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Rather than looking to develop technical solutions to APP fraud, which on a positive note would open the door to entrepreneurial opportunities and profit, why don't we look at the root cause of the issue and develop an approach from there?

So the old proverb goes: "A fool and his money are soon parted" ... and proverbs carry much ancient wisdom that we could learn from.

I remember TV adverts featuring a ginger cat called Charley, Rupert the Bear, and a geezer in a knotted handkerchief waving to another geezer in distress in a sailing dingey!

If we need to be told how to cross the road, and that if you were to see a man at sea being thrown overboard, then it might be a good idea the dial 999 and ask for the coastguard, do we not also think that a series of "public information films" about the dangers of handing over your money to strangers might better address the problem?

It looks very much like we have a problem with the awareness of the problem, and education might well be the resolution.

Only thing is, APP fraud doesn't directly affect the bottom line, and there's money to be made from technology solutions.

I want to see a geezer in a string vest and knotted handkerchief telling us what should really be obvious.

Maybe ...

Why would anyone expect the likes of Amazon to use the same business model in banking as they do in retail?  To the best of my knowledge, Virgin Money isn't run like a train operator - or is it? The reality is that Richard Branson is selling the Virgin name, not re-applying business models.

The fact that it hasn't happened yet is not proof that it isn't going to happen in the future, and the problem with pundits is they have a tendency to get a bit too excited a bit too soon.  It's going to happen, but the tech giants are going to cherry pick; the banks are going to be left with what's left.   

I think there are two things to consieder here.

The first is the fact that banking does not require much in the way of a physical presence in the High Street in order to operate the majority of its services - sad, maybe, but true.  This means that, for the tech giants (and the smaller newcomers), delivering banking services to banking service consumers is little more than an extension of their existing consumer-focussed services. 

The second is that suppliers into the banking industry are selling banking software to supply banking services to banking service consumers, but those consumers are evolving.  Few suppliers of banking services to the banking industry are extending their portfolio of offers over the banking service ringfence into consumer-focussed complementary services, even though there is a demand for such things from the banks.

I hear only the other day, a senior manager in a major banking services provider tell me that the banks were only interested in payments and making payments more cost effective.  Such short sighted ignorance inevitably leaves the banks playing into the hands of Amazon.