New Card Technologies in Retail Banking: Competition and Collaboration in the 1990s

This thesis examines the alternative bank card technologies being considered for retail banking in the UK in the 1990s. Influential organisations suggest that this technology needs updating, and various new technologies are being developed. The thesis identifies the most influential organisations within four groups considered key for retail banking technology: the technology supply industry, the adopting industry, the market and other key players. The observations and analysis in this thesis are based on information provided by each of these four key groups, through written Surveys, face-to-face and telephone interviews, and from a range of written sources. A selection of past and present bank card trials are also described, with particular focus on the introduction of smart card technology. Results confirm that the innovation process in the retail banking industry accords with a highly interactive model, with feedback loops throughout the innovation process. The adopting industry is seen to follow the innovation process in the opposite direction to that experienced in manufacturing industry. Thus, smaller incremental innovations eventually lead to more radical changes which effect complete systems change on a national basis - a ‘reverse cycle’ model of innovation. The thesis analyses the evolution of competitive and cooperative strategies, particularly between banks and their collective organisations, building societies and retailers. The thesis concludes that the dominant institutions driving card technology innovation and standards globally are the international debit and credit card corporations Mastercard, VISA and Europay, operating through their organisation EMV. In the UK, the major clearing banks, and their ABACS organisation, and the large retailers are also key actors. The thesis suggests that smart card is the most likely to be adopted

Electronic Payment Systems Observatory (ePSO). Newsletter Issues 9-15

Abstract not availableJRC.J-Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (Seville

The alignment of the Saudi legal system with the international rules of electronic commerce

This thesis deals with fundamental questions of compatibility andadaptation in the regulation of electronic commerce as it impacts on the normsand precepts of Islamic law. It finds that in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, theresponse of the religious and civil authorities to the realignment of its laws ofcontract, in order to encompass the innovations and changes implicit in theelectronic environment, have been inhibited by misgivings about the nature ofthe electronic environment itself and by fears that some of the protectiveaspects of traditional contract formation will be lost.Based upon a detailed comparison of the various stages and components ofthe electronic and traditional contract, the thesis finds that the principlesunderlying Islamic law are not violated or substantively threatened by the newforms. It is shown that laws and treaties, created at an international level ofscrutiny and discussion, are now broadly in place and accepted by most of the‘developed’ world, with necessary allowance being made for future innovationand change.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is recommended, can only make progressin this field by a policy of greater engagement, both in respect of the nature ofthe electronic contract itself, and also with the arbiters of compromise in bodiessuch as the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation. It finds this progress to be essential to the health and well-being of Saudi society as awhole, and it suggests that any misgivings currently felt by the nation’slegislators are based more on misapprehension than on objective realities

The property finance business in South Africa

Problem Statement: The business of property finance has not been properly documented in South Africa. Available resource material focuses on the perspective of the property developer and investor largely neglecting the business of property finance. Thus comprehensive information on this business was not available to students and researchers This study set out to correct this deficiency. Research Procedure: Key property finance personnel in the major banks in the Republic of South Africa were interviewed to establish how the business of property finance is conducted. Jointly the interviewees represent 77% by volume of business over a period of two years A parallel process of literature research was undertaken to compliment the interview research and provide technical depth to the findings. Findings: The empirical and literature research results were combined to comprehensively document the processes, structures, systems, productsBusiness ManagementM. Com. (Business Management

Identity crimes in the UK: An examination of the strategies employed by front-line practitioners in the public and private sector to detect, prevent and mitigate against this crime

Identity related crimes are becoming increasingly prevalent in modern society. It is a crime type that concerns and impacts governments, private institutions and consumers worldwide. The aim of this research was to provide a better insight into how this crime is perceived by government and commercial institutions in the UK (including their views on offenders and victims), to review the processes employed by the public and private sector to assess risk and develop mitigation and prevention strategies and, in doing so, to discover how the most prominent criminological theories contribute to these efforts. Its final aim was to examine the current state and effectiveness of the collaborations and partnerships which have been developed across the public/private sector spectrum to understand and combat this crime. The methodology employed to undertake this research was based on conducting interviews with the key identity fraud and crime practitioners within major public and private organisations. Qualitative research was used in order to generate as much information as possible to form ideas. In addition, documents were also examined to complement the data collected from interviews. The researcher, due to previous employment within the UK financial sector dealing payment fraud, was ideally placed to access, and generate participation across government, law enforcement and other commercial organisations. The study highlights the current thinking and approaches by front-line identity crime prevention practitioners in defining, perceiving, measuring, policing, detecting, preventing and mitigating identity crime. It also highlights how heavily existing situational crime prevention techniques are being used to combat this issue and how they are complemented by partnership approaches and, most importantly, data-sharing which is widely accepted by practitioners as being a vitally effective tool in dealing with this issue. Problems exist in the majority of these areas with the central concern being the lack of leadership from the government in taking ownership of this insidious and escalating crime type which creates commercial and individual victims but also significantly, enables serious crimes such as human and drug trafficking and terrorism. Equally pressing is the need for the commercial sector, instead of treating identity crime as a phenomenon to be denied or ignored (or as one which needs to be accepted as a cost of doing business) to improve data sharing, strengthen its defences and review its approach to the treatment and support of victims

Bank Documentation - The Standard Terms Governing Current Accounts in Singapore: The Customer's Duty of Care, the Unauthorised Debit and the Allocation of Risk

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

In the shadow of Elisabeth: a history of the battle for Bilston Iron and Steelworks, c. 1967-1980

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.In July 1981, the last sections of the state-owned Bilston steelworks were unceremoniously shut, thus ending two centuries of hot metal production in the Black Country, the onetime workshop of the world. The devastating closure of this profitable facility occurred despite a decade-long grassroots defence campaign spearheaded by local rank and file workers. Using previously unexplored primary source material and oral testimony, this thesis provides a detailed analysis of the battle to save Bilston works. It explores how, in the midst of the 1970s steel crisis, an exceptionally diligent type of worker activist adapted traditional production practices to ensure the survival of the plant. With Bilston’s steelmen maintaining their uniquely profitable record, bungling industry officials conspired to marginalise their plant in order to justify a deeply flawed state-sponsored rationalisation programme. At the heart of this process were the activities of a senior and divisional management team who systematically rationalised the Bilston facility, whilst seeking to cynically undermine shop-floor solidarity. The thesis, therefore, highlights the ways in which management prerogative impacted the lives of steelworkers and their families. The work critically examines the actions of a small band of shop stewards who mobilised into a multi-union local action committee tasked with saving 2,300 jobs. A key focus here is their chosen strategic framework. As experienced activists, they initially recruited a cross-party coalition of political figures to convince sympathetic policymakers to absorb the facility into a medium-term operating plan. With the unfolding crisis prompting a less forgiving political landscape, Bilston’s enterprising shop stewards made a tactical transition, engaging in concerted collective direct action to persuade conservative union leaders to petition decisionmakers on their behalf. The thesis offers a critique of institutional behaviour, revealing how both the state and moderate steel unions undermined Bilston by repeatedly acquiescing to management prerogative. Abandoned by union and Government bureaucrats, the campaign eventually crumbled from within. The research identifies the ways in which ambivalent officials merely sat idly by as management undermined a profitable state concern before insidiously harassing its conscientious employees. The thesis concludes with an account of the legacy of the battle for Bilston works, demonstrating how redundant steelmen, politicised by their experiences, played essential roles in the post-industrial social, cultural and political culture of the town

The Amalgamated Society of Engineers, 1880-1914 : a study of trade union government, politics, and industrial policy

In 1880 the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) consisted of largely autonomous local trade societies seeking unilaterally to regulate the terns and conditions under which engineering craftsmen were employed. The Executive Council (which spent most of its time administering the system of centralised benefits) consisted of part-time members drawn from, and elected by, the London members. In 1892 the first full-time Executive Council was elected as part of a general reform of the Society's government; the reforms did not change the A. S. E. 's craft character rather they were designed to improve the execution of traditional policies. As the climax of a long campaign for the eight-hour day the Executive Council called a strike of its London members in 1897. The ensuing dispute, which the Employers extended to all districts, lasted thirty weeks, and was ended on the terms laid down by the recently formed Engineering Employers' Federation (EEF). Under the terms of settlement the A. S. E. accepted a procedure for avoiding disputes and Management's right to prerogative over matters Which previously it had claimed unilateral control. The Society disaffiliated from the T. U. C. because of the Parliamentary Committee's failure to tobilize trade union support for the engineers eight-hour struggle. Affiliation was made to the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) in the false hope that this Federation would augment the A. S. E. 'a industrial strength. It is convenient to discuss the A. S. E. 's reaction to the 1897-98 defeat and its consequences under headings which indicate the main themes. Technical change From the mid-1880's something approaching a revolution occurred in machine technology based upon improved high speed steels. The establishment of the EEF and the sustained attack upon craft methods of production can be largely explained by the employers' determination to fully exploit the new technology. Government Constitutional authority within the A. S. E. was divided between the Executive Council, a lay Delegate Meeting, and a lay Final Appeal Court. There was no policy making body. The Society was governed according to the rule book which was unaffected by the terms under which the 1697-98 dispute was settled. Consequently it was difficult for the Executive Council to develop collective bargaining and to restrain district committees, from acting in breach of the agreement, but within the rules of the Society. Both the Delegate Meeting and the Final Appeal Court tended to defend local as against central decision making authority. The Executive Council's action in 1903, withdrawing benefit from members of the Clyde striking against a wages reduction, led to a serious weakening in their authority. Three Executive Councilmen were defeated when seeking re-election, the Final Appeal Court partially over-ruled the Executive's benefit decision, and the 1904 Delegate Meeting limited the Council's right to intervene in district matters. In 1912 after a complicated dispute the Delegate Meeting dismissed the Executive Council from office. This assertion of authority by a rank and file body was not overtly influenced by syndicalist ow industrial unionist ideas. Industrial Policy The Executive Ceuneil intermittently and uncertainly tried to develep collective bargaining to replace lest unilateral regulation while powerful district committees attempted to retain their previous methods of operation. In 1902 the Executive concluded the Carlisle agreement for controlling the introduction of the premium bonus. This proved to be an unpopular agreement and probably discredited collective bargaining. The Executive elected in 1913, to replace the one dismissed by the 1912 Delegate Meeting, after a ballot vote of members, ended the Carlisle Agreement and the general agreement with the EEF. Eventually the York memorandum was approved by the members, which although it incorporated provisions which speeded up the procedure for avoiding disputes, continued those aspects which to many ASE members, were the humiliating terms under which the Society had been defeated. After 1898 with the Society formally precluded from negotiations on management matters an informal system of work place, industrial relations began to develop based upon district committees and the widespread appointment of shop stewards. Polities During these years the A. S. E. became involved in politics for the first time. All ballets on political questions were very small. The A. S. E. affiliated to the Labour Party but neither the Independent Labour Party (ILP) nor the Social Democratic Federation (SDF) were active within the Society. George Barnes (General Secretary 1896-1908) was an influential supporter of the Socialist trade union alliance upon which the Labour Party was established. In 1914 the A. S. E. members voted against raising a political levy under the 1913 trade union act. From the turn of the century most officials and active members supported the Labour Party and it was sometimes argued that the Society's problems (which were industrial) could be solved by political action. How, was never clear. The developing sympathy among A. S. E. members for a view of trade union democracy which favoured control exercised through district or workshop organisation casts some light on the development of the shop stewards movement during the War

Fraud in the banking industry: a case study of Kenya

Fraud has become a worldwide problem that is not set to abate in the near future. It is eroding the profitability of organisations with devastating effects on firm solvency. This research aims to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of fraud in Kenya’s financial institutions and focuses on the Kenyan banking industry, which includes forty three commercial banks of local, national, regional and international standing. The research conducted uses a theoretical framework based on the Fraud Triangle to analyse the incidence of fraud and the motivations of fraudsters. The research uses a sample of audit, fraud, security and other managers involved in fraud fighting from thirty banks across the industry to conduct a mixed qualitative and quantitative study based on a survey of sixty respondents and seventeen semi-structured interviews. The research found that fraud is considered to be a major problem within the Kenyan banking industry, although the relative size of frauds conducted was relatively small and unsophisticated. Fraud detection and prevention methods used in the industry were standard and no different from global standards. The fraud triangle worked effectively to predict the patterns of fraud described by respondents. However from this study it is argued that the Fraud Triangle is not as effective in explaining the collusive and predatory nature of the Kenyan bank fraudster