Executive Reports

RBR’s “Executive Reports” provide expert opinion on topical issues in the banking automation, ATMs, cards and payments sectors. They provide a mix of information, analysis, insights and implications and are aimed at senior executives or others looking for concise evaluations of key industry issues. 

Executive reports quick links: EMV Chip Applications | Branch Banking | Prepaid Cards | EC Banking Enquiry

Published: April 2010
Pages: 163
Author: Nick Collin
Price: £1,500 (printed – see order form for other formats)

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This executive report reviews the opportunities created by the greatest change to card payments since their inception 60 years ago: the global migration from magnetic stripe to more secure chip card technology. Underpining this shift is the EMV standard.

This report is about EMV chip technology, the type of added value business applications it supports, and how to deploy them. It is aimed at banks, which now have an outstanding opportunity to develop new, chip-based products and build new customer markets, new card acceptance environments, and new revenue streams; and also non-banks which use smartcard technology, in the form of ID cards, transport cards, health cards and so on. A central argument of this report is that for such organisations, it is often possible to develop more cost-effective and open systems by piggy-backing on the existing EMV infrastructure, rather than re-inventing the wheel with proprietary solutions. A third audience is the smartcard vendor community which supplies both banks and non-banks.

Table of Contents:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PART 1 - ABOUT EMV CHIP
   1. Introduction
   2. Technology Development
   3. Smartcards
   4. Card Payments - A Brief Introduction
   5. EMV Chip
   6. Realising the Core Benefits of Chip
PART 2 - ADDED VALUE EMV CHIP APPLICATIONS
   7. Adding Value With EMV Chip
   8. Multi-Payment Card
   9. Remote Chip Authentication (RCA)
   10. E-Purse
   11. Contactless Payment
   12. Data Storage on the Card
   13. Entitlement Applications
   14. Mobile Payments
   15. Bringing It All Together
APPENDICES
  A1: Cryptography – A High Level Overview
  A2: Abbreviations
  A3: References

Branch Banking: Best Practice and Case Studies

Published: September 2009
Pages: 130
Author: David Cavell
Price: £1,200 (printed – see order form for other formats)

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This executive report reviews the ways in which the branch has been developed by a range of institutions, as a means of testing new concepts, and then mobilising best practice for maximum effectiveness. It goes on to discuss how branch-led delivery channel strategies are facilitating the market entry of a number of major new competitors, including the post office and leading retailers.

Each of the institutions discussed in the report has taken its own distinctive approach to the development of a new generation of branches. There are however, a number of factors that are common to success in all branch strategies which this report seeks to illustrate.

The report concludes with a checklist of strategic and practical issues, and observations, illustrated within the report, for branch strategy and delivery channel executives to consider.

The Prepaid Cards Phenomenon

Published: January 2009
Pages: 46
Author: David Cavell
Price: £750 (printed – see order form for other formats)

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Both anecdotal evidence and recent research confirm that the dynamic growth of the global prepaid card sector is set to continue, despite the difficulties being experienced in other parts of the banking industry. Indeed, many of the prepaid applications will do much to assist the development of both valuable new sources of income and process improvements.

This executive report reviews the extensive range of open loop and closed loop prepaid card applications and identifies examples of many that have already proven their ability to deliver major benefits for consumers, business and government. The report also discusses key issues that remain to be resolved at industry level, and looks at how the sector is gearing up to promote greater cooperation and best practice.

What does the European Commission’s retail banking inquiry mean for banks and other industry players?

Published: March 2007
Pages: 33
Author: Rob Walker
Price: £550 (printed – see order form for other formats)

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On 31st January the European Commission published the final report on its sector inquiry into retail banking, covering current accounts and related services and the payment cards industry. The inquiry was initiated in June 2005 because the Commission was concerned about a lack of competition, particularly cross-border competition, in the EU.

The final report identified competition concerns in payment systems (including card payment systems), credit registers, cooperation between banks and the setting of prices and policies; conclusions that will have a significant impact upon the European banking industry in the future.

This Executive Report assesses the key findings of the sector inquiry and provides a strategic analysis of the implications for banks, card organisations and other institutions in four main areas: payments cards, retail banking, clearing and settlement systems and credit registers.