A year ago in our Transaction banking compass article 'Transaction banking takes of' we said that 'transaction banking is the rising star of the financial services industry… In an extraordinarily difficult time, this is potentially a good news story for the markets and the investor community alike'. Transaction banks have performed well in the intervening 12 months. Yet the challenges are mounting. As we examine in this paper, a combination of harsh economic realities, heightened competition from both new and existing players, changes in regulation and technology and the increasingly international focus of key customers are putting pressure on transaction banks to employ a greater level of innovation, agility and partnership.