Financial IT speaks with Sandeep Chouhan Group Head Operations & Technology at Mashreq Bank.

Global Operations and Technology Leader in Financial Services with over 30 years of experience across blue chip organisations: Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Tata, Mashreq Bank, Commercial bank across Emerging Markets, Europe and USA.

Financial IT:  Can you please tell more about Mashreq Bank and your background?

SatchelPay, one of the leading European electronic money institutions, has been cleared by the Bank of Lithuania to resume all suspended services. This comes after the Bank of Lithuania imposed a temporary hold on selected SatchelPay services, following concerns raised by an audit that took place last spring. SatchelPay was immediately informed of the positive decision by the Bank of Lithuania, which communicated that all suspended services may be resumed.

●           About 50% of Polish adults (12 million people) regularly use mobile banking apps to manage their money, according to the conclusions from the newly published report "Mobile Banking and Mobile Payments in Poland 2019".
●           Over 40% of them are “mobile-only”, not using any other channel (branch, online banking, etc.) to access banking services. Since September 2018, the number of “mobile-only” customers in Poland has increased by more than 50%.

For retailers and consumers alike, Black Friday is one of the busiest times of the year - and it’s only getting more widespread. Analysing Ingenico transaction data over Black Friday weekend last year showed that not only did overall sales volumes rise by 25%, but the millionth transaction for the day was hit at a staggeringly early 6:33am. To most businesses, it will come as no surprise that online sales continue to trend upwards, but what most don’t realise is that – contrary to popular belief – the Highstreet isn’t dead.

For small businesses, Black Friday can loom in the calendar. It’s the ultimate international peak sales day that many merchants want to get in on, yet many feel too small to compete. While eCommerce giants like Amazon can make extreme reductions to their prices, smaller rivals simply cannot offer the same discounts, and keeping up with increased transaction volumes poses a real issue.

European webshop owners may soon bid their payment concerns farewell. A new partnership between two of the most innovative players in the European payment industry will ensure a smooth and streamlined payment process when selling goods online.

Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the banking software company, today announced it has extended its CSR initiative, Adopt iT, to deliver a scholarship program for students at Anna University in Chennai, India. Temenos will award need- and merit-based scholarships to qualifying 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th year students for the next three years and provide employment opportunities to outstanding scheme graduates.

Guy Mettrick, Industry Lead- Financial Services at Appian Corporation at MoneyLive Summit 2019

The financial services industry is starting to wake up to the idea of ecosystems and partnerships between challengers and traditional banks. In the coming year we will see the discussion evolve from old vs new and see real-world examples of financial services organisations of all shapes and sizes working together.