All articles by James Ratcliff

James Ratcliff

VocaLink strategy head prioritises m-payments

VocaLink needs to play an active role in helping banks develop mobile payments products, said VocaLinks newly-appointed managing director of strategy and business development, Paul Stoddart Stoddart, who is responsible for corporate strategy, product development and identifying new market opportunities for the UK payments processor, will lead the project to provide infrastructure for the UK Payments Councils mobile payments platform.

VocaLink and Clairmail collaborate on mobile channel

VocaLink and mobile banking specialists Clairmail are working together to develop real-time P2P mobile payments products. In a statement, VocaLink said the move will enable banks to provide a roadmap of innovative, real-time banking solutions through the mobile channel

RMB payments volumes fall for second month running

Financial messaging service SWIFT has reported that RMB payment volumes have fallen for the second month in a row. In SWIFTs ranking of global currencies, the RMB lost two places since September, falling from 15th to 17th place, overtaken by the South African Rand and New Zealand Dollar.

Opinion:Mobile manoeuvres

As we go to press, Visa has announced the launch of its new mobile platform the results of its $110m acquisition of Fundamo The deal was signed in June, and in the intervening months theyve done well very little in technical terms

Editor’s letter: A squash and a squeeze

Of course banks are getting quite used to being pressurised by regulators, by politicians and the public their customers and in many cases their owners The industry as a whole is acclimatising to its new position in society scrutinised and distrusted.

Sibos: Lovers and fighters

Passionate calls for unity across the banking industry echoed across the cavernous exhibition halls of the Toronto Convention Center

The cumulative impact of regulation on e-payments

The cumulative impact of different regulatory and industry initiatives need to be properly assessed by banks.This is the conclusion of the latest World Payments Report by Capgemini, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and EFMA The 55-page document analyses global non-cash development and trends, as well as the impact of regulatory and industry impacts on non-cash payments and considers methods to capture the value propositions arising from the evolution of the payments industry.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch facilitates electronic bank account management

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) has launched a web-based electronic bank account management (eBAM) service for its corporate and commercial clients in the US and Europe. The rollout follows a year-long pilot with eight clients, says Cindy Murray, head of Global Treasury Product Infrastructure, Platforms and eCommerce at BofAML. eBAM is a generic term for web-based systems that automate and standardize the opening, closing and maintenance of bank accounts and treasury services, and provide an audit trail of corporate account transactions.

WU restructures and increases focus on alternative payments

Western Union has restructured, forming a new business unit, Western Union Ventures, which brings together its online payments, prepaidstored value and mobile offerings.

Monitise hails Nigeria m-commerce pilot a success

Monitise has announced it is ready to roll out its mobile payments and banking services in Nigeria following a successful pilot.