RFID In Other Banking Areas

While there are certainly no claims that RFID will alleviate the issues with the mortgage crisis that are still looming, banks are still investing in it with the hope for future returns.  As the economy show signs of hope banks such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo are increasing their investmentin RFID

The focus of this RFID adoption is not primarily in customer service though. Financial institutions are using RFID technology for asset tracking and compliance since Sarbes Oxley adoption in 2002.  The asset tracking is centered on theft preventions of mobile assets and inventory automation.  Wells Fargo has implemented RFID in several of its data centers for asset tracking.

 Banking may not be the first industry on everyone’s mind when the benefits of RFID are discussed but there are definitely benefits in areas other than customer service improvement within banking. Additionally the efficiencies recognized in other areas could free up resources to be used to enhance customer service.

ZashPay Gets off to a Fast Start

In one of my previous posts I introduced ZashPay, a Fiserv product that facilitate person to person payments.   It seems that ZashPay is becoming quite popular even in the midst of competition from competitors such as PayPay.. Fiserv Inc. reports its 3-month-old ZashPay service is making headway with client financial institutions. The service now claims some 400,000 registered users; while more than 400 banks and credit unions have signed on to offer it, with 100 of those having gone live.

Fiserv, a major provider of banking and payments technology, launched ZashPay in July with 200 financial institutions already signed up but with a roster of heavy-duty rivals to contend with. While Fiserv enjoys a built-in advantage with 3,100 client institutions for its bill-pay processing service, companies like PayPal Inc., Obopay Inc., and CashEdge Inc. have been active in marketing P2P payment capabilities to banks

While Fiserv expected ZashPay to be used chiefly for smaller transactions such as payments to babysitters or shares of dinner tabs, this is not what the company has seen in the early going. Instead, tickets are averaging $150, indicating that people are instead using the service for such payments as textbook fees for children at college or fees to contractors like painters or landscapers, notes Steve Shaw, director of strategic marketing for electronic banking services at Fiserv,
Usage is also more frequent than Fiserv expected, Shaw says, with those who have adopted the service making three to four payments a month.

YES Bank’s Branch of the Future

In one of my early postings I described the system that YES bank was developing. YES’ intention is to be a technological leader in banking in India.  They have equipped an entire branch with state of the art technology, all aimed at providing a high-quality, customer-centric service.

The technologies in place at the branch include an Automated Teller Cash Dispenser Machine, Touch Screen Internet Kiosks, Speech enabled voice recognition phone banking, Wi Fi connectivity and a Knowledge facility among other facilities.  YES also has a lounge designed as an exclusive banking enclave offering privacy and comfort to customers wishing to discuss business and finance in a first-class environment.

YES prides itself on its knowledge driven approach to banking, and a superior customer experience for its retail, corporate and emerging corporate banking clients. Their aim is to”transform retail branches into 'Service Oriented Advisory Centers' thus shifting the focus from providing vanilla transactions to high-end value added services through the innovative use of technology and futuristic branch design.”  Thus far they have done an excellent job in this transformation!