Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

Over ten years ago, I started blogging about cloud computing and financial services. Many banks dismissed the idea back then as “the regulator wouldn’t allow it”. Then the regulator did allow it in some countries, but banks were confused about the regulatory position. For example, …

Following on from Facebook’s announcement of its own digital currency Libra, the key regulatory body of banking – the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) – which sets standards like the Basel capital reserve requirements, has stepped into the debate and produced a report on their …

Things we’re reading today include … Has Deutsche Bank left it years too late for a turnaround? U.S. regulators ask Deutsche Bank to explain ‘bad bank’ proposal – FT Britain’s HSBC to help modern slaves ‘rebuild lives’ with bank access Malaysia’s 1MDB criminal case against …

The main blog headlines are … Monzo and Marcus: American challengers or just noise? My mate Ron Shevlin is on good form these days. He’s written quite a few columns on Forbes that are clickbait: Customers don’t want digital banking The FinTech fast follower fallacy …

Looking at the world of the future, we all wonder what will happen to work. Will we still have jobs? Will all the dumb jobs disappear so we no longer have call centres (replaced by chatbots and avatars); accountants and auditors (replaced by AI algorithms); …

Things we’re reading today include … Global financial bodies not fit for purpose, John McDonnell says Lost wallets more likely to be returned if they contain large sum of money, scientists find Why has Facebook coined their new cryptocurrency Libra? Mark Carney clears the path …

I’ve blogged a few times about Facebook planning to launch a currency … Will Facebook become the world’s central bank? If Facebook launch a cryptocurrency, will US government shut it down? … and the fact that most regulators won’t like it. In fact, there are …

Things we’re reading today include … Libra: Facebook launches cryptocurrency in bid to shake up global finance Donald Trump attacks ECB for ‘currency manipulation’ Challenger bank CYBG looks to Branson brand Lloyds staff happy with chief executive’s £6.3m pay package, MPs told Britain must act …

My mate Ron Shevlin is on good form these days. He’s written quite a few columns on Forbes that are clickbait: Customers don’t want digital banking The FinTech fast follower fallacy (which I spotted just after writing this yesterday) His latest created quite a twitter …

Things we’re reading today include … MoneyGram shares more than double on Ripple deal Beware fake payment texts that claim to be from Green Star RBS picks Marieke Flament to head business-focused digital bank Facebook’s Libra launch will extend its global domination Is Facebook’s Libra …

I was having dinner with a friend the other night, when he asked me: “what do you think about the fast follower strategy?” I said it was stupid and doesn’t work. He then added that the major bank he’s working with are proud that this …

Things we’re reading today include … Why the Dutch Hate Bankers Lloyds launches a banking app to view current accounts, savings and credit cards all in one place The Bank of England’s biggest problem? The City of London Loot founder and 17 team members join …

In my presentations I regularly talk about legacy Europe and America and leapfrog countries from China to India to Kenya to Colombia. The reason the latter countries are leapfrogging Europe and America is that they didn’t have a large, ingrained existing infrastructure for payments and …

Things we’re reading today include … Challengers under fire from Bank Bank of England says new lenders could be ill-prepared for downturns Deutsche Bank to set up 50 billion euro bad bank: FT The Bank of England’s biggest problem? The City of London Crypto is …

The main blog headlines are … Challenger banks don’t matter as they’re not a primary account During Money 2020 Europe, I bumped into a chap from Monzo. No names mentioned, but he was buzzing and no wonder. The start-up has just boomed through two million …

I annoy a lot of people. I don’t mean to. But anyone with a description of ‘troublemaker’ is going to annoy someone. What’s interesting is the different reactions I get from start-ups, technology firms, banks and internet giants. In general, the ones who seem to …

Things we’re reading today include …. Britain’s wildly popular Monzo banking app is coming to America Meet the British Banks showing the US how it’s done Truist will soon be one of America’s biggest banks Digital technology will strengthen America’s biggest retail banks Facebook hires …

I just went through a conversation about my presentation for a forthcoming conference. They didn’t want to provide a prescriptive approach, and just asked what I talked about in general. That’s a challenge, as I once turned up at a conference and they said to …

Things we’re reading today include …. IBM, Hyperledger Blockchain ID System for Banks Launches in Brazil This branchless bank quadrupled its customer base to 4 million in a single year Square Wants You to Use Its Cash App Like a Bank Account Goldman Sachs offering …

I’m a technology lover. Always have been, always will be. To me, technology is like magic. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke Too damn right Arthur. I love technology. But then I got to thinking about what technology is doing …

Things we’re reading today include … Singapore’s Ride-Hailing App Grab Mulls Becoming a Bank JP Morgan’s 180 On Its Stand-Alone Digital Bank Underscores The Adoption Challenges Facing Crypto Banks Are Second, Or Third, Choice For IT Grads, So They Have To Work Harder The heavy …

During Money 2020 Europe, I bumped into a chap from Monzo. No names mentioned, but he was buzzing and no wonder. The start-up has just boomed through two million users and is growing at over 60,000 account openings a week or 10,000 per day. Some …