Revolutionizing the Financial Markets

22
Sibos i2i Interview
Kris Kubiena,
International Sales Director, VocaLink
Payments in 2016:
Where next?
There is a global move towards immediate payments,
but that is only part of the story, as Financial IT
learned in its interview with Kris Kubiena, VocaLink’s
Proposition Delivery Director, at Sibos 2015
Finantial IT: Kris, tell us about VocaLink.
Kris: VocaLink is an interesting company: it is part of the UK’s critical
national infrastructure and is the provider of the Faster Payments
Service (which has securely processed over 4 billion payments since its
launch in 2008), the UK ATM service and the ACH. Outside the UK, we
are a provider of international payment solutions and, in particular,
real-time payment solutions. The combination of operations
experience and solution delivery means we can provide assistance to
our clients based on real-world experience.
Finantial IT: I think people do not realise just how much VocaLink
underpins the new initiatives that are being released.
Kris: We are the silent partner behind many of these new innovations;
VocaLink provides the technology for platforms to build upon. We
understand the complexity the delivery and operation of national
payment infrastructures and we aim to partner with and support in
country stakeholders in the delivery and operation of these services,
Finantial IT: What are the industry trends that have led to the use
of these solutions?
Kris: Instant payments seem to be a widely-discussed topic; however,
it is no longer only about instant payments, as they have become the
norm. Discussions now centre on instant payments combined with as
e-commerce and m-commerce and alternative payments in general.
We are now talking about solutions that help financial institutions to
provide impactful products and services to corporates merchants and
consumers. For example Thailand is in the process of implementing a
service that enables payments to be made using a national ID and we
expect this to be real-time
Finantial IT: Is it fair to say that you’re merging the old with the new
and being more innovative with the infrastructure you’re providing,
and can you give us more information?
Kris: Rather than merging the old with the new, I think it is instead
the new with the new. In the UK VocaLink launched the Faster
Payments Service in 2008 and at the time it was considered to be a
significant step forward in payments capability. However Singapore
has implemented our new Immediate Payments Solution and their
FAST service is functionally richer than Faster Payments in the UK.
Consequently we have found ourselves working on enhancing our UK
propositions based on our international solutions.
Whilst we’re really proud of the technology we have, something that
differentiates us is our experience as an operator. While technology
is king –it is not just about the technology. There also needs to be an
understanding of how to operate it. Instant Payments services need to
be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Delivering
truly excellent service is always based on a combination of technology
and proven operating procedures and processes, and our ability to
combine operational experience with leading edge technology is one
of the key things we bring to our relationships in this industry.
Finantial IT: As a leader in the payments industry, what do you see
going forward?
Kris: I think the next exciting development in the payments industry
will be cross-border interoperability. VocaLink has recently
announced a deal with The Clearing House to bring real-time
payments to the U.S. and Europe is now looking very hard at
implementing real-time services I believe that the next step will
be to interoperate in real-time: if a consumer can make crossborder,
instant payments using their mobile device – or any other
device in fact – that is going to be a very exciting innovation. This
development should have a dramatic impact on the way in which
international business is carried out, as well as providing the global
economy with a growth dividend.
Finantial IT: VocaLink’s solutions underpin individual countries –
will the next step be getting those countries to speak together?
Kris: The next step is to enable individual countries’ solutions to speak
together. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
countries have an ambition to become interoperable throughout
the region and VocaLink is delighted to be involved in some of those
discussions. In Europe, although a single payments area exists, the
individual countries have their own real-time payment systems
which will have to interoperate cross-borders and will be a very
interesting development. Finally, the new national real-time system
in the U.S. brings the world’s largest payments market into the mix,
and is a huge step towards building a global, ubiquitous real-time
payment solution.