BANK tech-trends News
 

 October 10 - October 17, 2008

• Hardware News
• Software Updates
• ATMs/Kiosks
• Biometric Digest Highlights
• Wireless World
• Security Section
• Leaders Roundtable
• Technology and Marketing
• Online Banking/E-Commerce/
  Website Design
• Internet Access
• Call Centers

Hardware News

LaCie introduced its 5big Network, a network attached storage (NAS) system that can accommodate up to 7.5TB of storage capacity. The 5big network is a five-bay RAID storage system that features a built-in Gigabit Ethernet connection. Each of the five Serial ATA (SATA) hard disk bays is lockable and removable, enabling you to "hot swap" drives in the event of a drive failure. The 5big Network features built-in hardware-based RAID support and can support seven different RAID configurations, including RAID 5 and RAID 6. It has a USB 2.0 interface and three external SATA (eSATA) ports to accommodate additional drives. The 5big Network comes in 2.5TB, 5TB and 7.5TB configurations for $899, $1,399 and $1,899, respectively. 

Cisco’s Linksys unit unveiled a wireless Internet surveillance camera for small and midsize businesses. The Wireless-G PTZ Internet Camera with Audio (WVC210) sends live video through the Internet to a Web browser. The WVC210 supports MJPEG CODECs which is designed for large volume storage to a NAS device. The camera also supports 802.1p priority, 802.1q VLANs, and Dynamic DNS protocols, which are designed for multiple IP surveillance applications. The WVC210 can also be managed using HTTPS. The WVC210 costs $297.

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ATMs/Kiosks

According to two independent research entities, Retail Banking Research Ltd. and ESP Payments Practice, NCR is the worldwide leader in ATM deployments. RBR’s “Global ATM Market and Forecasts to 2013” report says that NCR is the largest ATM manufacturer globally with an installed base market share of 30.1 percent. Likewise, in the recently released ESP Payments Practice report, “The Future of ATMs: 8th Annual Market Tracking Study,” NCR shipped more ATMs to U.S. financial institutions than any other ATM provider worldwide. 

DieboldDirect, a division of ATM manufacturer Diebold, offers supplies and accessories for ATMs, drive-thru VAT tube systems and bank branches. For ATMs, they sell all of the supplies for daily usage including customizable receipt paper, ribbons and ink cartridges, cash cassettes, deposit envelopes, network grids and branding signage. For VAT systems they carry a wide selection of colorful carrier tubes in both middle and end opening designs.

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A company called Global Rainmaker is targeting banks with their HBOX iris scan system. The system can be used at ATMs or for online banking to verify customers. Meanwhile Yemen's CAC Bank has contracted with IrisGuard, to place biometric scanners in all branches, which will be used to identify customers and authenticate all banking transactions. All of the bank’s teller and customer services desks will be equipped with scanners, with the aim of authenticating all transactions to reduce fraud, and identity theft. Along with using the iris scanners at customer service desks, the bank will also install Dual Eye IG-AD100 Iris Cameras at all 80 of its ATMs, and will also look at extending the biometric solutions to time and attendance for bank staff, as well as integrating biometric protection into its online banking services.

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Currently only one in ten consumers uses a cell phone to perform a banking transaction or seek financial information during a typical week, according to the Morpace Omnibus Study. In fact, two-thirds of consumers are actually unsure whether or not their current bank even offers mobile banking capability. The firm says that this somewhat limited familiarity with mobile banking helps account for relatively modest interest levels at present (an average rating of only 4.3 on a 10 point measurement scale). "As might be expected, younger people - particularly those in the 18-34 segment - have the highest awareness, current use and interest levels of any of the subgroups we examined," said a Morpace Financial Services spokesperson. "As awareness and interest in mobile banking spreads to other age groups, and given the speed of technical adoption, we expect to see a steep increase in these measures."

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Some security firms are reporting that the current financial crisis is making it easier for them to do targeted social engineering and spear-phishing attacks. They are finding it easier to dupe anxious branch employees because they are overly eager or easily coerced into cooperating with “auditors,” or into clicking on bogus email links. Joshua Perrymon, CEO of PacketFocus, stated that “I think phishing and social engineering are the highest risks currently faced by the financial industry.” 

SonicWall is adding a branch-office box to its NSA family of unified threat management appliances. The company has an E-Class line of NSA high-end security gateways and a lower-capacity NSA line, with the NSA 240 filling in the bottom with a 600Mbps firewall, support for 25 VPN clients and 25 site-to-site VPN tunnels. Throughput with all UTM features turned on is 110Mbps. 

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Core Systems:

Core Systems – Collaborating to Better Serve Customers

COCC - http://www.cocc.com Read Joe Trafton's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/COCC.pdf

Fidelity Information Services - http://www.fidelityinfoservices.com Read John Schooler's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/FIS.pdf

Open Solutions - http://www.opensolutions.com Read Michael Nicastro's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/OSI.pdf

Software and Management Associates - http://www.smausa.com Read Michael W. Taylor's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/SMA.pdf

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Banks are facing numerous challenges to their credit and debit card interchange income, e.g., non-financial institution rivals in payments and the introduction of new payments products, especially for online transactions. Many observers believe that banks must look for ways to create more diversity in their payments mix to offset potential interchange losses. For example, research firm Celent suggests using cards to cross-sell customers a broader range of products through the use of “enterprise rewards” programs that reward customers based on their complete relationship with bank: loans, debit cards, CDs, online bill payment, etc. Also recommended is a Web interface that enables customers to manage their enhanced rewards program.

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The 2008 Study of Consumer Payment Preferences found that 63% of all consumer purchases are made using electronic payment methods. Electronic payments now account for the majority of payments across all three major payment venues (bill, Internet, and in-store) - including bill payment which was the last bastion of checks. Paper-based payments' share of bill payments shrank from 55 percent in 2005 to 38 percent in 2008. Meanwhile, PIN and signature debit cards continue to gain in popularity for in-store payments, accounting for 37% of purchases in 2008, compared to 21% in 1999.

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Internet Access

Nortel announced their latest unified communications solution: the Business Communications Manager 450. The system supports up to 300 employees. It is available from Nortel through strategic vendors such as AT&T, and includes UC features such as: unified messaging, consolidating voice, fax and e-mail messages onto a single device; message forwarding which sends voicemails and faxes to the most convenient desktop or mobile device; “Meet-Me Conferencing” that can establish teleconferences for up to 120 participants; computer telephony integration, which allows the use of third-party applications to control telephone services, such as click-to-call or automatic screen “pop” with consumer information when they call; and “Intelligent Contact Center” functionality, which quickly directs clients to the right contact.

BroadSoft, a provider of VoIP application software, and Microsoft, announced the availability of a hosted unified communications (UC) service that helps organizations improve productivity and enhance communications. The combined solution from BroadSoft and Microsoft is a hosted solution that is built on Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration version 4.5 and is integrated with BroadSoft’s BroadWorks business telephony platform.

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Call Centers

Some contact center experts believe that there should be two parts to evaluating agents: a written test and a performance test. They argue that multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank or true/false questions cannot accurately measure a person’s ability to perform - whether they are a new hire or an established agent. By utilizing real world scenarios, call center managers can improve agent skills in ways that simply wouldn’t be possible if the only testing method were a written exam.

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