Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

When I talk about FinTech, I often reflect on the first time I encountered what I would, today, call a truly FinTech firm. It was on March 30, 2005, and a newly formed firm presented at the Financial Services Club an idea. The idea was …

Things we’re reading today include … How will open banking change retail? The Fintech Files: Rising Amazon wants to break into banks German regulator files complaint on alleged Wirecard manipulation Mastercard ruling: almost every UK adult could receive payout Democrats escalate Trump investigation with Deutsche …

I picked up an interesting article from Reuters, about how Asian technology firms are moving into banking in a different way to Europe or America. The article says that Amazon and Alphabet / Google are far more interested in serving banks with cloud and advertising, …

Things we’re reading today include … Bank of England begins climate enforcement with a velvet glove | Larry Elliott Italy’s UniCredit to pay $1.3 billion to settle U.S. sanctions probe Worried a recession is coming, U.S. online lenders reduce risk Goldman Sachs to layoff 98 …

Someone said to me recently that most tech Unicorns are more like Leprechauns. A Leprechaun is also mythical and magical but, rather than delivering riches, it just promises riches at the end of a rainbow you never reach. In other words, most Unicorns are offering …

Things we’re reading today include … Halifax accused of copying rival banks Monzo and Starling with rebrand Asia’s tech champions zero in on main street banking Bank IT failures ‘haunt customers on credit reports’ Big Bank Earnings Reflect Strength in the Economy Citigroup to refund …

The main blog headlines are … Leaving customers digitally high and dry … big mistake I’ve recently seen two blogs about issues with challenger banks N26 and Tandem. They both relate to the ways in which these new banks communicate, or not in these cases. …

I’ve recently seen two blogs about issues with challenger banks N26 and Tandem. They both relate to the ways in which these new banks communicate, or not in these cases. Judith Bogner, a well-known and followed broadcaster, explains regarding N26 and the fact that her …

Things we’re reading today include … What a Deutsche Bank Merger Could Mean for Germany How banks can thrive in the digital age Qatar has no say in who runs Deutsche: foreign minister Commerzbank chairman dismisses ‘irresponsible’ reports of dissatisfaction with CEO Uber warns it …

I was once again reminded of the stupidity of passwords when locked out of yet another service that I use maybe once a year. When I decided to reset the password, once again my iPhone offered to set up a strong password that it would …

Things we’re reading today include … ‘Do you think more folks should have gone to jail for their role in the financial crisis’ A new breed of ATM hackers gets in through a bank’s network Millennials being squeezed out of middle class, says OECD Rana …

Another key theme of the weekend conference was Brexit, best summed up by one panellist as a decision made by a confused population about an issue their politicians can’t agree with, don’t want to implement and has no support. As a result, Theresa May is trying …

Things we’re reading today include … China wants to ban bitcoin mining Alibaba shares lose some shine for short sellers Wall Street bull run hinges on earnings Morgan Stanley to become top shareholder in China funds venture with stake increase Standard Chartered fined $1.1bn for …

During the weekend I presented the trends on FinTech and Tech Fin, my two favourite subjects. I’ll update on that shortly but I was also involved in a study the organisers – The European House Ambrosetti, a leading economics think tank based in Italy – …

Things we’re reading today include … World’s biggest data breach is just the tip of the iceberg – Dark Web dangers are growing U.S. bank executives say Wall Street has reformed, though crisis scars linger Wall Street loves socialism for bankers, but not for ordinary …

I was lucky enough to be invited to a conference of the great and the good managing one of the large economies of Europe the other day. It was in a fine location, with lots of dignitaries, media coverage, security guards and German shepherds. On …

Things we’re reading today include … Digital Bank Tandem starts fundraising talks KPMG plans overhaul of British business: The Times Mark Carney still stands taller than Brexit’s lost leaders | William Keegan Lloyd’s to bar ‘under-the-influence’ staff from building Monzo digital bank could double value …

The main blog headlines are … Alipay and Visa announce global QR code venture We all got hugely excited about Apple launching a credit card with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard last week. Whoopy-doo! This was a major lift for Mastercard in particular. As Wedbush’s Moshe …

I find life interesting. Themes recur over and over and over again. Will big banks survive? When will we, will we be cashless? Oh when, will we, will be branchless? Can we really replace the City with a trading network of algorithms? And more. One …

Things we’re reading today include … Europe’s zombie banks Biometrics may answer your security concerns – but don’t forget privacy | Gene Marks Tesla CEO Elon Musk in ‘clear violation’ of SEC restraint, court hears Billionaire JP Morgan chief attacks socialism as ‘a disaster’ Tradeweb IPO …

I was in conversation with a banker the other day and we got around to regulations and regulators, as many conversations with banks tend to do. There were some interesting reflections in that dialogue, however. I guess it falls into three categories: the way regulations …

Things we’re reading today include … Bank of England governor Mark Carney: Risk of no-deal Brexit now ‘alarmingly high’ Santander introduces tailored fraud warnings on banking app Over 40 Central Banks Are Considering Blockchain Currencies Brits far more likely to switch energy provider than bank …