New York Times March 24, 2010
Financial Tuneup - Switch Banks? You Might Find There’s a Perk in It for You by Ron Lieber
(more)
Digital Transactions February 17, 2010
Consumers Show Suprising Affinity for Mobile Remote Capture
While many bankers and even technologists may regard handset-based electronic deposits as esoteric, consumers seem not only familiar with the product but favorably inclined toward it, according to a survey by Mercatus LLC, a Boston-based consulting firm that follows mobile banking and payments. (more)
Mobile Marketer February 17, 2010
Mobile remote deposit capture will change financial services By Chris Harnick
A new study by Mercatus LLC found that consumers' interest in remote deposit capture is strong enough to alter the current deposit process of banks. (more)
American Banker September 24, 2009
Destination Is Clear, But Journey Isn’t By Heather Landy
And what the consumer needs, said Bob Hedges, managing partner at the retail banking consultancy Mercatus LLC, is clarity and disclosure on deposit pricing, overdraft charges and other fees that before the crisis might not have warranted much more than a cursory glance from customers. Banks also would be wise to apply the same principles of transparency to the development of simple saving and investment products for retirement, which an underserved mass market will be demanding over the coming years as baby boomers age, Hedges said.
Cards & Payments August 25, 2009
Smartphone Payment Apps: Are Developers Making the Right Call? By Nadia Oehlsen
A confluence now exists of smarter phones, more-affordable data plans and more consumer time spent doing tasks using mobile devices, all of which will drive consumer and small-business adoption of mobile financial services, according to Mike Friedman, a senior analyst at Mercatus LLC, a Boston-based consultancy.
American Banker August 24, 2009
Banks Retain Trust, Lose Wallet Share By Heather Landy
“Consumers’ dispersion of deposits across several financial institutions is directly linked to levels of trust with a particular provider and their perceptions of financial soundness,” Hedges said. “Consumers are particularly sensitive to the unanticipated charges and fees they experience, and this ultimately destroys trust in the banking institution.”
American Banker July 21, 2009
Mobile Banking Use Jumps by Steve Bills
"We’re approaching an inflection point where banks are no longer just testing mobile banking," said Robert B. Hedges Jr., managing partner of the Boston consulting firm. "It will be table stakes, where consumers are going to expect banks to offer these services to them."
American Banker May 6, 2009
A Retail Bank Plan - Hold the Branches by Heather Landy
"In the short run, one of the best ways to quickly raise new retail deposits is to open up a branch," said Bob Hedges, managing partner at Mercatus LLC, a Boston consulting firm. "If you take the long-term view, there's no question that we don't need all the branch capacity that the country has." Firms such as Charles Schwab Corp. and ING Group NV have proved that financial services companies can amass deposits without building traditional bank branches, Hedges said. And even though the financial crisis might have made consumers less trusting of big wire houses such as Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley, "they are still viewed as being sources of expertise and sources of investment product," he said.
Boston Globe November 22, 2008
Citigroup is selling Financial Research by Ross Kerber
Financial Research Corp., a well-known Boston mutual fund data company, is being sold by parent company Citigroup Inc. to another Boston firm in the financial services sector. (more)
Business Week November 21, 2008
Analysis: It’s About Building Relationships
The smartest strategy is to understand the needs of your potential customers and earn their trust (more)
The Bridge October 7, 2008
Playing the Wireless Card An SMB Comer?
Mercatus managing partner Bob Hedges tells The BRIDGE, “Just as how cell phones already dominated and drive the social life of consumers between the ages of 18 to 25, we will see mobile commerce become the dominant means of conducting financial transactions for these same consumers with five years.” (more)
BusinessWeek September 26, 2008
Moving Money Online Still Needs Work by Stacey Higginbotham
Credit cards and PayPal notwithstanding, there is still room for new approaches to Web payments, particularly in the mobile realm. (more)
American Banker September 24, 2008
Mercatus: Handset Payments to Climb by Steve Bills
“Consumers older than 45 will be much less likely to adopt mobile payments,” said Robert B. Hedges Jr., the managing partner of Mercatus, a Boston financial consulting firm. "It's going to be an excellent new-customer acquisition tool among a category of consumers who are willing to consider an alternative provider."
NPR.org June 25, 2008
Rising Bank Fees Squeeze Consumers by Yuki Noguchi
"Banks charge consumers more in fees every year. Last year, banks collected $38.6 billion in service charges, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp." (more)
Wall Street Journal July 30, 2008
IRA Rollover Ads Criticized by Senator --- Two Vendors Target Government Plans; Fidelity Stands
Pat by Jennifer Levitz
As a flood of baby boomers head into retirement, mutual-fund companies have begun a marketing blitz to
encourage people to roll over their workplace 401(k) plans into Individual Retirement Accounts run by the
fund firms.
Digital Transactions July 10, 2008
Obopay Maps a Strategy for Mobile Payments in 'Niche' Markets by John Stewart
"One of the things Obopay is looking at is a much broader set of use cases," says Robert B. Hedges, managing partner at Mercatus LLC, a Boston-based consulting firm that has worked with Obopay on finding partnerships in the various payment niches. MasterCard was one of the first of these partnerships." (more)
American Banker June 16, 2008
Technology is Mass-Affluent 'Differentiator' by Steve Bills
"Robert B. Hedges Jr., the managing partner of Mercatus LLC, a boston based consulting firm, said banks face a challenge to their thinking in trying to bring the one-to-one private banking relationship for a customer with #$2 million of assets or more to the mass affluent."
American Banker June 2008
Pop Quiz: How to Prepare for a Retirement Wave by Chris Costanzo
Robert B. Hedges Jr. of Mercatus says that if he were grading the industry, he would give it an "I" for incomplete."
Bank Investment Consultant
A Mass (Affluent) Retirement Market by Howard Stock
"The good news for banks is that they have a home advantage. Many Mass affluent customers consider their bank their primary financial institution. "That existing relationship is the most powerful element," said Teresa Epperson, a partner at Mercatus."
ISO&Agent Weekly April 3, 2008
Report: Use of Wireless-Payment Devices Unlikely to Surge by Kevin Woodward
"The problem facing wireless payment and adoption of it is that people
have not figured out the way to reach the merchants who are going to use
these terminals," Friedman tells ISO&Agent Weekly.
American Banker March 6, 2008
Mass Mutual: Deal First Phase of Expansion Plan by Steve Garmhausen
Ms. Epperson said insurance companies have been slow in their efforts to
capture retirement business, and are focused on catching up. "I think we are going to see a lot more action in this space on the part
of insurers," she said.
Bank Investment Consultant December 2007
Banks, Pick Up Your Game by Howard J. Stock
Despite all of the industry chatter about retirement income planning, banks are significantly behind the curve in capturing the retirement assets of their core demographic: the mass affluent. (more)
TechandFinance.com November 2007
Banks Could Capture Retirement Funds – But How? by Tom Groenfeldt
Banks, which have been real laggards in capturing US retirement funds during the accumulation phase have a real chance to acquire a chunk of the money once people retire and are less interested in investment performance than surety of regularly scheduled payments. And banks do know payments. (more)
Financial Times November 5, 2007
Room to muscle in on retirement by Rebecca Knight
The retirement market in the US is worth $16,600bn (£8,000bn, €11,000bn), so it is no surprise that financial services companies of all shapes and sizes are scrambling for a piece of it. However, according to a study to be released this month, retail banks face intense competition to capture affluent consumers' retirement assets. (more)
Digital Transactions July 2007
Processing Domino Effect by Jim Daly
Wall Street has discovered consumer electronic payment transactions, and now, with one deal after another, the business may never be the same. (more)
