The daily updates in the media about the path of interest rates for next year are unhelpful. Whereas the markets are predicting a decline in 2024 there is much disagreement amongst policy makers about how soon the declines will happen.

The rise in interest rates is driving bank profitability in a way not seen since before the Global Financial Crisis. Lower provisions have added further to the record figures. Banks’ Net interest margins continue to expand despite competition from money market funds.

The ECB recently published its annual card fraud report for 2021 which shows CNP fraud at its lowest levels since records began and a 12% reduction on the previous year.

The announcement of a new rescue plan for Credit Suisse wont fully settle the nerve of investors and depositors. Similarities with the disastrous forced takeover of HBOS by Lloyds Bank in 2008 after Lehman Brothers collapsed. The problems at Credit Suisse are widely known but the speed with which this rescue is being implemented is dramatic.

Recently published data from the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) shows that US banks are benefiting strongly from recent interest rate rises and not passing on the benefits to their customers.

Back in 2010, when the world was still reeling from a global recession, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was enacted in the US, a law which affected almost every part of the nation’s financial services industry.

AMEX released its results for Q2 in July which show that its interest income has grown nearly 80% in just four years, since around the time Visa and Mastercard fees were capped in the EU. This means that merchants are enabling ever greater profits for the company as it continues to pivot from charge cards, where cardholders are required to pay the balance in full each month, to a provider of credit.

Apple Card takes on Revolut, Starling Bank and Monzo

VISA and MasterCard interchange claims. Hundreds of merchants from across Europe have, and continue to, file claims against the card schemes after early adopters such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco paved the away. Mastercard recently stated that it has already resolved £2bn of EU claims through judgment or settlement. The claims allege that multi-lateral interchange fees (“MIFs”) restrict competition in the acquiring market and therefore raise prices for both merchants and consumers.

Virtual Bank Accounts (VBA) offer a much better way for companies to manage their banking arrangements and their cash. VBAs are also called Virtual Account Management (VAM) or in-house bank accounts. virtual bank accountsUsing virtual bank accounts companies can generate significant cost savings.

It’s business as usual for American Express Company according to its 10-k recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington.

The card payments ecosystem will process $ 30 trillion in payments next year. The card payments industry is growing rapidly, fuelled by the shift to online and mobile payments. It is changing the way business is done and the way people are spending their money.

The amount of international visitors to Ireland is growing each year. As a result, Irish businesses are accepting more and more non-domestic Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards. Ireland is not alone in experiencing increases in international travel.

In my last post I discussed the challenges that merchants can face when accessing detail related to their customers’ card transactionsto enable them to validate merchant service charges. It is only when merchants gain access to transaction level detail via (1) reports sent over by their acquirer or (2) through their provider’s online portal, that the real challenge in validating merchant service charges begins.

Since the day it was founded in 2009, Bankhawk Analytics has been focusing on analyzing corporate banking data by combining banking expertise and the latest technology. By doing so, Bankhawk successfully helped many organizations to reduce banking costs and transform financial management by improving operational efficiency and treasury governance.