Bookmarks (166)

We often talk about technical debt – the cost of maintaining and updating old systems to keep them operational. In most banks, this is 60% to 80% or more of annual IT budgets; in fintechs it’s less, because they have less history, but even here it is often 30% to 50% of costs. The reason?... The post Isn’t it time to sort your business...

Things we’re reading today include … What went wrong between Cryptocurrency influencer Tiffany Fong and Elon Musk after Musk ‘proposed’ her to be mother of his baby Bank of England highlights risks of AI, but keeps being ‘reactive’ BBVA backs UK fintech Plum with £15m in first UK financing deal Singapore Tightens Liquidity Rules For... The post Things worth reading: 17th April 2025 appeared...

There is a regular conversation about the 1% versus the 99%, so I tried to track down: who are the 1%? The numbers surprised me. According to the 2024 Global Wealth Report, the global millionaire count has soared, reaching approximately 58 million. I thought it would be more like 100 million millionaires (and probably is in reality). If... The post Which billionaires care about the world …...

Things we’re reading today include: Wall Street banks reap $37bn from Trump trading boom ‘House of Commons cryptocurrency’ promoted in Twitter hack Cryptocurrency: Why Commonwealth Bank made an accountant sell his bitcoin at a loss Europe’s fastest growing start-up Allica Bank delivers another record year  UK challenger bank targets US’s mid-tier banking sector with tech... The post Things worth reading: 16th April 2025 appeared...

Some days, I sit and pray that God will give me more money, more opportunity and more hope. Luckily, now he/she/they can, thanks to the Church Bank of Greece. In an interesting move, shared with me by Arjun Vir Singh, a Partner with Arthur D. Little, the Church of Greece is opening a digital bank! The Church... The post If God was a [Digital] Banker appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … How a handful of traders caused the collapse of two cryptocurrencies Critics slam deregulation of crypto as Trump family expands its footprint in industry Standard Chartered and OKX launch crypto collateral pilot Judge orders Bank of America to pay $540 million in FDIC lawsuit | Reuters London banking jobs... The post Things worth reading: 15th April 2025 appeared...

In my presentations these days are five key themes: the fintech revolution; cryptocurrency creation; distributed ledger technology; the AI world; and quantum disruption. I could add to the list – the metaverse, 6G+, robots, etc – but these are the top five in the financial world I live in. Then, when you sit back and... The post The issue with digital appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … Crypto scams surge in Israel as AI tech fuels sophisticated fraud Professor Coin: What’s Driving Cryptocurrency Adoption Around the World – Decrypt Bitcoin king: Why is Bhutan betting on crypto? | Business and Economy News | Al Jazeera The Bizarre Origins Of Bitcoin FinTech IPO Index Surges Nearly 14%,... The post Things worth reading: 14th April 2025 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … AI will create 170 million jobs while replacing 92 million … the question is: what jobs? Every day there are more and more headlines about artificial intelligence (AI) AI and its impact on life, the world and the future. The latest one is a good one, which is... The post The Finanser’s Week: 7th April – 13th...

Every day there are more and more headlines about artificial intelligence (AI) AI and its impact on life, the world and the future. The latest one is a good one, which is AI is creating more jobs than replacing them! This comes from the World Economic Forum, whose latest report forecasts that, over the next five... The post AI will create 170 million jobs while...

Things we’re reading today include … Cryptocurrency fraud unit shut down by Justice Department Kraken partners Mastercard to enable crypto payments for UK and European users Cryptocurrency market declines 4.4% amid trade tensions Fintech founder charged with fraud after ‘AI’ shopping app found to be powered by humans in the Philippines | TechCrunch Credit Strategy... The post Things worth reading: 11th April 2025 appeared...

I was thinking about a future where everything is embedded everywhere, intelligent and sentient. What would a day of my financial life look like in 2050? 2050 is a long way away, but here is the scenario. By 2050: currencies have moved from fiat to digital; technology has moved from physical devices to integrated with... The post Life in 2050 with Albert and Jessica...

Things we’re reading today include … Financial Stability in Focus: Artificial intelligence in the financial system | Bank of England Bank of England says AI software could create market crisis for profit Trump’s trade war risks global financial crisis, Bank of England warns Deutsche Bank: The market has ‘lost faith’ in US assets Lloyds Banking... The post Things worth reading: 10th April 2025 appeared...

Your bed wakes you automatically through a system of gentle vibrating, rocking motions with the gradual introduction of light, simulating sunrise. As your eyes open, the bed slowly drops to the floor. You then enter the bathroom which auto­mat­i­cally adjusts to your favourite set­tings from the room tem­per­a­ture to music and coloured light­ing, from the... The post Your life in 2050 appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … Bank of America to Spend $4B on AI and New Tech Initiatives Trading Insights: How the Bank of England harnesses AI and data Supervisors monitoring tariffs impact on banks, no liquidity problems yet, Bank of Spain says | Reuters Barclays ditches gender and ethnicity targets in US | Barclays... The post Things worth reading: 9th April 2025 appeared...

There’s a brand new book on the block, which I wish I had written: who is Satoshi Nakamoto? It’s actually not called that. It’s called: The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto: A Fifteen-Year Quest to Unmask the Secret Genius Behind Crypto by Benjamin Wallace, but you get the idea. Who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin... The post Was bitcoin created by America’s NSA? appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … Barclays, HSBC, Bank of America bosses hold crisis tariff talks Fintech companies caught up in tariff turmoil Why the ‘Crypto President’ has overseen a crash in Bitcoin Airwallex Reportedly Plans to Seek US and UK Banking Licenses Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey to lead global banking watchdog Fintech... The post Things worth reading: 8th April 2025 appeared...

I don’t know about you, but I remember getting my first computer back in the 1980s. It was OK, but quite difficult to use and pretty expensive. In around 1990, I got my first laptop and can remember it cost around £2,000. It wasn’t worth it. Ever since, like most people, I’ve probably changed computers... The post Happy 50th Birthday Microsoft appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … Klarna puts IPO plans on hold | Sifted UAE aims to launch retail central bank digital currency this year “I am a junior at a top US bank. We openly discuss whether this bank is going under” Lloyds accused of failing small firms as it reduced its lending –... The post Things worth reading: 7th April 2025 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … #Stripe’s policy: by raising risk, you become risk (#RDR) On my LinkedIn stream, I’ve been getting more and more alerts about malpractices at Stripe. That surprises me as they are the poster child of fintech, so I investigated and found that most of my feed was being filled... The post The Finanser’s Week: 31st March – 6th...

I was talking to a wealth management startup the other day, and they showed me an aggregation service that can harvest all of your physical, digital and emotional assets, combined with a death management service that alerts your key people to all the things they need to know to find those assets when you die.... The post Why does no one deal with emotional...

Things we’re reading today include … 70% of bank IT budgets go to maintaining legacy tech European banks exposed to risk of US dollar shortfall, says EU watchdog Pizza brand Papa Johns partners with TrueLayer to offer Pay by Bank | Open Banking Expo Central banks keep gold in focus in February | Post by... The post Things worth reading: 4th April 2025 appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … OnlyFans founder, crypto foundation submit late-stage bid to buy TikTok | Reuters European Fintech in 2025: Can It Overcome Market Fragmentation? Open Banking fintech Yavrio connects with five major US banks | Open Banking Expo US banks predict climate goals will fail – but air conditioning firms will thrive... The post Things worth reading: 3rd April 2025 appeared...

In a reflection of the times we live in, Hasbro announced a new version of Monopoly the other day with no cash and no banker, but a focus upon a digital wallet. It should be available from most major retailers in August 2025. Spotting the announcement my friend (1) Post | LinkedIn says that the... The post Today’s Monopoly: no cash, no banker and...

On my LinkedIn stream, I’ve been getting more and more alerts about malpractices at Stripe. That surprises me as they are the poster child of fintech, so I investigated and found that most of my feed was being filled by one Brad Harrington, a young self-employed entrepreneur who graduated from the University of Michigan in... The post #Stripe’s policy: by raising risk, you become...

Things we’re reading today include: Crypto scams cost Britons nearly £200m in the past year Metro ex-CEO claims watchdog ‘too busy’ to supervise London can lure Brexit-fleeing banks back to UK – but the City must move quickly Political support leading to increasing fallout for crypto Trump Family Turns to Bitcoin Mining How Trump’s family... The post Things worth reading: 2nd April 2025 appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … Bank Issues April Fool’s Day Fraud Warning Meet the UK and Ireland’s fastest-growing fintechs by revenue | Sifted The Prudential Regulation Authority proposes raising FSCS deposit protection limit to £110,000 | Bank of England Former Barclays chief Jenkins weighs sale of fintech 10X How to use Russia’s central bank... The post Things worth reading: 1st April 2025 appeared...

Building on my recent blogs about Don Tramp’s love of crypto, he has now allegedly launched a joint meme coin with Vlamadir Punit, a Ruskian. The meme coin is called Pump, a reference to Punit and Tramp. Little was known about the background to the coin until it was launched this morning but, in a... The post The rise and fall of the meme...

I got hauled up for being a Musk hater the other day which, to be clear, I am not. It’s purely that he is the richest man in the world and the most powerful, even more powerful than Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, so the media hate him. As we are fed daily media updates... The post Doing a Musk, Part Two: Integrating X...

Things we’re reading today include … Zilch Declared Fastest Growing Fintech In UK Monzo, Starling, Zilch: The fintech IPOs that could boost London JPMorgan people lament “noisy” office, Revolut staff flaunt working by the beach The use and abuse of investment bank bonuses China’s 4 top state-owned banks to raise US$72 billion from stock sales... The post Things worth reading: 31st March 2025 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … Bank IT outages … let’s talk about the bank systems Jenga I’ve been talking a lot about bank IT outages lately, as you can hear here on the BBC! Tech Life – Surviving digital banking outages – BBC Sounds Why? Because they are becoming more and more common and... The post The Finanser’s Week: 24th March – 31st...

I just downloaded the Chainalysis annual cryptocrime report and, as usual, it is fascinating. Ask almost any politician or banker about cryptocurrencies and they’ll say they all encourage crime except Donald Trump, but that’s because he is supposedly a criminal. Here is a synopsis of the report taken from their introduction: According to our metrics... The post How much crypto is crime? appeared first...

Things we’re reading today include … Trump’s top officials ‘have passwords leaked’ Jack Dorsey’s fintech venture lays off nearly 1,000 over email How Gen Z and Millennials Are Reshaping the Fintech Industry Bank payday outages ‘will absolutely happen again’ Japan to limit cash withdrawals and bank transfers for elderly people to stop scammers Farage attacks... The post Things worth reading: 28th March 2025 appeared...

I’ve seen a number of companies die over they years. Sometimes it’s a statement from the CEO showing arrogance but, more often, from a mistake in strategy. After all, it’s easy to make a comment and miss the mark; it’s even easier to make a strategic movement and miss the mark. Therefore, the recent dumping... The post How to kill a company by doing...

Things we’re reading today include … Stablecoin surge: Reserve-backed cryptocurrencies are on the rise | World Economic Forum What we know about Trump family’s plan to sell a new cryptocurrency Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account – The White House Orange finally peels open mobile-only bank TrueLayer integrates with Starling Bank for Open... The post Things worth reading: 27th March 2025 appeared...

I’ve been talking a lot about bank IT outages lately, as you can hear here on the BBC! Tech Life – Surviving digital banking outages – BBC Sounds Why? Because they are becoming more and more common and frequent: Big bank systems crashed for over 800 hours in last two years due to IT outages More... The post Bank IT outages … let’s talk about...

Things we’re reading today include: Investor makes a stand against digital banking Globalisation may have run its course in current form, says HSBC chair Ant Group reduces AI costs 20% with Chinese chips Solaris Investor SBI Completes Ownership Process Bailey warns tariffs and ageing population are threat to Britain Top 500 Banking Brands | Brand... The post Things worth reading: 26th March 2025 appeared...

It’s funny that I’m blogging so much about trust and identity, but that seems to be the theme of the year. So when I saw the new release of the Financial Conduct Authority’s five-year vision I was struck by the Chair’s opening page, which is all about trust. Ashley Alder writes: “When financial services are strong... The post The FCA’s five year vision appeared first...

Cryptoassets, smart contracts, stablecoins, tokenisation and the two different types of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) – retail CBDCs and wholesale CBDCs. The world of finance and technology is quite confusing. Add onto this AI, APIs, BNPL, blockchain (Layer 1 and Layer 2), DLT [distributed-ledger technology], machine learning and more, and you get the idea.... The post The quagmire of fintech terminologies appeared first...

Things we’re reading today include … America’s rich scramble to open Swiss bank accounts over Trump fears Alibaba-affiliate Ant uses Chinese, U.S. chips to cut AI costs Fintech can be a powerhouse helping to drive the UK’s economic growth Interim SEC chief cast sole vote against suing Musk How banks can boost productivity through simplification... The post Things worth reading: 25th March 2025 appeared...

Been having lots of conversations about digital identities and digital wallets lately. It is a theme that has been bubbling for years, yet seem to now be coming to a head. From the EU Digital Wallet and Identity program to India’s Aadhaar and UPI to Brazil’s Pix, there’s definitely something afoot. The core of the... The post A digital identity scheme for Europe …...

Things we’re reading today include … Why Is Everyone Investing in Indian Fintech? Will London take New York’s fintech crown? Analysis-Klarna IPO filing spurs hope of British fintech listings These fintech companies are hiring in 2025 after a turbulent year | TechCrunch ‘The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto’ Review: Cryptocurrency’s Ghostly Creator – WSJ $250 Million Bitcoin... The post Things worth reading: 24th March 2025 appeared...

The main blog discussions this week include … Is the use of cash a fundamental human right? We are moving rapidly to a world without cash. In fact, the phrase war on cash was coined (coins?) by the card companies years ago. The aim was to get everyone moving to cards, not cash. It’s now... The post The Finanser’s Week: 17th March – 23rd...

There have been many headlines over the years, with recent ones talking about saving septillion years using quantum computing and mapping a fruit fly’s brain that previously would have taken thousands of years using AI. No wonder businesses are keen on AI. So it’s weird that, according to Microsoft, half of UK businesses have no idea... The post How much will AI save your business?...

Things we’re reading today include: Revolut Hiring Hundreds to Become a Fully-Fledged UK Bank – Bloomberg Trump: US Will ‘Dominate Crypto’ OCC Opens Doors for Banks to Embrace Blockchain, Crypto Banking 500 2025: Challenger banks among the fastest growing bank brands in the world White paper: How AI is propelling innovation in financial services –... The post Things worth reading: 21st March 2025 appeared...

I just got an interesting report from Visa produced in late 2024. It is focused upon consumers, and their approach to cross-border payments. The research shows that the cross-border payment market is experiencing explosive growth, fuelled by a surge in international travel, ecommerce, and remittances. Consumers are spending more regularly cross-border than ever before and... The post Consumer cross-border payments are exploding, but banks...

Things we’re reading today include … Less than a quarter of Europe’s fintech unicorns are profitable | Sifted UK FinTechs bleed millions as fraud surges, research reveals Monzo develops backup bank to cover outages Six Ways to Lose All Your Crypto – WSJ Bank Branch Closures Accelerate UK High Street Decline, PwC Says Nearly 100... The post Things worth reading: 20th March 2025 appeared...

On the Finanser, we often talk about Stripe, as their valuation is the highest of all fintechs. In case you missed it, their peak valuation was in 2021 at $95 billion; it then nearly halved but, over the past year, has bounced back to a valuation today of $91 billion. Interestingly, according to their annual newsletter,... The post Stripe versus Adyen: which one is doing...

Things we’re reading today include … Inside the Nastiest Fight in Fintech: New Suit Alleges Payments Startup Deel Had A Corporate Spy Starling bank blocking its OWN customers from opening savings accounts Fintechs and crypto companies seek bank charters for growth Fintech unicorn council joins Revolut and Zilch bosses for Treasury meeting North Korea becomes... The post Things worth reading: 19th March 2025 appeared...

We are moving rapidly to a world without cash. In fact, the phrase war on cash was coined (coins?) by the card companies years ago. The aim was to get everyone moving to cards, not cash. It’s now gone beyond that, as everyone wants us to move to digital wallets. All well and good. The... The post Is the use of cash a fundamental...