Europe is following Japan’s lead in the roll-out of contactless payment technology, with France and the UK leading the way in the innovation stakes. Wendy Atkins reports.

Ruth Emery assesses the likelihood of a merger between the Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges.

Alan Duerden explores five important New Year’s resolutions that CIOs should be making for 2008 to ensure they deliver value for money.

David Vander, worldwide managing director of Microsoft Financial Services, tells Alan Duerden of the work his firm has undertaken in the payments arena with large financial institutions, as well as working in the unbanked sector.

As banks seek growth in segments of the world’s population among whom penetration is low, Kris Gopalakrishnan explains how technology can help them achieve a return on their investments.

The CIO of investment banking technology within Deutsche’s Corporate and Investment Bank remains unmoved by the summer’s crisis. Alan Duerden reports.

Efficiency is the most important driver of change in banks’ back-office operations, but there are other factors at play too. Michael Imeson reports.

As commercial banks begin to suffer the same risk problems as investment banks, risk management is becoming more important in the sector. Heather McKenzie reports on the biggest issues and the tools that can be used to manage them.

Banks are looking to increase the number of commercial banking services they offer via internet platforms. But what do their small and medium-sized enterprise customers want and what can realistically be migrated? Nicholas Pratt reports.

N Ganapathy Subramaniam, president of TCS Financial Solutions, a strategic business unit of TATA Consultancy Services, describes to Alan Duerden the inner workings of an emerging giant in financial technology.