Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

I was really surprised how popular the Elephant became last year. In fact, he seems to have a fan following, so much so that one of my friends who runs media in Europe, Rik Coeckelbergs (The Banking Scene), asked if he could interview the elephant. Here’s …

I recently got involved in some research that Salesforce put together at the end of last year. They surveyed 2,800 financial services leaders in two waves just before and after the pandemic hit. The first was fielded from November 12 through December 12, 2019 that …

Things we’re reading today include … Over a quarter of Brits now have a digital-only bank account German economy shrank by just 5% in 2020 amid Covid-19 Commerzbank suspends coverage of groups tracked by former Wirecard analyst BlackRock assets surge to record $8.68tn Biden unveils …

I just received this endorsement from Arnold Schwarzenegger.  It’s the Terminator saying I’m a good guy. Amazing and, awww, thanks Arnie. Thing is, it’s fake. It’s not Arnold Schwarzenegger at all. It’s a deep fake. What amazes me is how real it looks – …

Things we’re reading today include … Bank customers could have accounts CLOSED if they refuse to wear face masks in branches NCR/Cardtronics/ATMs: dispenser defender Grab raises $300m for its financial services business Deutsche Bank joins companies cutting ties with Donald Trump Lowest paid in UK …

I saw this tweet the other day Finally set up @IFTTT and every time I like your tweet 25p goes into my ‘treat yourself’ Monzo pot and yes that means I just monetised us *both* but dammit let me live!!!! — Liz Ward 🇰🇳🇮🇪🌹 (@LizMaryWard) …

Things we’re reading today include … Starling Bank wants to buy a lender UK economy facing its ‘darkest hour’ due to lockdown, warns Bank governor Programmer has two guesses left to access £175m bitcoin wallet Deutsche and Signature banks cut ties with Trump in wake …

A year ago, I invested $1,000 in bitcoin. Today, that’s worth $10,000. OK, I made those figures up. I actually invested and have invested and keep investing in bitcoin and, more importantly, ether – the currency of Ethereum – in which I have more confidence …

Things we’re reading today include … Sunak says Brexit will ‘reinforce’ City as leading financial centre US banks to delist hundreds of HK-listed products under Trump rules Rishi Sunak warns UK economy will get worse before it gets better Retail sales in 2020 worst on …

With Jack Ma disappeared and Alibaba and Ant Group possibly nationalised, China’s government is dictating its future. A bit like my What’s happening in Hong Kong blog – the most read one of 2020 – I now have a Where’s Jack Ma blog. I’m tracking and …

Things we’re reading today include … Bitcoin holders barred from depositing profits in UK banks Digital Banking Platform Revolut Confirms it has Temporary Permit from FCA to Offer Cryptocurrency Services Europe’s Largest Bank Suspected Of Greenwashing State Street to insist companies disclose diversity data Shareholders …

The main blog discussions this week include … Happy New Year 2021! Here’s what’s going to happen … After a year where every day felt like Groundhog day – same shit, different day (SSDD) – I’m hoping that 2021 will be different – different shit, …

Andreesson Horowitz’s Chris Dixon shared a presentation about crypto and blockchain during the holiday break.  Interesting, but is it good? Not sure, but I’m not going to make big predictions about tokenisation, regulation and the price of bitcoin in January 2022. Instead, I asked …

Things we’re reading today include … Elon Musk becomes world’s richest person Elon Musk’s six secrets to business success Up to 4,000 UK financial services firms at risk because of pandemic, warns FCA ‘New York is not dead, but it is on life support’ ‘Cultural …

I was looking for any decent reports on the big tech trends for 2021 and first of all  stumbled upon an interesting report from 2017. This was for the World Economic Forum, who surveyed 800 experts on their views of the key technologies for the …

Things we’re reading today include … “Evil mobile emulator farms” used to steal millions from US and EU banks Trump’s private bankers resign from Deutsche Bank Crypto Markets Jump on OCC Approval for Banks to Use Blockchains FTSE 100 chief executives ‘earn average salary within …

As regular readers will know, I quite like Global Processing Services (GPS), the payments processing firm behind many of the leading FinTechs I deal with. So, when they sent me their views of 2021 trends for FinTech and payments, how could I resist? Enjoy! Four …

Things we’re reading today include … Cryptocurrency Guidance For Banks And The Future Of Payments Covid-19 Aftermath Could Spell a ‘Lost Decade’ for Global Economy, World Bank Says Banks Blast Rule That Would Force Lending to Oil, Gun Firms EU urged to push UK harder …

There are lots and lots and lots of reports and predictions for 2021 in banking. The one I liked the best is the report from Standard & Poor’s (S&P, see end of blog) about the impact of the crisis in 2020 and the outlook for …

Things we’re reading today include: Data-hungry fintech firms urge FCA to ‘break’ banks this year How four of this year’s Transformers helped the world’s biggest banks survive —and thrive—in the pandemic Bank for farmers gets backing from Duke of Westminster group EU share trading flees …

After a year where every day felt like Groundhog day – same shit, different day (SSDD) – I’m hoping that 2021 will be different – different shit, every day (DSED). I’m not complaining, but 2020 was pretty awful. Some loved it – more time at …

Things we’re reading today include … Deutsche Bank should play leading role in banking consolidation – CEO Why Your 2021 Resolution Should Be to Buy More Bank Stocks UK banks to launch wave of green products U.S. Banks 2021 Sector Outlook Turns Stable The best …

I said I was on holiday, which I am, but noticed a very nice round up of 2020’s biggest Fintech news stories by Abraham A. Tachjian, who writes at ATonFinTech.com. I felt it was a good way to end the year and Abraham kindly said …

These are my favourite seasonal ecards to wish you a happy holidays, and here’s to a great next year (where was 2020? did it happen?) … From Tom Fishburne, The Marketoonist From Matt Cartoons From Dave Birch From George Lucas

Things we’re reading today include … Digital Banking As The New Normal In 2021: What To Expect From Banks The Year the Fed Changed Forever Bank of England must have ‘laser focus’ on inflation – Haldane US banks rack up $200bn in fines and penalties …

This is my last blog of 2020, so I thought I would look back at the year with a personal view. A terrible year. A year of locked down loneliness for many. In my case, it’s been hard. I am used to being in a …

Things we’re reading today include … Swedish central bank moves e-krona project to next stage Card payment refund scheme aims to wean tax-dodging Italians off cash UK watchdog bans Klarna Covid shopping advert Scotland’s financial sector ready for Brexit, says trade body Trump’s private banker …

I was chatting with a friend the other day, who pointed out my predictions. I don’t like to talk about them, as I’ve made so many, but he focused upon how accurate most of them have been. I was one of the first to talk …