Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

This week’s main blog headlines are … How do you see the world? I was reflecting on an interview about the role and importance of Asian, and specifically Chinese, FinTech when something exploded in the middle of my head. Not literally, of course, although you …

I was asked to explain what I meant by haven’t central bankers realised that democratised trust is in the technologies and code? when I blogged about the regulator’s views on bitcoin the other day. I wasn’t going to answer, but then have been prompted to …

Things we’re reading today include … Fake website fools Equifax staff Challenger bank Paragon restructures as it bids to go mainstream Hack of Wall Street regulator rattles investors, lawmakers Invisible threat ‘Payment by vein’ trialled in supermarket Banks to carry out immigration checks on customers …

I was reflecting on an interview about the role and importance of Asian, and specifically Chinese, FinTech when something exploded in the middle of my head. Not literally, of course, although you might have said that, but more an idea that had occurred to me …

Things we’re reading today include … UK’s high street banks are accident waiting to happen, says report Challenger bank Tandem to buy Harrods Bank – what it means for you Government Considering Bailout Of Russia’s 12th-Biggest Bank 10x, founded by the ex-CEO of Barclays, raises …

I’ve written a lot about legacy and the challenge of old systems, so it’s interesting to read a few press reports on said subjects. Yolanda Bobeldijk writes in the Financial News that 92 of the world’s top 100 banks still rely on IBM mainframes. Now …

Things we’re reading today include … China orders Bitcoin exchanges in capital city to close Wells Fargo’s lone outsider aims to clean up bank’s reputation Massachusetts sues Equifax as hack concerns spread to Canada Dirty money? Mystery over shredded €500 notes in Swiss sewers Watchdog …

I just got this commentary from a banker and thought it worth sharing … Bitcoin – Desperately seeking Satoshi Nakamoto By John Wyn-Evans, Head of Investment Strategy at Investec Wealth & Investment All the ingredients for life on earth were available in the primordial soup, …

I mentioned the Lego Bank not built by Lego recently. It’s all about the Open Marketplace of apps, APIs and analytics, and I said that the idea was illustrated well by firms like Solaris, Clear.bank and Bud. Just to follow on from that, here is a …

Things we’re reading today include … Mark Carney says rate rises will be gradual and limited Finger-based payment system begins roll-out US launches criminal probe into Equifax breach RBS avoids forced sale of Williams & Glyn HSBC: We were wrong to predict slide in pound …

As part of the blockchain conference, I chaired a session with some central bankers talking about their views on distributed ledger technologies. These central banks have run trials and are thinking about it, but none of them are particularly big on blockchain right now. As …

Things we’re reading today include … World’s Central Banks Can’t Ignore the Bitcoin Boom, BIS Says The Bank of England can’t remain in its ‘Brexit’ parallel universe forever Exclusive: At least 16 million bank cardholders exposed to fraud risk over PIN loophole PwC UK partners …

This week’s main blog headlines are … Bankers see faster horses; technologists imagine cars I was chairing a conference on blockchain and distributed ledgers the other day. The audience were a mixture of start-ups and banks, and the speakers were talking about how they viewed …

I was chairing a conference on blockchain and distributed ledgers the other day. The audience were a mixture of start-ups and banks, and the speakers were talking about how they viewed the world of distributed ledger developments. Many of the banks had successfully complete proofs …

Following on from the discussions about identity on Monday, it gets interesting to think about the customers’ data and who owns it, especially in light of the Payment Services Directive 2, PSD2 for short, which comes into force at the start of next year.  The …

Things we’re reading today include … Darling: Brexit would not have happened without banking crisis The relentless rise of tap and pay Ten years after Northern Rock: has UK banking changed? From Silk Road to ATMs: the history of bitcoin Northern Rock: ‘We all thought …

When I fly with British Airways, which I try to avoid these days thanks to the fatuous actions of their lame duck CEO, then I’ll always check out the latest edition of Business Life. It’s their upmarket magazine for business fliers, and usually hits the …

There’s so much rubbish being written about cryptocurrencies, ICOs, blockchain and shared ledgers at the moment that I’m almost tempted to give up on it all. 1 in 10 ICOs is a scam, blockchain is not the same thing as a shared ledger, and no, …

I’m making a presentation on cybersecurity this week at our Nordic Finance Innovation meetings. This meant preparing a few new slides from scratch as I don’t have a set deck for cybercrime, and sat and started ideas just as the news dropped about the Equifax …

Things we’re reading today include … Irma a ‘major event’ for insurance industry: Munich Re board member Goldman Sachs to take on UK retail banks Creative currency Northern Rock’s Bank of England bailout ‘should have been secret’ City urges Government to prioritise Islamic finance ahead …

This week’s main blog headlines are … InsurTech’s big ticket items: machine learning on the blockchain I don’t usually tell people that I’m a qualified expert in insurance as it’s not relevant, but I’m mentioning it today as I just presented at a private insurance …

And continuing my shameless self-interest, a little more on the new book … I’ve been musing for a while about inclusivity, and find that the world is truly being transformed as everyone joins the network. It is the theme I present all the time right …