Bookmarks (167)

As a seasoned traveller, I know an awful lot about flying through Heathrow Airport, and it is always frustrating me about how the airport is structured. By way of example if you land at Heathrow terminal 4 and 5, the newer terminals, they have on-site hotels, the Hilton and Sofitel respectively. However, if you land... The post The things that AI will never tell...

Things we’re reading today include … JPMorgan in U.S-Russia sanctions war after overseas court orders $440M seized from bank (cnbc.com) Chase Bank down as customers say app signing them out and website crashes blocking them from cash – Mirror Online Barclays profit falls as mortgage lending and investment bank squeezed | Evening Standard Swiss National... The post Things worth reading: 25th April 2024 appeared...

There’s a huge furore in Britain about debanking: the process where a bank says we cannot trust you anymore so get lost. It happened to Nigel Farage, a high profile figure, and now it’s happened to me. What happened? My bank basically decided that my regular withdrawals from a crypto exchange looked like money laundering... The post I just debanked my bank … before...

Things we’re reading today include … Goldman Sachs becomes latest bank to withdraw from London – The CFO (the-cfo.io) JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Has a Tech Rival: Silicon Valley Bank – Bloomberg UK bankers warned of ‘severe losses’ if they fail to monitor private equity exposures | Private equity | The Guardian The Fintech Files: Has... The post Things worth reading: 24th April 2024 appeared...

As mentioned yesterday, I had the pleasure of moderating a fireside chat with Joanne (Jo) Dewar during IFGS last week. If you don’t know Jo, she’s a bit of a legend. You can find out all details here and, although she has achieved a lot in her career, her latest move is an interesting one:... The post How UK fintech can seize a £274...

Things we’re reading today include … Billionaire Mark Cuban Issues Post-Halving Bitcoin Warning Amid ‘Unprecedented’ Crypto Fee Price ‘Chaos’ (forbes.com) HSBC-backed fintech Monese plots break-up amid mounting losses | Business News | Sky News Central banks embark on tokenisation project (finextra.com) Shadow banking collapse would ‘put millions of jobs at risk’ (telegraph.co.uk) Anger in the... The post Things worth reading: 23rd April 2024 appeared...

I was at the Innovate Finance Global Summit last week and it was fantastic, as can be seen by the pic above of the CEO and Chair having a whale of a time on stage. The job I had to do was interview Jo Dewar on stage who just launched Project Nemo (more on that... The post What happened at the Innovate Finance Global...

This week’s main blog discussions include … Am I financial marmite? At a conference the other day, a banker came up to me and said “oh, you’re that fintech guy who throws rocks at us all the time”. A short while later, a fintech founder came up to me and said “oh, you’re the banking... The post The Finanser’s Week: 9th April – 21st...

At a conference the other day, a banker came up to me and said “oh, you’re that fintech guy who throws rocks at us all the time”. A short while later, a fintech founder came up to me and said “oh, you’re the banking guy who thinks we will all fail”. Interestingly, a short time... The post Am I financial marmite? appeared first on...

My new book arrives soon. Titled Intelligent Money and sub-titled When Money Thinks For You, it should be a monster. You can order it from today here on Amazon and all other good book stores. What’s the book about? It’s all about Generative Finance where AI integrates with money. In preparation for this new book,... The post Intelligent Money: When Money Thinks For You...

Things we’re reading today include … Brazilian woman arrested after taking corpse to sign bank loan: ‘She knew he was dead’ | Brazil | The Guardian Blair Institute sets out ‘progressive vision’ for fintech (finextra.com) What Is the World Bank, and What Does It Do? (investopedia.com) What is the Bank of England and why does... The post Things worth reading: 18th April 2024 appeared...

The bank that wants to verify my identity but cannot accept the information … OMG, what’s going on? Under new UK government rules, there’s been a crackdown on money laundering and customer identity in the banking system. The response of the banks has been archaic to say the least. By way of example I blogged... The post WTF … who the finanser are you?...

Things we’re reading today include … HSBC’s Zing has less than 20% of Wise’s monthly downloads – but CEO insists it’s ‘bang on plan’ | Sifted Bank of America profits plunge 18% due to rise in customer credit card delinquencies | Daily Mail The Bank used inflation forecast based on pencil drawing, says Andy Haldane... The post Things worth reading: 17th April 2024 appeared...

Sitting at a recent conference meeting, one of the folks around the table said: “technology is good, but humans are more important”. That got me thinking, and maybe not in a good way as it immediately made me see that future of machines running the world, and humans coming second. Ex Machina, Terminator, Black Mirror... The post Technology is good, but humans are more...

Things we’re reading today include: “People are scared to say the wrong thing” says fintech leader, heading up new disability inclusion campaign – Tech.eu New York threatens London’s fintech dominance, says Revolut UK chief (telegraph.co.uk) Bank of America accused of religious and political ‘discrimination’ by ‘de-banking’ or refusing to service Trump supporters | Daily Mail... The post Things worth reading: 16th April 2024 appeared...

One of my readers picked me up on my articles about the use of customer data, AI and open banking last week, saying that I had missed a critical point. What had I missed? Well, the discussions were mainly about the use of customer data for marketing, advice, safety, security, risk and compliance … but... The post Data frameworks need to go beyond risk...

Things we’re reading today include … Fintech boards lack AI skills needed to drive future growth, survey finds (cityam.com) Fintech funding slows to the lowest level since 2017 | TechCrunch UK digital bank Zopa turns a profit as it eyes an IPO (ft.com) Bank of England forecasts undermined by out-of-date methods, report finds | Bank... The post Things worth reading: 15th April 2024 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … Selling customer data – good or bad idea? Be careful with data Many years ago a few banks debated the idea of selling customer data to get a payback. It was the wrong decision – if you sell customer data, it should the customer who gets the payback,... The post The Finanser’s Week: 8th April – 14th...

Talking of sharing data, Salt Edge just sent me some interesting stats about Open Banking and Open Finance (there is a difference). They start by quoting that inconsistently reliable source Statista, who claim that the number of open banking users worldwide was expected to grow by an average of 50% per year between 2020 and... The post Stop talking about  “Open Banking” appeared first...

Things we’re reading today include … Managing the transition to central bank digital currency | CEPR Investors Circle ‘Most Hated’ Fintech and E-Commerce Sectors — The Information $45bn fintech hires a generative AI executive in Chicago (efinancialcareers.com) Mastercard to realign organisational structure with three new divisions – FinTech Futures: Fintech news Uber stops fintech plans... The post Things worth reading: 12th April 2024 appeared...

Continuing my debate about data usage and data abuse, I listened to a fascinating discussion from the BBC about whether Mark Zuckerberg is a good or bad billionaire. You can listen to the podcast if interested, but a few items came up such as the release of customer data to Cambridge Analytica a few years... The post Why Facebook [Meta] is the enemy appeared...

Things we’re reading today include: Fintech has a gender problem – here’s why you should care (theconversation.com) Mapping the contextual fintech evolution | Ctech (calcalistech.com) Bank branch closures: Labour vows to ‘guarantee face-to-face banking’ as 385 towns see last site close (gbnews.com) Truong My Lan: Vietnamese billionaire accused in multi-billion dollar bank fraud – BBC... The post Things worth reading: 11th April 2024 appeared...

After yesterday’s discussion of being careful with customer data, AI may be the solution. In previous examples of data sharing, such as those mentioned with Barclays and ING ten years ago, it was too much of a blunt instrument. The intelligence was lacking. But I can see banks moving stealthily into customer data sharing, targeting,... The post AI will be as transformational as the...

Things we’re reading today include … Jamie Dimon: Bank boss warns US interest rates could rise to 8% – BBC News Lloyds Bank axes risk staff after executives complain they are a ‘blocker’ These Are the 32 Most Exciting Fintech Startups in Europe in 2024 (businessinsider.com) Commonwealth Bank reveals the surprising trend among Millennial investors... The post Things worth reading: 10th April 2024 appeared...

Be careful with data Many years ago a few banks debated the idea of selling customer data to get a payback. It was the wrong decision – if you sell customer data, it should the customer who gets the payback, not the bank – and they failed. The two specific examples I remember are Barclays... The post Selling customer data – good or bad...

Things we’re reading today include … London fintech vacancies rise 88 per cent (cityam.com) Fintech funding slides to 7-year low (finextra.com) The FinTech Start-Up Taking On Regulators To Democratize Construction Investment For The 99% (forbes.com) What happens when a central bank runs out of money? (ft.com) ECB bank lending survey will give insights into credit... The post Things worth reading: 9th April 2024 appeared...

I often say in speeches that you now have the ability to pay anytime, anywhere from your pocket or purse. Now I realise that the mention of pocket or purse is no longer relevant. It’s pay anytime, anywhere from your device, and soon it will be pay anytime, anywhere, with your body as a token.... The post A digital pivot: LVMH and Blackstone appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … This Fintech Was Just Valued at $65 Billion. Could It Become 1 of 2024’s Largest IPOs? (yahoo.com) Sotheby’s to accept cryptocurrency for first time as payment for rare diamond (yahoo.com) Commercial Bank of Ethiopia names and shames customers over bank glitch money – BBC News NatWest criticised over £1.2m... The post Things worth reading: 8th April 2024 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussion’s include … Is your chatbot compliant? Fifteen years ago, social media was becoming popular. Facebook was growing fast, and Twitter had just launched. Ten years ago, banks were cautious about such media as it might compromise customer information. Five years ago, many were starting to get the idea, but were... The post The Finanser’s Week: 1st April – 7th...

In discussion with a client the other day, we got into a debate about how to structure the next workshop with management. The result is that there were five critical questions proposed: How far can we automate everything? How can we use technology differently? Can regulators keep up with these changes? Could the network run... The post Some big questions about the future answered...

Things we’re reading today include … Ripple Will Launch Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin (pymnts.com) Clearbank reports first annual profit as deposits double and customers boom (cityam.com) Goldman Sachs’s UK gender pay gap widest in six years (ft.com) Chinese fintech Ant Group targets global growth without Jack Ma (ft.com) At Indonesia’s biggest bank, customers’ savings can vanish with... The post Things worth reading: 5th April 2024 appeared...

Fifteen years ago, social media was becoming popular. Facebook was growing fast, and Twitter had just launched. Ten years ago, banks were cautious about such media as it might compromise customer information. Five years ago, many were starting to get the idea, but were still trying to work out how to be social and compliant.... The post Is your chatbot compliant? appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … The EU wasted €60M on a pointless fintech fad — but the Belgians won’t let it die – POLITICO Scayl comes out of stealth with its “fintech for fintech lenders” and €100M funding – Tech.eu Bitcoin Is Soaring This Year. This Goldman Sachs Skeptic Isn’t Biting. – WSJ Deutsche... The post Things worth reading: 4th April 2024 appeared...

It’s interesting how people interpret things. Many think it’s old banks versus new banks; branch versus app; physical versus digital; government currencies versus cryptocurrencies; and more. For me, it’s not versus though. It’s and. We live in a world of transition where new and old banks work together well. My old bank does my boring... The post It’s us and them appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … Citi report reveals 42% of energy clients lack climate transition plans – FinTech Global Pastor created ‘worthless’ cryptocurrency targeting Christians to support ‘lavish lifestyle’: Authorities – ABC News (go.com) Bitcoin prices fall more than 7% as cryptocurrency market expected to remain volatile – UPI.com Lloyds Banking Group invests £3... The post Things worth reading: 3rd April 2024 appeared...

Just been having a few meetings about the future of payments. Funnily enough, that sounds like the theme of my new book Intelligent Money. The message? Money is embedded, invisible and intelligent. It is ubiquitous, everywhere, anywhere. It is just part of the fabric of the world we live in. But then I thought further, talking... The post What if I am the token? appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … Bank of England investigating claim Metro Bank put customers’ data at risk | The Guardian Are global bank capital rules possible? | The Asset Rakuten Could Combine Bank and FinTech Operations (pymnts.com) Pairing cryptocurrency mining with green hydrogen could boost deployment of renewable energy – MINING.COM Swiss banking giant... The post Things worth reading: 2nd April 2024 appeared...

The G20’s central banks announce a global alliance for digital currencies It’s been bubbling away for a while but, as central banks are launching CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currency) all over the world, there is now a G20 agreement to create a global digital currency. Initiated by Christine Lagarde at the European Central Bank (ECB),... The post Has the G20 agreed to launch a...

This week’s main blog discussions include … Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the oldest bank in the world became the newest? I’m working with a cryptobank start-up, and we’re looking at options for licensing. Various countries have various attractions, with some more attractive than others. I won’t go into the nuances of the details as... The post The Finanser’s Week: 25th March – 31st...

I know that my blog is focused upon finance, technology and the future, but there are moments where something hits you about the past and makes you consider it. This is one of those days. I wrote some years ago about the creation of Switzerland being based upon the Knights Templar, which created a state... The post The crime committed by finding Knights Templar’s...

Things we’re reading today include … Cryptocurrency prodigy Sam Bankman-Fried may get 40-50 yrs in jail for $10bn fraud – Firstpost French fintech ditches remittances in favour of DeFi (finextra.com) Bulgaria’s Paynetics acquires UK neobank Novus – FinTech Futures: Fintech news UK Treasury staff worked at Chinese bank accused of communist links – BBC News... The post Things worth reading: 28th March 2024 appeared...

I’m working with a cryptobank start-up, and we’re looking at options for licensing. Various countries have various attractions, with some more attractive than others. I won’t go into the nuances of the details as it’s all under wraps, but one of the founders turned to me and asked if there might be a good licensed... The post Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the oldest...

Things we’re reading today include … Barclays bank payments restored after app went down in outage – BBC News Generative AI’s Rise Adds to US Bank Uncertainty – Bloomberg Ethiopia’s CBE bank recovers $10m taken during technical glitch – BBC News fintech: Fintech is making global payments its business – The Economic Times (indiatimes.com) The... The post Things worth reading: 27th March 2024 appeared...

As you know, I don’t like entering the political sphere too much as it’s way too controversial, but I’ve just got around to watching the BBC Panorama programme aired on February 19 about Hamas’s secret financial empire. It’s fascinating and, unfortunately, only available on the BBC iPlayer, as far as I know. It’s well worth... The post With no funding, you can’t fight appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … Irish fintech investment plunges 94% amid global decline, KPMG says – The Irish Times Amid Fintech Slowdown, Goldman Sachs-Backed Startup Considers Sale (forbes.com) Is Chime Ready For An IPO? It Has More Primary Customers Than Chase (forbes.com) SWIFT planning launch of new central bank digital currency platform in 12-24... The post Things worth reading: 26th March 2024 appeared...

I’ve just had several incidents with traditional banks digitally that made me realise they really are screwed. You may have noticed this in my recent blogging, but here are three specific insights that illustrated the point. The first is the fact that I keep having to open the bank’s app to find out what’s going... The post Caught between the devil and the deep...

Things we’re reading today include … EU Anti-Money Laundering Laws Ban Provision of Services for Anonymous Cryptocurrency Accounts – Regulation Bitcoin News Solana blockchain overrun with racist memecoins in latest cryptocurrency trend | Mashable Atom Bank boss on growth, IPO and ‘dying breed’ of high street challengers (cityam.com) The big bank backlash! Why more and... The post Things worth reading: 25th March 2024 appeared...

The main blog discussions this week include … The Dunning-Kruger effect, as inspired by a bank robbery I had never heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect until the other day. Inspired by a bank robbery, Professor David Dunning worked out that people sit at opposite ends of a spectrum of confidence. Some are hugely confident and... The post The Finanser’s Week: 18th March – 24th...

I had never heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect until the other day. Inspired by a bank robbery, Professor David Dunning worked out that people sit at opposite ends of a spectrum of confidence. Some are hugely confident and competent whilst, at the other end of the spectrum, they are hugely confident but completely incompetent. How... The post The Dunning-Kruger effect, as inspired by a...

Things we’re reading today include … PAY360 2024: Day Two Highlights | The Fintech Times Pay360 book launch: Intelligent Money by Chris Skinner – Fintech Intel UK fintech to be elevated to ‘ubiquitech’ with Smart Data Roadmap, new report reveals (finextra.com) Strengthen Central Bank Independence to Protect the World Economy (imf.org) Interest rates: Bank of... The post Things worth reading: 22nd March 2024 appeared...