Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

I’ve been writing and thinking a lot about ESG – Environment, Sustainability and Governance – as it’s the theme of my next book. Then up popped a headline: Prince Harry and Meghan are joining Ethic, a fintech asset manager in the fast-growing environmental, social and …

Things we’re reading today include … Is a Wave of Fintech Acquisitions Coming Soon? Bank of America registers double-digit revenue growth Digital currencies could spark financial meltdown, says Bank of England deputy governor StanChart targets buy now, pay later services through fintech tie-up Welcome to …

I just stumbled across a great article about ethical banking. We can call it socially useful banking or green banking or whatever, but it’s all about a bank’s role in society and the scheme of things. Are banks doing the right or wong things? My …

Things we’re reading today include: Bitcoin could trigger financial meltdown, warns Bank of England deputy G7 finance leaders lay out guidelines for central bank digital currencies From $0 in revenue to $7.25B valuation: Why TripActions $275M raise has fintech to thank Letter to Lloyds Banking …

I was reflecting on the fact that we work in our silo. Our silo is banking or FinTech or InsurTech or WealthTech or RegTech or whatever. What about HealthTech, FarmTech, PharmaTech, GovTech and all the other industries digitalising? What about if we linked them all …

Things we’re reading today include … Harry and Meghan vow to ‘change the world’ by moving into ‘ethical’ banking Joe Biden could become embroiled in the FBI’s probe into Hunter’s finances Most Brits now have 2.8 fintech apps on their smartphones Deutsche Bank faces €500m …

There’s a movement to use data to track and trace every human on Earth. It’s an inexorable movement which citizens are allowing as they sleepwalk into George Orwell’s vision of 1984. The Ministry of Data brings together every bit and byte of your life, and …

Things we’re reading today include … New Rules Needed to Deal With Risks From Cloud Computing: Bank of England Ukrainian bank chief dismissed, put under house arrest after scuffle with journalists Covid pandemic has pushed poor countries to record debt levels – World Bank Loans …

1948, 1984, 2030 We talk a lot about FinTech. Some of us then break it down and talk about InsurTech, WealthTech, TradeTech and more. But do we ever zoom out? What about just tech? What about just a digital world? It’s funny as I see …

Things we’re reading today include … JPMC, BoA, Other Big Banks Squeezed by Soaring Tech Costs Wall Street banks go into earnings season under a cloud of rising costs Bank pioneer Anthony Thomson to lead ‘buy now, pay later’ firm Zip Sber becomes Europe’s most …

This week’s main blog discussions include … Is there a good way to shut a customer down? My mate Dave Birch wrote a Forbes piece the other day titled Unbank the Banked. I thought it was going to be a story about how banks are …

I’ve recently shared a couple of quotes from years ago that gained a lot of social media traction. First, in 1953, Mark R. Sullivan of Pacific Telephone & Telegraph said: “In its final development, the telephone will be carried about by the individual, perhaps as …

Things we’re reading today include … NatWest faces fine over money laundering failings Square stock could rise by 25% U.S. banks expected to report mixed Q3 results, iffy loan outlook China’s Central Bank Governor Vows More Fintech Crackdown The Stanford University guide to China’s fintechs …

I’ve been watching the headlines related to Joe Biden’s pick for the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). OCC is an interesting department, as it can issue national bank charters for US banks, and often runs into trouble. By way …

Things we’re reading today include … NatWest snaps up kids banking FinTech RoosterMoney Will Personal Carbon Accounting Be The Breakthrough For Green Banking? Women in Fintech: Greatest Achievements with Chetwood Financial, Payl8er, Divido and Zumo We need a comptroller who can draw a line between …

Talking of Open Banking, I hosted a dinner focused upon Open Banking and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) in London the other night. The conversation was with neobanks and challengers and was an interesting mix of old and young views. For example, someone opened by saying that BaaS and …

Things we’re reading today include … Wall Street’s Largest Bank Is Banning Business Travel For Unvaccinated Employees Bank Groups Unite Against Biden’s Pick for Key Regulatory Post Bitcoin hits $50,000 as Bank of America says cryptocurrency just in the ‘first inning’ US Bank launches bitcoin …

My mate Dave Birch wrote a Forbes piece the other day titled Unbank the Banked. I thought it was going to be a story about how banks are ejecting thousands of customers due to poor onboarding. Instead Dave wrote about the unbanked don’t necessarily need …

Things we’re reading today include … Early investors in Revolut back London-based fintech Crezco in £3M funding Monzo moves ahead of rival fintechs and narrows gender pay gap Bank of America launches crypto research Can a post office be a bank? Challenger Bank Cheese To …

A year ago, Google announced a compelling new offer: “You’re lagging in technology. Your current vendors are years behind. Consumers think you’re irrelevant. We’re hip, we’re cool, we have all the latest technologies, Now, they’ve dumped it. Why? Most reports point to internal trouble and strife. For example, Ars …

Things we’re reading today include … Pandora papers: biggest ever leak of offshore data exposes financial secrets of rich and powerful How London Became a Global Center for Fintech and What U.S. Tech Hubs Can Learn From It Monzo withdraws US banking licence application Bank …

This week’s main blog discussions included … The day the old bank died For many years I’ve enjoyed talking about the origins of banking with the Medici’s in the Renaissance era. Amazingly, one bank has survived since then and I use them to talk about …

The financial marketplace is becoming incredibly diverse and niche. Instead of universal banks, we now have plug-and-play code. Some would call it an object-oriented market structure. The basics are that no one dominates this structure. Instead, there are boutique players at every level of the …

Things we’re reading today include … Digital bank fined by regulator due to weak anti-money laundering controls Central banks lay out operating manual for digital cash Will Regulators ‘De-Bank’ Challengers, Neos, Cryptos & Fintechs? Deutsche Bank to cut Europe branches as it refocuses on wealthy …

I was thinking about the day the old bank died, and thought the comment could be taken in a wider context: the day the old banks died. A lot of people want old banks to die, but they won’t. They’re the walking dead, in some …

Things we’re reading today include … iPhone users urged to remove Visa from Apple Pay due to dangerous contactless payments flaw iPhone users urged to remove Visa from Apple Pay due to dangerous contactless payments flaw U.K. Shoppers Have One Year to Spend £24 Billion …

For many years I’ve enjoyed talking about the origins of banking with the Medici’s in the Renaissance era. Amazingly, one bank has survived since then and I use them to talk about the oldest bank in the world. Do you know which bank that is? …

Thing we’re reading today include … Need to call your bank? Many can now dial 159 for safety Metro Bank techies placed at risk of redundancy, severance terms criticised Jamie Dimon says the bank is preparing for a ‘potentially catastrophic’ federal default China Evergrande to …