Axis Bank Launches Multi-Currency Contactless Card With Visa

India’s Axis Bank is to upgrade 50,000, of its point of sale (PoS) machines so that they can accept debit and credit card payments from contactless cards.

Last week the bank launched contactless multi-currency forex cards in partnership with Visa. Axis Bank would be the first bank to issue multi-currency contactless cards or 'tap and pay' cards as they are known, which can be loaded in 15 currencies such as Swiss Franc and Hong Kong dollar besides the three main currencies -US dollar, Euro and British Pound.

Axis Bank has also launched contactless debit and credit cards for its premium customers.

DBS Bank Picks Analec For Broker-Dealer CRM

Analec and DBS Bank further strengthened their working relationship, with DBS opting for Analec’s broker-dealer CRM solution – Analec ClientManager.

ANALEC has been working with DBS Bank for over 10 years, with its investment research platform - ANALEC ResearchWise - powering the global investment research organization. With the decision to implement ANALEC ClientManager, DBS would now have a fully integrated investment research management and CRM solution from ANALEC.

DBS is one of the premier integrated financial institutions in Asia with a market capitalization of US$ 42 billion. DBS opted for ANALEC ClientManager from an existing service provider, following a review of their needs as well as seeking to boost their proactive account management capabilities and management of high value services like corporate access analyst roadshows and investor conferences etc.

The world of institutional stock broking has been facing structural challenges and competitive pressures over the years and it calls for technology solutions that address both the immediate and long-term client servicing challenges and needs. The business at all times needs to ensure that the client service organization is able to maximize revenue generation while minimizing cost-of-service to their clients.

ANALEC ClientManager platform will ensure capturing every aspect and touch-point of the client service function, for each individual client, and ensure the entire service organization is able to score high on relevance of service (to individual clients) and adapt swiftly to changing needs and demands of the client base.

With the implementation of ANALEC’s CRM solution, DBS would have better control of their research distribution intelligence to their clients, feeding from the ANALEC research technology that has been in place at DBS for many years. ANALEC’s integrated solution across research management and sales & trading CRM will proactively deliver superior management reporting and client servicing intelligence to key decision-makers within the business and increase speed of decision-making.

Commenting on the development ANALEC’s CEO – Indy Sarker – stated, “We are very excited to grow our very successful working relationship with DBS. Over the last 10 years, DBS has been a strong supporter of ANALEC and we have always ensured a strong commitment to maintaining our strong working relationship. I believe our integrated research management and CRM solution would not only deliver better client service management and fulfilment, but also deliver significant technology cost savings on a total-cost-of-ownership perspective.”

Commonwealth Bank of Australia Glitch Double-Charges Customer Transactions

The day after posting a record $9.14 billion of profits and boasting about its technological prowess, Commonwealth Bank of Australia has had to apologise to customers over a system error that saw debit, credit and mobile payments double-charged over a six-day period.

The Australian bank's social media channels have been clogged with angry customers complaining that their accounts had been drained and charges levied for unauthorised overdrafts.

The foul-up comes as the bank reported a $1.2 billion spend on initiatives including risk and compliance projects, technology and productivity. In the full year statement, CBA group CEO Ian Narev said, "Our focus remains on the use of technology to improve all our channels, and to underpin continuous process improvement, to simplify our customers’ experience with us."

Avaloq Ranks Number One For New Assets Managed Using Its Solutions

The Avaloq group, an international leader in integrated and comprehensive banking solutions for wealth management, universal and retail banks, was ranked first in the report for the most new client assets managed using its solutions.

The report from Celent, an independent research firm focused on the application of technology in the global financial services industry, also highlighted Avaloq as having the highest average amount of assets involved in new deals for core banking solutions.

Francisco Fernandez, CEO at Avaloq, pinpoints the company’s success in the report as being down to the capabilities of the Avaloq Banking Suite in managing very large assets: “The scalability of stable, well-proven technology is a key factor in enabling the world’s leading banks to achieve the best results. Avaloq is proud of its reputation as driver of innovation within the financial sector. Through this innovation we are able to provide solutions that set us apart from our competitors. We are delighted the results of this report reflect the strength of our work in the marketplace.”

The report rankings sit alongside a host of industry awards the company has won in recognition for its success in the industry. This includes most recently being named ‘Outstanding Wealth Management Technology Provider’ at the 2015 Private Banker International Awards for the second consecutive year.