Legal battles over MasterCard and Visa’s interchange fees have raged for years in various markets around the world, but now the European Commission is pushing ahead with legislation that will cap the level of the fees, which will have major repercussions for card-issuing banks and the payments market.
Once regarded as national treasures, over the past few years many exchanges have been evolving into cross-border operations, focused on capturing larger market shares. Following this wave of consolidation and collaboration, however, it still remains to be seen whether bigger really means better.
Addressing the economic needs of the billions of individuals at the base of the global pyramid has long been seen as one of the great opportunities left for financial institutions. However, this section of society is now beginning to come up with its own solutions – thanks to a spate of 'reverse innovation' – leaving the large developing world lenders superfluous to its needs.
An ageing population and shrinking labour pool have put a strain on Singapore's economy, leading to calls for it to be restructured to raise productivity and bring about price stability. This will come through more productivity-led growth and a stronger focus on macroprudential policies.
Bangladesh's central bank governor, Atiur Rahman, spent an academic career championing the cause of the country's poor. He is now – through the implementation of a number of socially responsible economic policies – putting his theories into practice, and with some success.
Japan's ageing population may be a burden on the country's younger generations, but the older population is proving to be a profitable target market for the country's banks, which are addressing the needs of this growing market segment with new products and services.
With the deadline for the Single Euro Payments Area looming, there is much speculation over who is actually ready to migrate, with many small and medium-sized enterprises lagging behind and businesses of all sizes struggling to implement systems for direct debits.
With South Korea's underdeveloped capital markets struggling under the growing weight of the country's rapidly expanding conglomerates, the pressure is on for the sector to evolve and mature – with the government, regulators and banks all taking steps to achieve this goal. But will new regulations and improved infrastructure be enough to transform the industry?