Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

For most of my time working with banks, regulators were about clipping banks’ wings to suit the market. Today they are all about opening markets and enabling innovation. Jason Butcher, an entrepreneur and a friend, recently posted a picture of a tree on LinkedIn and likened it …

Things we’re reading today include … Insulting descriptions city centre bank kept of its customers Former Metro Bank boss Vernon Hill fights ousting at US lender Commonwealth Bank pauses in-app cryptocurrency trading after market turmoil Google says its Russian bank account has been seized City …

I just received an interesting report from Simon Kucher & Partners, a marketing strategy consulting firm, about Neobanks. It starts with some basic stats: There are 400 neobanks around the world with over a billion clients Over 50 neobanks launched in 2021 The main focus of …

Things we’re reading today include … The history of private bank notes in 1800s may hint at the future for stablecoins: Not a good one, says Goldman Sachs Citigroup shares jump 7% after Warren Buffett reveals a near $3 billion stake in the struggling bank …

I’ve been looking at buying a small property using my crypto savings. Practically, this creates an interesting dilemma as the seller wants the money in his bank account, whereas I’m trying to persuade him to sell with a payment to a crypto wallet. He doesn’t …

Things we’re reading today include … ‘Apocalyptic’ food prices will be disastrous for world’s poor, says Bank governor BoE governor says he is unable to stop inflation hitting 10% Bank of England chief says he’s unhappy about inflation but central bank not to blame Digital …

During May, the floor fell out of the cryptocurrency markets with many losing their life savings. You can question why they had their life savings invested in cryptocurrencies in the first place, but what made the price fall so far, so fast? The answer is …

Things we’re reading today include … Deutsche Bank SPAC banker who didn’t attend strip club gets job The Russian bank, the Bruce Willis ad and the $900m sanctions battle NatWest customers urged to check bank statements after huge payments glitch Recession warnings show the Bank …

This week’s main blog discussions include … I just woke up to my cancelled culture Growing up, my brother used to try hard to persuade me to attend The Motor Show. He is a petrolhead and the show would be the highlight of his year. …

Growing up, my brother used to try hard to persuade me to attend The Motor Show. He is a petrolhead and the show would be the highlight of his year. I went once. My lasting memory is almost every stand had women who were dressed …

Things we’re reading today include … Crash of TerraUSD Shakes Crypto. ‘There Was a Run on the Bank.’ N26 Closes the Accounts of Over 100 Clients, Who Claim They Still Have Gotten Their Money Back Starling Bank boss hopes banking is becoming less sexist BVNK …

I stumbled across the human library the other day. I’d never heard of it, but the idea is that instead of borrowing a book, you borrow a human and listen to their life story. It’s a conversation over a table, and you learn how they …

I was thinking about cryptocurrencies and the fact that most of us have heard of bitcoin and Ethereum. You may have heard of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. Maybe you even know Cordana and Polygon. But do you know about UNI and Potcoin? Or Putincoin and …

I’ve been writing about banks needing to refresh core systems for years. and I’m fed up with it. I’ve also been writing about the new business model of digital banking based upon apps, APIs and analytics for years, and I’m fed up with it. We …

Chris Skinner, best-selling author of Digital Bank, Digital Human and Doing Digital, has just released his latest book Digital for Good, and it is now available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Good-Stand-Something-Will/dp/9814974404   The book will be officially launched at CFTE on June 6, Canary Wharf, London (if you want to attend, sign up here). …

This week’s main blog discussions included: What’s the new book about, Chris? I had an interview the other day about my new book Digital for Good. It felt like it was a worthy discussion, so thought it worth sharing again today. What is the number for your …

I was in the theatres again recently, watching shows. I love theatre, especially musicals (Ed: is it okay for Chris to say this?). I wondered why theatre is so special and then realised it’s that shared experience. A bunch of people on stage doing stuff, …

Things we’re reading today include … SEC nearly doubles crypto enforcement unit, citing fraud risk in booming market Big Tech data harvesting comes under fire by world central bank group Anti-discriminatory bank law getting update for modern era EU plans to evict largest Russian lender …

I noted that the FCA is holding the new UK banks to account for their mishaps over customer onboarding and, specifically, their lack of due diligence: Barclays’ fraud prevention team spotted a problem: some customers had handed over millions of pounds to a single, suspicious …

Things we’re reading today include … Blow for Barclays as 20% of shareholders reject climate strategy Swiss bank secrecy law has ‘chilling effect’ Stripe flexes its fintech muscle with Financial Connections to pull banking data automatically NatWest Group first UK bank to sign agreements with …

We all got excited a couple of years ago about the biggest FinTech IPO that would ever be listed. Ant Group would have listed with a valuation over $300 billion. They didn’t, because President Xi blocked it after Jack Ma messed up, but it was …

Things we’re reading today include … Global fintech sector employs more people than some countries HSBC investors give Ping An break-up plan cool response The future office: How banks are transforming their headquarters for hybrid work An ex-crypto miner on banking and the blockchain The …

Here’s the latest blog from Extinction Rebellion’s Co-founder Gail Bradbrook, with her colleagues Aidan Knox and Toby Gale (first, second and third are here). The Emperor’s Clothes and Barclays Bank “Some government and business leaders are saying one thing – but doing another. Simply put, …

Things we’re reading today include … Money laundering wake-up call for Britain’s digital banking upstarts Russian Bank Founder Says Kremlin Forced Sale of His Group Stake For Calling Ukraine War ‘Crazy’ The first climate stress tests for European banks have arrived Top reasons why customers …

I had an interview the other day about my new book Digital for Good. It felt like it was a worthy discussion, so thought it worth sharing again today. What is the number for your new book “Digital for Good“? Do you have the same feelings as …

Things we’re reading today include … Deutsche Bank Headquarters Raided by German Authorities in Money Laundering Probe Ditch plastic bank cards for good Fintech Roundup: What’s the deal with the one-click checkout space? Malaysia Awards Digital Bank Licenses To Groups Led By Grab, Sea, RHB …

This week’s main blog discussions include: How can you oversee a system you don’t see? I was intrigued by a post from a friend who had worked for a leading fund manager. Her boss was jailed for financial manipulation. In her words: “I witnessed the …

It’s interesting as I found two studies over the past few days that show Dogecoin and shiba Inu coins are the most popular on the net, beating bitcoin. Both reports were analysing Google Trends for searches, not acutally buying or use of crypto. Even so, …