FMI
Credit card use doubles in South Korea
SOUTH KOREA - Apparently boosted by a range of government measures encouraging the use of creditor cards, the daily use of credit cards almost doubled in the first half of this year from a year ago, the Bank of Korea said on 5 August.
Bank charges given support by Australian study
AUSTRALIA - A study by Macquarie University claims that banks are justified in charging high service fees.
OFT to become payments systems regulator
UK - Competition watchdog - UK treasury believes new powers will cut £1bn 'excess profits' made by banks.
Croatian payment settlement institute to be axed
CROATIA - The Croatian Payment Settlement Institute (ZAP) is to be abolished. Its functions will be divided between the central bank and commercial banks.
Credit card growth blamed for spiralling debt
AUSTRALIA - The proliferation of credit cards has contributed to the bad management of personal debt, according to NRMA Building Society research.
EU want equality of charges for payments
ARTICLE - EC news release, 25 July, Commission proposes principle of equality of charges for domestic payments and cross-border payments in euros.
Eurostat launches online economic database
UK - The European Union's statistical office Eurostat has launched a "Euro-indicators" subscription database aimed at economists and other professionals, some of whom complain that detailed data are hard to obtain.
Bank of Uganda introduces new cheques
UGANDA - Bank of Uganda (BOU) has announced the introduction of new cheques in a bid to standardise and improve the cheque operation system.
Indian committee suggests overseas clearing agent
INDIA - A committee set up to study the Indian financial system's payment and settlement modes has recommended creating an overseas clearing agent and a guarantee fund for foreign exchange clearing, a central bank statement said on 16 July.
Bangladesh central bank launches website
BANGLADESH - Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank, on 11 July opened its website to allow access to economic information and financial data.
Indonesia c-bank implements new settlement system
INDONESIA - Bank Indonesia (BI), the Indonesian central bank, has implemented the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system in Bandung. RTGS facilitates high-speed, high-value transactions. BI will also use RTGS to monitor the liquidity of banks and as an…
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Research
RESEARCH - Kevin J. Stiroh at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has published an article titled Investing in Information Technology: Productivity Payoffs for U.S. Industries. The article is published in Current Issues in Economics and Finance, June…
China to unify mark on banking cards
CHINA - China's central bank issued a circular Monday demanding that all commercial banks adopt a unified "Yinlian" mark on their banking cards for the purpose of settling in the local currency, Renminbi.
Polish Computerland To Provide Software to Bank
POLAND - Polish computer systems integrator Computerland will provide its software systems to the domestic central bank (Narodowy Bank Polski - NBP).
Euro € - Reynders wants euro boost at cash machine
BELGIUM - Didier Reynders, the Belgian finance minister, on 28 June proposed making euro notes available to consumers on a limited basis prior to next year's January changeover, to help reduce the risk of queues and delays forecast by retail groups.
Third edition of the ECB's "blue book"
EUROPE - The European Central Bank (ECB) is today releasing to the public a report entitled "Payment and securities settlement systems in the European Union", also known as the "Blue Book".
Mobile phone plan may hasten cashless society
EUROPE - The FT in London reports on 28 June that three major mobile phone manufacturers are negotiating with leading banks so that mobile phones can be made to act as a type of creidt card.
Bank of Canada outsources 500 jobs
CANADA - The Bank of Canada said on 27 June it has hired Electronic Data Systems Corp. to help run a program that sells Canada Savings Bonds and other types of debt to the public, cutting the central bank's payroll by a third.
Computer law to fight bank fraud
US - The House Financial Services Committee approved legislation on 27 June that encourages regulators to link computer systems to help crack down on financial fraud.
Euro € - Warning on readiness for euro
USA - Oracle, the world's second largest software company, has warned that companies could hit an "information technology bottleneck" in the run-up to the introduction of euro notes and coins on 1 January.
Hacker fears prompt security check for Bacs
UK - The bank system that runs direct debits and electronic payments, Bacs, is reviewing its security amid calls for tighter protection against hackers.
Bank Indonesia Real Time Gross Settlement BI-RTGS
ARTICLE - Bank Indonesia began operating a Real Time Gross Settlement system in Bandung area on 5 June. With this system, inter-bank payments are settled in real time where the participant bank's accounts can be debited/credited several times per day.
Pricing of interbank payment services
RESEARCH - John A Weinberg, Vice President and Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has written a discussion paper titled 'The Pricing of Interbank Payment Services in a Changing Competitive Environment'. The paper was completed while he was…
Bank of England revamps its web site
UK - The Bank of England has transformed its online presence with a complete makeover to its external website and details on the Centre for Central Banking Studies handbooks.