Whistleblowing
In the current payment services market, the revenues from cash management and trade finance have positively impacted total banks revenues. This is on average between five to 20 per cent of total revenues and between 15 to 40 per cent of the corporate segment. This trend has been further amplified by the financial crisis and payment businesses have consequently recorded a global trend of positive growth. In fact, European countries which have embraced cashless payments have achieved even greater rates of growth in transaction volumes, demonstrating the positive effect innovation can have on the bottom line.
In this new strategic dimension, transaction banking developments will face new challenges, such as intense regulatory pressures, which aim to increase transparency and restore confidence in the market. The European regulation agenda is still dominated by SEPA. At the same time, a number of new European legislative initiatives are nearing completion: the PSD2 (Payment Services Directive) which opens up the possibility for new entrants to mediate the relationship with customers, European regulation on interchange fees for transactions with payment cards and the guidelines issued by the European Central Bank to ensure the security of transactions arranged by innovative channels.
The new regulatory obligations, together with the European digital agenda, aim to create a single digital market through open, flexible and innovative eGovernments. This environment will facilitate the move from domestic payment services to the globalisation of services. However, in order to be successful, transactional services will need to be available in real time both in terms of reporting and applicative operations.
