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.

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.

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.

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.

A drawback of operating in the digital world is the accessibility of information on customers’ accounts. Banks are continuously tightening security but can they keep ahead of the fraudsters? 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.

Whoever replaces SWIFT CEO Leonard Schrank when he stands down in 2007 will have the unenviable task of running three lines of business or choosing one to be best at.By Chris Skinner.

Regulation may be a burden for banks but consultants and IT firms are turning a profit from their woes. However, Chris Skinner questions whether bankers are too quick to throw money at the problems in search of a quick fix.

Technological developments herald the death of plastic as customers can now be identified via biometrics – or chips in their clothing before they have even entered the bank. By Chris Skinner.