BANK tech-trends News
 

June 22, 2009 - June 26, 2009

• 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

Dell is offering pre-configured systems that include servers, storage modules and software that are pretested and they say can be deployed in hours. The systems are targeted at small- and- medium-size businesses that may lack expertise in server deployment, or to those who want to quickly deploy servers with applications like virtualization. Packages for smaller organizations include Dell's PowerEdge R710 servers, PowerVault MD3000i storage modules and Microsoft’s virtualization suite, with prices starting at $10,000. The prepackaged hardware bundles also include consulting services from Dell to get server infrastructures up and running quickly.

Xerox has introduced two new black-and-white multifunction printers intended for small businesses. The Xerox WorkCentre 3210 and WorkCentre 3220 multifunction printers combine printing, copying, scanning and faxing into one unit, printing at speeds up to 24 pages per minute and 30 ppm, respectively. Both offer 1200 by 1200 dpi image quality and a paper capacity of up to 500 sheets. The pair start at $449.

According to the CTO of APC, servers and other equipment "can run much hotter than people allow," and cooling a datacenter to 68 degrees is rapidly going out of style. He said that newer servers, storage, and networking gear are often certified to run in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. He contends that IT departments can save up to 50 percent of their energy budget just by changing the set point from 68 to 80 degrees.

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ATMs/Kiosks

Electronic Cash Systems has released a new single-terminal solution that allows deployers to process credit card transactions, cash checks, accept bill payments, dispense and load prepaid cards and check IDs all at the same terminal. Other services from ECS include ATM and point-of-sale processing, leasing, billing or ACH services, gift-card printing and processing, prepaid cellular and long distance cards, Western Union money transfer, check-cashing terminals, check authorization, check guarantee and check conversion programs.

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Fraud artists are increasingly using social engineering techniques to perpetrate their scams via call centers. There are two basic biometric techniques for battling call center fraud: "whitelisting" which involves taking a voice print of each customer saying specific words during an enrollment process, or blacklisting which involves creating voice prints of fraud perpetrators after a crime has been committed, and storing those in a company, or even industry-wide database.

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ThreatMetrix has unveiled a new mobile security application for smartphone users called SafeAndSurf - a web browser that securely stores a smartphone user's personal data until they are ready to sign-on to a social network, execute an online banking transaction, or complete an ecommerce purchase. According to the company, "SafeAndSurf is the only mobile security application to safeguard a smartphone user's personal information and also allow the user to automatically insert that information to transaction data fields, a combination that allows consumers to shop, bank and play on their smartphones more safely and easily." SafeAndSurf is available today for use on the Apple iPhone.

A company called Phoolah plans to offer a new skin for your mobile phone that has an RFID chip embedded in it. The "PHOOLAH" technology gives cardholders the ability to select their phone model and select their specific graphical artwork to order their own mobile skin that fits them the best. The specific skin is then printed and fabricated on-demand and sent to them. When the card holder receives the vinyl skin, it is peeled from its backing and "wrapped" onto their mobile phone. The skin is embedded with a contactless payment chip.

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According to an InformationWeek Analytics report on DLP, organizations worry most about the cost of operating and purchasing data leakage prevention (DLP) technology, and they want DLP products to include features that alert and prevent security policy violations. At the top of IT's concerns about DLP are its cost of running and monitoring (67 percent of the respondents) and its price tag (65 percent). Around 40 percent worry about the possible negative impact on their business processes, and 32 percent don't think the technology is mature enough yet to use. Just less than 30 percent are concerned with DLP products generating false positives, and 18 percent with false negatives.

Panda Security announced the availability of its unified threat management (UTM) appliance, Panda GateDefender Integra. Designed for small to mid-sized businesses, the UTM appliance is available in two models: Panda GateDefender Integra SB, a new model designed exclusively for businesses with up to 50 employees and Panda GateDefender Integra 300, for companies with between 50 and 250 stations.

A security startup founded by former Google engineers announced a new, real-time anti-malware monitoring service for websites. Dasient is offering a free beta version of its Web Anti-Malware (WAM) service, as well as beta versions of its premium WAM service and companion quarantining service. Dasient's WAM is basically an anti-malware solution specifically for the Web that monitors sites using behavioral-based technology.

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Online & Mobile Banking:

Saving Costs and Increasing Marketshare

eEminder - http://www.eeminder.com   Read Thomas Utsch's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/eEminder.pdf

Fiserv - http://www.fiserv.com Read Dave Selina's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Fiserv_Selina.pdf

Fiserv - http://www.fiserv.com Read Steve Shaw's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Fiserv_Shaw.pdf

Harland Financial Solutions - http://www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com   Read Jeff Marshall's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/HFS.pdf

MShift - http://www.mshift.com Read Pamela Livingston's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/MShift.pdf

Syphr - http://www.syphronline.com Read Chris Langeley's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Syphr.pdf

TowerGroup - http://www.towergroup.com Read Charul Vyas' comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/TowerGroup.pdf

uMonitor - http://www.umonitor.com Read Dinesh Sheth's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/uMonitor.pdf

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Raddon Financial Group (RFG) recently completed a national survey of consumer attitudes about the nation’s four largest banks, all of which were recipients of TARP money. The survey found a lack of consumer interest in banking with the Big Four (Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo). Thirty seven percent said that they are less likely to continue banking with them, and twelve percent said that they were “not very likely” or “not at all likely” to remain customers. For banks competing against the Big Four, twelve percent represents seven million customer households that may be looking for a new community bank.

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According to the latest research from Forrester Research, the total number of U.S. online bill payment households will increase from 48 million to 63 million. Forrester predicts slow but steady growth in EBPP over the next five years, saying the market is not yet saturated here. Such factors contributing to the increase include the younger, more tech-savvy generation who rarely write checks, the growing realization by consumers of EBPP's speed and convenience, and the "green" features and cost savings of EBPP.

A recent survey from the Gartner Group found that over half of all consumers earning more than $30,000 in the U.S. bank on the Internet, while among lower-income households, 25 percent use online banking. "Over the past several years, online banking has been seen as a way of appealing to more affluent and younger clients," said David Schehr, Gartner research director. "However, what is becoming clear is that the overall level of consumer Internet use and the increasingly narrow segment of nonusers are shifting the dynamics of who is using online banking and what they seek from it." The report concludes that banks "need to add more payment options, deploy online and mobile alerts with greater visibility, and continue to hammer home the message that online bill payment is free."

Mortgagebot has released their new Benchmarks 2009 report, and the bi-annual report finds that:

• The online channel continues to generate more loans. Approximately 40% of lenders take more than 25% of their applications via the online channel - up from only one percent at the start of the decade.

• More and more borrowers prefer the online channel. During 2008, the number of people completing online mortgage applications increased in every demographic category from 30 to 69 years of age. The “Gen X” demographic continued to outperform other groups, with nearly one in three of all online mortgage applications coming from adults in the 30 to 39-year-old bracket.

• Online borrowers’ household income is increasing. Despite a challenging economy in 2008, the household income of online borrowers rose to $93,717 - an increase of 10 percent compared to 2006.

• Today’s online borrowers have increasingly solid credit ratings. The average credit score of online borrowers continues to climb - rising from an average of 709 in 2006 to 732 in 2008.

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Verizon has introduced Verizon Enterprise Center Mobile which is a tool that is designed to help IT Departments receive and access information in near-real time on a mobile device. With Verizon Enterprise Center Mobile service, administrators can log in to their account from a mobile device to monitor network alarms. It also allows them to create and track trouble tickets, initiate circuit tests, obtain scheduled circuit maintenance event notifications, access network performance statistics, and directly query their network inventory.

NEC Unified Solutions just launched UC for Enterprise Collaboration, offering a video, Web conferencing and collaboration application. The company also launched its Hosted Collaboration as a Web-based service with the same features and functionality yet designed for the small and midsize business market. The applications incorporate audio, Web and video components for live online meetings, connecting PC users with a broadband Internet connection using a basic Webcam and microphone. Features of both UCE and Hosted Collaboration include: video conferencing with one to 16 video windows open during a conference; VoIP that lets participants converse using standard PC speaker/microphones or headsets; a freeform whiteboard; desktop, applications, and computer sharing (provided users give other participants control); and polls/surveys.

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In addition to using IVR in traditional ways as a greeting, routing and self-service tool, some call centers are tapping the IVR for caller satisfaction surveys. These centers simply invite callers (while they are waiting in queue or at the end of a call) to rate their experiences after the call by completing a very brief survey. Success with IVR post-call survey systems (as with traditional IVR applications) depends on how well the system is designed and deployed. The consensus among post-call survey experts is that surveys should contain between six and eight focused questions, and take callers no more than a minute or so to complete. They also strongly recommend informing callers of the survey length in the invitation message to so that they are aware of how brief the survey is and, thus, will be more willing to participate in and complete it.

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