TowerGroup Identifies 10 Top Imperatives For Building Payments Businesses In 2004

TowerGroups 2004 Perspective on Global Payments finds that the payments franchise is often categorized as a commodity-level service with little competitive potential. This is despite the fact that payments underpins all other lines of banking business and represents the foundation of a banks relationship with its customers - whether those customers are consumers or major corporations. To assist banks in rethinking the value of the payments arena, as well as in facing a daunting array of payments-related challenges, TowerGroup has issued its Top 10 most critical technology and strategy imperatives for building payments businesses in 2004 (summarized below). 1. Manage payments as a distinct line of banking business 2. Confront payment-related compliance and regulation head-on 3. Ensure payment system resilience 4. Expunge paper and deal with the migration to electronic payments 5. Aggressively manage payment-related fraud risk 6. Upgrade in-bank payment systems, both domestic and international 7. Build payments capabilities into online banking 8. Support electronic payment standards and electronic commerce 9. Manage payment-related messages and liquidity 10. Contain operational costs This is the first in a series of six 2004 Perspectives that TowerGroup will issue in the fourth quarter. In each 2004 Perspective, TowerGroup will discuss the critical business and technology issues and trends impacting the financial services sector in the coming year.