interchange fee for credit-cards does not comply with competition law. It is a preliminary statement, but if the OFT does the same as the Reserve Bank Australia, their position will have an impact on the UK and European market.
Download the full OFT report.
report in which it essentially explains that the MasterCard agreement, containing a multilateral interchange fee for credit-cards does not comply with competition law. It is a preliminary statement, but if the OFT does the same as the Reserve Bank Australia, their position will have an impact on the UK and European market.
Download the full OFT report.
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Minister Hoogervorst starts bank BUS-tour for the elderly
Today at 1.30 pm, mr Hoogervorst, Minister of Finance, officially started using the ABN AMRO - ANBO Service bus. This is a bus in which ABN AMRO provides bank services (for the elderly clients/customers in remote and rural areas) and in which the Union of the Elderly (ANBO) also provides its services. The bus will start touring as of February 24 and will visit 12 locations (6 per week) in two weeks. See also this press release.
The initiative of ABN AMRO should be viewed against the background of a considerable reduction of bank branches and the complaint of interest groups that service of banks is being reduced too much. It is also relevant to note that a draft law is in preparation (MP Crone) that would prescribe banks to open branches in certain areas. As a result all banks are active to ensure proper service delivery. Rabobank focuses in the segment of the elderly on further introduction of the Chipknip as the payment instrument in the residencies for elderly. And Postbank has started in November 2002 to introduce so called money withdrawal service points (franchise service for small shopkeepers).
The initiative of ABN AMRO should be viewed against the background of a considerable reduction of bank branches and the complaint of interest groups that service of banks is being reduced too much. It is also relevant to note that a draft law is in preparation (MP Crone) that would prescribe banks to open branches in certain areas. As a result all banks are active to ensure proper service delivery. Rabobank focuses in the segment of the elderly on further introduction of the Chipknip as the payment instrument in the residencies for elderly. And Postbank has started in November 2002 to introduce so called money withdrawal service points (franchise service for small shopkeepers).
Monday, February 10, 2003
Paying for supervision.. who's auditing?
Het Financieele Dagblad reports that Dutch banks will soon have to pay for the cost of the supervisor. Yet, in exchange the banks demand a tighter control on the expenses (as they believe these expenses are too high). Two models are now being discussed:
1-a percentage of 15 % of the supervision budget will be paid out of public funds, the rest is to be paid by the supervised organisations,
2-all expenses will be paid by the supervised organisations but an overseeing budget council will monitor the development of these expenses.
One option, not in public discussion is to assign the budget monitoring role to the Algemene Rekenkamer (the national audit institution). This organisation will need to visit the central bank/supervisor anyhow, as De Nederlandsche Bank is a very hybrid organisation that combines the provision of public/private services and also recieves considerable income (seigniorage on bank notes). Any such organisation must be audited, if only to maintain a level playing field vis a vis the private sector. So DNB has a strong need to establish proper internal accounting and expense allocation systems that allow their private services to be competitively priced and their public services to be properly monitored. And the national audit institution is the appropriate organisation to audit this.
1-a percentage of 15 % of the supervision budget will be paid out of public funds, the rest is to be paid by the supervised organisations,
2-all expenses will be paid by the supervised organisations but an overseeing budget council will monitor the development of these expenses.
One option, not in public discussion is to assign the budget monitoring role to the Algemene Rekenkamer (the national audit institution). This organisation will need to visit the central bank/supervisor anyhow, as De Nederlandsche Bank is a very hybrid organisation that combines the provision of public/private services and also recieves considerable income (seigniorage on bank notes). Any such organisation must be audited, if only to maintain a level playing field vis a vis the private sector. So DNB has a strong need to establish proper internal accounting and expense allocation systems that allow their private services to be competitively priced and their public services to be properly monitored. And the national audit institution is the appropriate organisation to audit this.
Saturday, February 08, 2003
Secoin is testing system for micropayments
Planet multimedia reports that Secoin is starting test with its system for micropayments. Apparently (and despite clear explanation by the central bank) Secoin is the opinion that it is not an electronic money institution. Given that the system involves attracting deposits from the public, the only regulatory alternative would then be to consider Secoin a regular credit-institution......
Billing: a profession in itself
I just received a letter from my ISP (dated 5th of February), stating I had to pay my bill. The letter was really unfriendly with threats of knocking me out of their systems. So I checked my bank statement to find out if I missed something, but I had paid properly on January 31. So I mailed the people at creditcontrol@planet.nl to inform their of their rather untimely and incorrect letter. And suggested them to bill their three different bills in one time, using a direct debit.
Which goes to show that billing is a profession in itself. See also the oration of George Huitema (here available in Dutch) and the website of the Global Billing Association.
Which goes to show that billing is a profession in itself. See also the oration of George Huitema (here available in Dutch) and the website of the Global Billing Association.
Friday, February 07, 2003
SWIFT preparing for the future...
Het Financieele Dagblad wrote an article last week on the position of Swift. It was noted that Swift is turning to non-banc customers as well, in order to expand their operations. The article also notes that Swift is moving to an IP-based infrastructure. See also the website of SWIFT.
Wednesday, February 05, 2003
France prepares nationwide launch of purses and smart cards
Mercury News reports that France prepares nationwide launch of e-purses. Also in Paris, the use of the e-purse for parking appears ot be a killer application.
See also the earlier agreement of French banks and enterprises to move to a new generation of chip applications.
See also the earlier agreement of French banks and enterprises to move to a new generation of chip applications.
Joint accounts targeted for bank fraud
This morning De Financiële Telegraaf reports a new fraud method. Robbers send in a form in which they become the joint owner of an account. Not an easy fraud, as it requires forgery of identity papers, obtaining account information/signature of the legitimate account owner as well as control over the delivery/receipt channel. Yet, a number of incidents occured where fraudsters received a debit-card and pin-code on the 'joint account' that was then plundered. Procedures at the Postbank (where the fraud has first been observed) have now been tightened.
Tuesday, February 04, 2003
Telco's will be banks... or are they already?
John Caspers pointed out that Mobilkom Austria has, as the first telco company worldwide, chosen to obtain a bank license in order to provide the full spectrum of pre-paid and postpaid billing solutions. Its bank is called A1 Bank.
Nach der Beteiligung an Paybox austria am 13. Juli 2001 gründete mobilkom austria im Jänner 2002 als erster Mobilfunkbetreiber weltweit eine Bank. Die A1 Bank hält die Banklizenz für die Durchführung des Zahlungsverkehrs. „Wir haben mit der Kombination – mobile Zahlungslösung und Bankenlizenz – alle notwendigen Kompetenzen, um innovative m-commerce Anwendungen für unsere Kunden zu entwickeln. Das sind Micropayment-Lösungen, Prepaid-Lösungen und Garantieleistungen gegenüber österreichischen Händlern. Gleichzeitig etablierten wir einen Standard, der allen Handykunden in Österreich den Zugang zu Services bietet und sichere Zahltransaktionen garantiert“, so Ametsreiter.
Nach der Beteiligung an Paybox austria am 13. Juli 2001 gründete mobilkom austria im Jänner 2002 als erster Mobilfunkbetreiber weltweit eine Bank. Die A1 Bank hält die Banklizenz für die Durchführung des Zahlungsverkehrs. „Wir haben mit der Kombination – mobile Zahlungslösung und Bankenlizenz – alle notwendigen Kompetenzen, um innovative m-commerce Anwendungen für unsere Kunden zu entwickeln. Das sind Micropayment-Lösungen, Prepaid-Lösungen und Garantieleistungen gegenüber österreichischen Händlern. Gleichzeitig etablierten wir einen Standard, der allen Handykunden in Österreich den Zugang zu Services bietet und sichere Zahltransaktionen garantiert“, so Ametsreiter.
Paybox, wasn't that a mobile payment thing.... once...?
Economic historians may still grab the opportunity and use Google's cache to download the Paybox demo or browse the older pages. But this window of opportunities will most probably disappear quickly.
Monday, February 03, 2003
Survey on direct debits by consumer union
The Dutch Consumer Union reports that a survey (1700 participants) shows that 20 % of the respondents have at some time experienced operational problems with the product direct debit. The problems are:
- wrong amount debited,
- banks too slow to respond and reverse the direct debit,
- amount debited without authorisation of the customer.
The Consumer Union has called upon the Dutch Association of Banks to improve the situation as far as the banks are concerned. See also the list of 40 complaints of the Union, in which it becomes clear that utility companies (bulk users of direct debits) make a mess of their billing/administration.
In my view, the solution for this problem would be to improve the feedback loop for individual banks and create a financial stimulus to improve a reduction of operational errors. See this link.
- wrong amount debited,
- banks too slow to respond and reverse the direct debit,
- amount debited without authorisation of the customer.
The Consumer Union has called upon the Dutch Association of Banks to improve the situation as far as the banks are concerned. See also the list of 40 complaints of the Union, in which it becomes clear that utility companies (bulk users of direct debits) make a mess of their billing/administration.
In my view, the solution for this problem would be to improve the feedback loop for individual banks and create a financial stimulus to improve a reduction of operational errors. See this link.
New currency in the Netherlands... : Raam
David Post reports in Het Financieele Dagblad about the issuing of a new currency called "Raam" (which translates as Window). The central bank DNB said it would launch an investigation into possible legal violations.
The Raam (see Ceejee for image) is issued by an organisation founded by Maharishi Yogi. The Raam is printed by Johan Enschede (printer of numerous bank notes all around the world, including the Euro) and is issued in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 raam. One Raam is worth 10 euro.
The Raam was issued on 19 October 2002, with Limburgs Dagblad having the first article:
Vlodrop. The Fortis-bank issues the new currency of the Maharishi- the name is Raam- only at the Roermond branch. This was emphasized by Fortis yesterday, a day on which collectors and those interested from all over the country started to learn how to become owners of the new Raam notes.
According to spokesman M. Bongaerts of Fortis Nederland, the bank only sells the notes in Roermond as a service to Maharishi, an important customer of Fortis. The Maharishi wants to use the currency to supply Third-World countries with a strong inflation-resistant currency. The notes will be used primarily to finance organic agriculture projects.
The Raam (see Ceejee for image) is issued by an organisation founded by Maharishi Yogi. The Raam is printed by Johan Enschede (printer of numerous bank notes all around the world, including the Euro) and is issued in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 raam. One Raam is worth 10 euro.
The Raam was issued on 19 October 2002, with Limburgs Dagblad having the first article:
Vlodrop. The Fortis-bank issues the new currency of the Maharishi- the name is Raam- only at the Roermond branch. This was emphasized by Fortis yesterday, a day on which collectors and those interested from all over the country started to learn how to become owners of the new Raam notes.
According to spokesman M. Bongaerts of Fortis Nederland, the bank only sells the notes in Roermond as a service to Maharishi, an important customer of Fortis. The Maharishi wants to use the currency to supply Third-World countries with a strong inflation-resistant currency. The notes will be used primarily to finance organic agriculture projects.
Thursday, January 30, 2003
Paybox leaves B2C market.....
Finextra reports that Paybox pulls back from the consumer market.
Under a major restructuring, Paybox says it will focus on the profitable B2B business with regional payment processors, telcos, and banks. The company's consumer-facing operations in Sweden and the UK are to be wound down while the Austrian business is being sold to Mobilkom Austria. The company will maintain consumer services in its home market.
See also the Paybox website.... (in German).
My personal guess? Their focus on shop-payments was not the proper market focus.
Under a major restructuring, Paybox says it will focus on the profitable B2B business with regional payment processors, telcos, and banks. The company's consumer-facing operations in Sweden and the UK are to be wound down while the Austrian business is being sold to Mobilkom Austria. The company will maintain consumer services in its home market.
See also the Paybox website.... (in German).
My personal guess? Their focus on shop-payments was not the proper market focus.
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Universal Business Language, Public Review
A technical committee of Oasis, a consortium dedicated to interoperability on the web, has released a draft of the Universal Business Language for public review. This work may come in handy to standardize looking at business processes and increase straight through processing of generic forms such as purchase orders, invoices etc.
What has this got to do with payments? Well, a lot of the hidden cost of payments are in these processes. So initiatives like these certainly contribute to more efficiency in payments.
What has this got to do with payments? Well, a lot of the hidden cost of payments are in these processes. So initiatives like these certainly contribute to more efficiency in payments.
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Way2Pay is testing....
Just out of curiosity I was wondering if Way2Pay. the Dutch version of Paypal, were already building their website. It turns out that they are now busy testing.
Update: 18.20 The links are no longer active.
Update: 18.20 The links are no longer active.
Monday, January 27, 2003
Credit-card biller revisits positioning of balance due
Washington Post reports that MBNA, USA's second largest credit-card biller revisits the position of balance due on its monthly credit-card bills. The case shows how habits are important in retail payments.
The Delaware-based company had redesigned its bills earlier this month, dropping the total due from the large box at the top -- the "coupon" that was to be sent in with the payment. Only the minimum amount due was highlighted in the coupon. The total due still could be found on the bill, but at the bottom in smaller print.
...
Government regulations require that the total amount due be displayed on a bill, but don't specify where or how prominently it should be disclosed. Consumer groups and some industry experts criticized the change as likely to mislead consumers into paying only the minimum amount due -- which would trigger interest payments.
The Delaware-based company had redesigned its bills earlier this month, dropping the total due from the large box at the top -- the "coupon" that was to be sent in with the payment. Only the minimum amount due was highlighted in the coupon. The total due still could be found on the bill, but at the bottom in smaller print.
...
Government regulations require that the total amount due be displayed on a bill, but don't specify where or how prominently it should be disclosed. Consumer groups and some industry experts criticized the change as likely to mislead consumers into paying only the minimum amount due -- which would trigger interest payments.
eBay account hijacked; some payments recovered
Kansas City Star
reports extensively about an auction fraud on eBay. An interesting case, where customers that used Paypal got their money back, and those that used a money wire lost it....
reports extensively about an auction fraud on eBay. An interesting case, where customers that used Paypal got their money back, and those that used a money wire lost it....
Ogone.nl starts with 'free' online donation service
The payment service provider Ogone has helped charitative foundations to develop a donation service on the web. The service is available at a charitative portal site and is not completely free, but works with a provision percentage of 10 percent. Given that most donations will not be high value sums of money, the service can be viewed as an effort to recoup some of the fixed costs of the current Ogone platform.
ATM's out of order due to Internet worm....
Lynn Wheeler posted this link to an article in a mailing list.
...SEATTLE (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp. said on Saturday that customers at a majority of its 13,000 automatic teller machines were unable to process customer transactions after a malicious computer worm nearly froze Internet traffic worldwide. ....
...SEATTLE (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp. said on Saturday that customers at a majority of its 13,000 automatic teller machines were unable to process customer transactions after a malicious computer worm nearly froze Internet traffic worldwide. ....
Friday, January 24, 2003
The end of Chipper ... your e-money back ?
The Dutch newspaper Het Parool reported on January 21, that Chipper users can no longer go to the post office to redeem the residual electronic money on their Chipper chip. Therefore Postbank customers that want their money back need to send in their card to the customer service. Then again, in many cases the electronic money is on the chip of a debit-card that is actively being used. And who's going to send in his favorite debit-card to redeem only a little bit of e-money?
The Parool makes a fuss about the fact that Postbank should have made more announcements about the withdrawal of the Chipper than they did. I don't understand why they didn't take the issue one step further. Now that there are no more terminals that accept Chipper-payments, Postbank would be in a position to redeem the electronic money of the cards to the individual users. It would cost them some money, but then again, it would be the gentleman-like way forward, given the redeemability requirement of the e-money directive.
The Parool makes a fuss about the fact that Postbank should have made more announcements about the withdrawal of the Chipper than they did. I don't understand why they didn't take the issue one step further. Now that there are no more terminals that accept Chipper-payments, Postbank would be in a position to redeem the electronic money of the cards to the individual users. It would cost them some money, but then again, it would be the gentleman-like way forward, given the redeemability requirement of the e-money directive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)