Gareth Lodge

3 weeks ago | celent.com | Gareth Lodge

Regular readers will know that Zil & I have done blogs over the years where we relay our payment experiences in different countries. These are as much to highlight that while we may call payments similar things, the experience can be quite different. Often then its the differences that are interesting, rather than any implied criticism. In the last 6 months, I have been lucky enough to travel to (I think!) to more than ten different countries.

3 weeks ago | celent.com | Gareth Lodge

The US Treasury has recently announced that it will cease producing the one cent coin, known as the penny. This has got a lot of press coverage and has been held up as an example of the cost cutting of the current Presidential term. But there are more payment geek facts to it than first meets the eye!Those who have seen me present know I like to occasionally quote Yogi Berra, the US baseball player. One of his quotes, “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore”, certainly springs to mind here.

1 month ago | celent.com | Gareth Lodge |Ruslan Babikov

Corporate banking IT spending continues to grow strongly as Asian economies (alongside their global peers) try to shake off the economic challenges of the past two years. For product technology investment, 2025 will be the year of client lifecycle management and corporate digital platforms. Banks should invest in these areas to support customer digital journeys and speedy, smart product offerings.

1 month ago | celent.com | Gareth Lodge

It sometimes feels like going to conferences is a little heralding the start of a season, or something you can set your watch by, as certain conferences occupy the same slot in the calendar every year. Nacha Smarter Faster Payments is one of those - it must be the end of April if I’m here!This year, the event returned to New Orleans after 10 years. Like many cities you return to after a long break, somethings have changed, while others are very familiar.

2 months ago | celent.com | Gareth Lodge |Colin Kerr

Corporate Banking IT spending in North America continues to grow strongly. Persistently high interest rates have proved challenging for corporate banking clients, and the product priorities of banks reflect this. For technology investments, 2025 will be the year of AI (perhaps the first of several). However, banks must also invest in data platforms and management to support ambitious AI plans. Bank IT spending continues to accelerate in North America, albeit with some distinct variations.