Communications, Standards and Messaging

Abstract

One of the most visible signs of technology deployment in financial services is the way in which interconnectivity has thrived in the last few years. Communications have improved both in quality and volume both on the retail and wholesale sides of the industry. In retail, mobile telephony is forming the core of convergence for many banks with television, once the expected winner, being a poor third. In wholesale, the industry cooperative Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) continues to dominate although few recognise its multiple roles in the industry, and its foothold in the US geographically and in funds from a market perspective are still embryonic.