Welcome to The Finanser by Chris Skinner. The Finanser discusses all things fintech, finance, banking, technology and, most importantly, the future. Chris Skinner has been voted the most influential technologist in Britain and received a lifetime achievement award for his visionary approach to the future of money from the Payments Association. He has advised the…
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This week’s blog discussions included … Let’s be honest: retail banking is broken Over the past decade, the industry has aggressively optimised for cost and digital efficiency and, in doing so, it has quietly dismantled the human infrastructure that made banking work for millions of people. Start with the facts. In the UK alone, more…
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In a new report by Boston Consulting Group, they conclude that the CIO is now the most important role in a bank. Not long ago, the CIO was the person who kept the lights on and kept core systems stable, costs controlled, projects delivered (eventually). That world is gone. According to BCG, the CIO now…
Read More
Over the past decade, the industry has aggressively optimised for cost and digital efficiency and, in doing so, it has quietly dismantled the human infrastructure that made banking work for millions of people. Start with the facts. In the UK alone, more than 6,000 bank branches have closed since 2015, according to consumer groups and…
Read More
I gave a TEDx talk last year about the jobs our children will have in the future … … and it is a theme I keep returning to because I have twin boys who are ten years old now. The school they go to are now looking for a new Board member, so I wrote…
Read More
In a new report by Boston Consulting Group, they conclude that the CIO is now the most important role in a bank. Not long ago, the CIO was the person who kept the lights on and kept core systems stable, costs controlled, projects delivered (eventually). That world is gone. According to BCG, the CIO now…
Read MoreOver the past decade, the industry has aggressively optimised for cost and digital efficiency and, in doing so, it has quietly dismantled the human infrastructure that made banking work for millions of people. Start with the facts. In the UK alone, more than 6,000 bank branches have closed since 2015, according to consumer groups and…
Read MoreI was recently working with WNS, part of Capgemini, on a few blogs. The posts are interesting so I’m sharing them here. Click on the headline links to read the full articles: Can AI Turn Regulatory Overload into Competitive Advantage in Banking? Regulation in banking is exploding, and most banks are handling it badly –…
Read More
I was recently interviewed by the International Finance Magazine about Revolut getting their UK banking licence and what this means to banks in general. Here’s the discussion: With Revolut securing a UK banking licence after years of scrutiny, do you see this as part of a broader shift where fintech platforms are evolving into fully regulated banks?…
Read More
We’ve moved from simplicity to fragmentation and now we’re struggling with the consequences. In short, we’ve built a highly fragmented financial world in the name of innovation and now the next phase is about reconnecting it, simplifying it, and making it usable again. By way of example, you have to launch several different apps to…
Read More
I’ve just read the regulatory roadmap that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority released this week and realised that it is less a neat plan and more a recognition that the current system is broken and we’ve run out of road with Open Banking. For the past decade, Open Banking has been the poster child of…
Read More
We love to throw phrases around to try to ground the next generation of banking. I was lucky enough to coin the phrase “digital bank” and “banking-as-a-service” years ago, and have now moved on to “intelligent bank” (coming out soon). For those who read my blog regularly, you will know that I see this as…
Read More
I read Jamie Dimon’s latest annual letter released yesterday. It has become, for many, one of the best benchmark letters to read about the state of banking each year and, as always, it’s less a report card on JPMorgan Chase and more a reflection on the state of the world. What struck me most is…
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I just found an interesting report on fintech in Germany, a place I’ve spent a lot of time with the likes of N26, Trade Republic, Mambu, Raisin and Solaris. That is just to name a few! The reality is that there are hundreds of fintechs in Germany – “more than 700” according to the German…
Read MoreIn a new report by Boston Consulting Group, they conclude that the CIO is now the most important role in a bank. Not long ago, the CIO was the person who kept the lights on and kept core systems stable, costs controlled, projects delivered (eventually). That world is gone. According to BCG, the CIO now…
Read MoreOver the past decade, the industry has aggressively optimised for cost and digital efficiency and, in doing so, it has quietly dismantled the human infrastructure that made banking work for millions of people. Start with the facts. In the UK alone, more than 6,000 bank branches have closed since 2015, according to consumer groups and…
Read MoreI’ve just been reading McKinsey’s latest piece about the AI-powered bank. It reads like a polite consulting report, but underneath it is a fairly brutal critique of the entire banking industry because what they’re really saying – without saying it – is that most banks are structurally incapable of benefiting from AI. It not because…
Read MoreI was recently working with WNS, part of Capgemini, on a few blogs. The posts are interesting so I’m sharing them here. Click on the headline links to read the full articles: Can AI Turn Regulatory Overload into Competitive Advantage in Banking? Regulation in banking is exploding, and most banks are handling it badly –…
Read MoreI was recently interviewed by the International Finance Magazine about Revolut getting their UK banking licence and what this means to banks in general. Here’s the discussion: With Revolut securing a UK banking licence after years of scrutiny, do you see this as part of a broader shift where fintech platforms are evolving into fully regulated banks?…
Read MoreWe’ve moved from simplicity to fragmentation and now we’re struggling with the consequences. In short, we’ve built a highly fragmented financial world in the name of innovation and now the next phase is about reconnecting it, simplifying it, and making it usable again. By way of example, you have to launch several different apps to…
Read More
A chat with Wio Bank, a fully digital, platform-based bank – I recently had a nudge to talk to Wio Bank, who claim to be the Middle East’s first fully digital, platform-based bank launched in Abu Dhabi in 2022 (not sure about this as there are over 20 neobanks operating in the Middle East). Backed…
Read MoreI’ve just read the regulatory roadmap that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority released this week and realised that it is less a neat plan and more a recognition that the current system is broken and we’ve run out of road with Open Banking. For the past decade, Open Banking has been the poster child of…
Read MoreWe love to throw phrases around to try to ground the next generation of banking. I was lucky enough to coin the phrase “digital bank” and “banking-as-a-service” years ago, and have now moved on to “intelligent bank” (coming out soon). For those who read my blog regularly, you will know that I see this as…
Read More
The Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security Institute (BISI) produced a document yesterday about the risk of cryptocurrency to democracy . Seriously? Cryptocurrency is a libertarian dream that gives all of us a democratic vote. What risk is there? Well, let’s dig into the detail as this is not about “innovation in payments” or “the future of…
Read More
I just had an interesting podcast conversation about stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and tokenised deposits. Most people in finance think they understand the differences, but it’s worth pausing for a moment, because the distinctions really matter. At a very simple level: stablecoins are privately issued digital tokens (think USDC or Tether) backed by…
Read More
I’ve been inundated with reports about stablecoins lately, and they all say the same thing … but in very different ways. So let me try and cut through the noise. Stablecoins are for wholesale commercial banking and trading today. They are not for the likes of you and me. But that will change. Let’s narrow…
Read More
There’s a fundamental truth about money that we often forget: money only works because we all agree to use the same system. Whether it’s Visa, SWIFT or central bank money, the power of finance has always come from shared networks. The bigger the network, the more useful the money. This is why the latest working…
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Google’s latest research delivers a clear warning: the cryptography securing today’s cryptocurrencies is not future-proof. Advances in quantum computing are accelerating, and the resources needed to break core encryption (elliptic curve cryptography) are far lower than previously thought. This isn’t a distant, theoretical risk anymore. It’s a strategic, time-bound challenge. What’s changed? 20x efficiency gain: Google…
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I recently tried to cash in a bitcoin. It’s a physical bitcoin that is active, and I have the bitcoin address. Then I realised I had lost the private keys to use it and, well, you can guess. It made me realise that, if I wasn’t around, what would happen to my crypto investments? How would…
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Short summary: Tokenization is not new, but dates back 10,000 years when early societies used clay tokens to record ownership of goods. These were not money, but data tools to track value. Modern digital tokens and blockchain systems are simply the latest evolution, but can now do more than just record transactions. We can now…
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I was just having a chat with an AI engine asking about the most common questions people ask about cryptocurrencies. Really interesting answer so, I thought I would share it here (with my edits), as I’d be really interested in your views and answers. Equally, I’m tempted to say that this should be a test…
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I was talking with a friend the other day who asked me to explain some basic questions around cryptocurrencies, as he was confused. It started with why everyone is talking about layers of blockchain? I explained that there are four layers, starting with level 0 and then 1, 2 and 3, and it is all…
Read MoreI gave a TEDx talk last year about the jobs our children will have in the future … … and it is a theme I keep returning to because I have twin boys who are ten years old now. The school they go to are now looking for a new Board member, so I wrote…
Read MoreI’ve just been reading McKinsey’s latest piece about the AI-powered bank. It reads like a polite consulting report, but underneath it is a fairly brutal critique of the entire banking industry because what they’re really saying – without saying it – is that most banks are structurally incapable of benefiting from AI. It not because…
Read MoreThe Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security Institute (BISI) produced a document yesterday about the risk of cryptocurrency to democracy . Seriously? Cryptocurrency is a libertarian dream that gives all of us a democratic vote. What risk is there? Well, let’s dig into the detail as this is not about “innovation in payments” or “the future of…
Read More
I always love looking back to the past for predictions of the future. From The Jetsons flying car to the communicator in Star Trek, there are so many examples of science fiction, much of which has become science fact. Just look at SpaceX’s reusable rockets or the Artemis II crew flying around the moon, and…
Read MoreI’ve just read the regulatory roadmap that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority released this week and realised that it is less a neat plan and more a recognition that the current system is broken and we’ve run out of road with Open Banking. For the past decade, Open Banking has been the poster child of…
Read MoreI just had an interesting podcast conversation about stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and tokenised deposits. Most people in finance think they understand the differences, but it’s worth pausing for a moment, because the distinctions really matter. At a very simple level: stablecoins are privately issued digital tokens (think USDC or Tether) backed by…
Read More
It was interesting that, last week, US regulators called an urgent meeting with the CEOs of the largest banks last Thursday, after the emergence of a new AI model from Anthropic called Claude Mythos. The reason wasn’t hype – it was capability. This model appears able to identify deep vulnerabilities in widely used software and…
Read MoreI’ve been inundated with reports about stablecoins lately, and they all say the same thing … but in very different ways. So let me try and cut through the noise. Stablecoins are for wholesale commercial banking and trading today. They are not for the likes of you and me. But that will change. Let’s narrow…
Read More
I was talking to an insider friend in the Revolut empire yesterday and he implied that Revolut is in talks to acquire a major Asian bank in its expansion across the region. I asked him which bank? but he kept schtum. So, I was thinking about it and wondered if it could be DBS? DBS operates…
Read MoreThis week’s blog discussions included … Let’s be honest: retail banking is broken Over the past decade, the industry has aggressively optimised for cost and digital efficiency and, in doing so, it has quietly dismantled the human infrastructure that made banking work for millions of people. Start with the facts. In the UK alone, more…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Bank scam crackdowns are ‘futile’ without help from social media giants North Korea Accuses “Reptile Media” For Cryptocurrency Theft Allegations Canada just got its first regulated digital dollar to take on the U.S. stablecoin’s crypto dominance Anthropic and FIS partner to deploy AI agents for bank fraud detection ‘Inflection…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Should You Forget Big Banks and Bet on Fintech Instead? How cryptocurrency is ‘like subprime, but dumber.’ A new documentary offers some insight Airwallex and Arsenal: Where Fintech Meets Football Santander makes bombshell £3 billion announcement affecting millions of Brits Bank of England is gold standard for tech projects,…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … If people do not trust the system, they will not use it I just got the LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) Risk Intelligence report which makes clear that we have crossed a line. Fraud is no longer something that happens at the edges of the financial system. It has…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Eric Trump Disappears From Troubled Fintech’s Public Leadership Cryptocurrency Mining: Growing Strain On The U.S. Electricity Sector Ebury to raise £550m in funding as Santander ups stake to 55% Bain & Company: Stablecoin Surge to Reshape Global Finance PayPal Restructures Business to Establish Cryptocurrency Division Russia circumvents foreign trade…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Europe’s largest cryptocurrency adoption study Fintech M&A rebounds despite drop in public valuations How US and Iran are playing a crypto cat-and-mouse game over sanctions The New Role of the Bank CIO in the AI Era BNP Paribas reports 9% rise in Q1 profit, investment bank stutters Nubank: Defining…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Texas man who ran cryptocurrency scam supposedly backed by blue-chip art worth $1bn sentenced to 23 years in prison Barclays cuts back risky lending after £228m hit from UK mortgage firm MFS Lloyds Bank confirms another 80,500 customers’ transactions may have been exposed by major IT glitch Why healthcare…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Bitcoin drives back toward $80K—but one billionaire may be fuelling much of the rally Swiss bank Lombard and daughter of former Uzbek president accused in money laundering trial Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News Ant International and Citi Reshape SME Payments with PayTo Cryptocurrency: Risks to Democracy Why Businesses…
Read MoreThis week’s blog discussions included … Let’s be honest: retail banking is broken Over the past decade, the industry has aggressively optimised for cost and digital efficiency and, in doing so, it has quietly dismantled the human infrastructure that made banking work for millions of people. Start with the facts. In the UK alone, more…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … If people do not trust the system, they will not use it I just got the LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) Risk Intelligence report which makes clear that we have crossed a line. Fraud is no longer something that happens at the edges of the financial system. It has…
Read More
This week’s main discussions include … Will global fintech banks destroy traditional banking? I was recently interviewed by the International Finance Magazine about Revolut getting their UK banking licence and what this means to banks in general. Here’s the discussion: With Revolut securing a UK banking licence after years of scrutiny, do you see this as part…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Did the regulator just admit that banking is a mess? I’ve just read the regulatory roadmap that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority released this week and realised that it is less a neat plan and more a recognition that the current system is broken and we’ve run out of…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Almost half of the world’s banks aren’t ready for ISO20022 Just got some interesting research from RedCompass Labs that states 44% of banks aren’t on track to meet ISO 20022’s structured address migration deadline in November 2026. It’s an important deadline as it marks a hard stop to the old SWIFT…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Money only works in a trusted, shared system … which is why blockchains don’t work There’s a fundamental truth about money that we often forget: money only works because we all agree to use the same system. Whether it’s Visa, SWIFT or central bank money, the power of finance…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Programmable liquidity: five foundations reshaping modern treasury I had a great chat the other day – the first in a series of three – with Quant’s Chief Product Officer Martin Hargreaves about programmable liquidity. What’s that? Read on … Programmable liquidity: five foundations reshaping modern treasury How is programmable…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Is the future digital identity your heartbeat? I use a variety of sites like Coinbase and IG for investing but find them very cumbersome. Trying to find how to sell and get rid of assets is not easy, unless you do it often. Here’s my vision of the near-term…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … What is x402 and why will it transform payments? The next era of payments: when money moves at internet speed I just found an interesting report by KPMG about a new payment standard called x402. Have you heard of it? If you haven’t, it’s built to ensure open, free, frictionless…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … The Intelligence Revolution I just did a webinar sponsored by Xpand IT. Here is a summary: From Physical to Digital to Intelligent: The Third Revolution of Finance Let me start with a simple question. How many of you think we’re living through a period of unprecedented change in finance?…
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