E-finance-lab at the House of Finance : about us

The financial services industry is believed to be on the verge of a dramatic [r]evolution. A substantial redesign of its value chains aimed at reducing costs, providing more efficient and flexible services and enabling new products and revenue streams is imminent. But there seems to be no clear migration path nor goal which can cast light on the question where the finance industry and its various players will be and should be in a decade from now. The mission of the E-Finance Lab is the development and application of research methodologies in the financial industry that promote and assess how business strategies and structures are shared and supported by strategies and structures of information systems. Important challenges include the design of smart production infrastructures, the development and evaluation of advantageous sourcing strategies and smart selling concepts to enable new revenue streams for financial service providers in the future. Overall, our goal is to contribute methods and views to the realignment of the E-Finance value chain. ..

The value of independent perspectives: a focus on the Twelfth District Boards of Directors

Federal Reserve banks - Directors ; Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco ; Federal Reserve District, 12th

Modernizing payment systems in emerging economies

The authors address the following questions in this overview of payment systems: What is a payment system? How can efficient systems contribute to the development of modern, market-based financial institutions and markets? What elements are necessary for payment systems to operate efficiently? What are the operational characteristics of a modern payment system? What is the World Bank approach to selected payment system initiatives, design, and development? Effective, efficient payment systems, they conclude, are vital for the economic development of emerging economies. Efficient payment systems help promote the development of commerce, enhance economic policy oversight, control the risk inherent in moving large values, and reduce the financial, capital and human resources devoted to the transfer of payments. Many emerging economies lack the financial and technical resources to develop such systems. Many turn technical resources to develop such systems. Many turn to the World Bank and other international agencies for assistance. Unfortunately, some believe that the entire solution for an effective payment system rests in obtaining modern computer hardware and believe the World Bank's sole contribution is to finance hardware costs. Hardware procurement alone will not solve problems of payment systems. These countries need organizational plans and structure for national payment systems before they spend money on computer equipment. They often lack the expertise to design and operate modern payment systems, so they may need technical assistance from financial experts before they invest in systems development. The design of a new payment system should be kept simple. Many emerging economies lack the infrastructure and banking sophistication to leapfrog from basic to state-of-the-art payment systems. The first task is to fix the most serious problems. The second is to upgrade the current systems incrementally, to meet basic standards of timeliness, security, and reliability. As these improvements are made, the countries can turn their attention to long-term, advanced solutions. Each country's payments system is unique. To simply import another country's system without adjusting for the target country's geography, infrastructure, banking and legal structures, culture, and needs could lead to suboptimal solutions. Development of the system should follow a disciplined plan for defining the needs of users and for organizing the project team and project goals.Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Financial Intermediation,Information Technology

Electronic Payment Systems Development in a Developing Country: The Role of Institutional Arrangements

This paper examines the institutional arrangements in the development of Nigeria’s electronic payment system (EPS) using a new institutional economics (NIE) perspective. A case study of Nigeria’s EPS was carried out using semi structured interviews to collect data from 18 participating stakeholders; a thematic method was used for the data analysis. The study suggests that a well-functioning set of arrangements, which is lacking in the institutional setup in Nigeria may be required to build necessary institutional capacity suitable for development of safe and efficient electronic payment systems. Although the technological payment infrastructure in Nigeria is modern and of comparable standard, the failure to put in place reliable and relevant market and collaborative agreements has not enabled full exploitation of the available infrastructure. Current governance structures show elements of power struggle and distrust between stakeholders (players and regulators), hampering the creation of an environment that would sustain free market economic activities and effective development of payment systems

Money creation and control from Islamic perspective

This paper deals with familiar facts in monetary economics from an unfamiliar angle. It argues that it is not factual to regard the legal tender money and bank credit as of different genus: they work in tandem to the same ends in an economy, conventional or Islamic. Also, it does not matter what serves as money – solid gold or flimsy paper – for keeping its value stable; only the blind would argue that staff is indispensable for walking. Money is just an instrument: it was never nor can ever be classified into Islamic and non-Islamic. What it does – good or bad – depends on how we use it. Money does not generate crises; its mismanagement does. It follows that the refuge the world is searching today from recurring financial crises does not lie in money substance: history testifies that national economies could not remain turmoil-free during the centuries of the yellow metal sway over the monetary scene. The paper concludes that it is the human factor that has been the source of good or evil for mankind including money matters. And the quality of human factor true religion can alone improve: morality without faith is rudderless.Key words: Monetary policies; Gold standard, managed currency; Islamic banking; Central banks

AI, Robotics, and the Future of Jobs

This report is the latest in a sustained effort throughout 2014 by the Pew Research Center's Internet Project to mark the 25th anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-Lee (The Web at 25).The report covers experts' views about advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, and their impact on jobs and employment

A regional technology transfer program

The proliferation of online searching capabilities among its industrial clients, changes in marketing staff and direction, use of Dun and Bradstreet marketing service files, growth of the Annual Service Package program, and services delivered to clients at the NASA funded North Carolina Science and Technology Research Center are described. The library search service was reactivated and enlarged, and a survey was conducted on the NC/STRC Technical Bulletin's effectiveness. Several quotations from clients assess the overall value of the Center's services

Users’ Perceptions of Information Systems Implementation in Banking Institutions in a Developing Nation

Information systems projects are undertaken by institutions due to perceived need and benefits that such systems promise. The understanding of users’ perception of ICT implementation enables organizations benefit from such investments. Although research on IS investments in developed nations abound, there is scare research on developing nations especially those south of the Sahara. This paper examined the success of electronic banking systems implementation in a developing nation environment. We evaluated users’ perception on seven dimensions of IS success using one national and one international bank. Our results show that users of both the national and international bank had high perception of IS implementations success although the Natbank’s responders had higher perception than IntBank’s responders on all seven dimensions. Further, the differences in users’ perception of information quality, system quality, information quality and intend to use/Use were statistically significant while the difference in user satisfaction and net benefits were not. While this study is exploratory in nature, the results provide a guide for further studies on success of IS implementation in developing nations