Banks’ risk-avoiding trait of being lemmings not leaders has left the payments arena wide open for PayPal to build up its $27.5bn business. It seems unlikely that the banks will be able to catch up.By Chris Skinner.

Corporate treasurers’ group TWIST is putting pressure on banks to create a single payments standard and to stop trying to manage identities. The case is strong and SWIFT is already listening.By Chris Skinner.

A recent roundtable organised by The Banker looked at the New Legal Framework (NLF) for Payments Directive, issued by the European Commission in December 2005, and the implications for the banking industry. A group of payments professionals from leading banks took part in the discussion.

The rise of China and India in economic terms has been meteoric but, while their global banking presence remains relatively minor today, global dominance in this sector, too, is inevitable.By Chris Skinner.

With branded organisations up and down the high street offering all manner of low-cost financial services, the established players had better come up with something new to offer consumers, fast.By Chris Skinner.

When the Payment Services Directive begins to bite, Italians will open bank accounts in The Netherlands to avoid high charges and banks will lose a fortune. Chris Skinner examines the true nature of its teeth.

Participants in a London round table, hosted by Accenture and The Banker, and chaired by Chris Skinner, discuss the precarious state of IT alignment within a business, and the role of outsourcing.

Technology exploitation is central to a bank and its management team but too many UK businesses lack a technologist implanted firmly on the executive board, let alone as CEO.By Chris Skinner.

Customer complaints cost banks dearly in loss of loyalty and client profits. In some cases the banks only have themselves to blame for encouraging thoughtless responses to customers’ concerns.By Chris Skinner.

The European payments environment is going through major upheaval. This presents cross-border opportunities for some banks and the prospect of takeover for others, writes Chris Skinner.