Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

This week I’m going to continue looking at mobile payments with a quick overview of where Square, Jack Dorsey’s card payments firm, is today. I’m sure you all saw this headline the other day but, just in case, Square is now worth more than Goldman …

Things we’re reading today include … Bitcoin, Ether Slump; Banks Can Now Back Stablecoins NatWest and Lloyds give hope to investors Marcus Bank slashes its easy-access account rate to 0.7% Yandex agrees $5.5bn deal for Russia’s top online bank Negative interest rates: Bank of England …

I need to shut up about Ant Group, as I’ve blogged a lot about them lately. However, with an IPO coming up and news coming out daily almost, it’s hard to ignore some of their activities. One activity that really hit me when it was …

Things we’re reading today include … National Australia Bank will pay you to break its systems The steak and wine court case behind new bank lending rules What $2tn in possible corrupt activity reveals about Kleptopia | Tom Burgis Hundreds of City firms at risk …

I recently saw the announcement from Santander of a foreign exchange service called PagoFX. It’s a service that goes head-to-head with TransferWise and is an interesting example of fighting back. As a result, I asked Victoria Yasinetskaya, CMO at PagoFX to tell me a bit more …

Things we’re reading today include … Wells Fargo’s Charles Scharf apologises over race comments JPMorgan in talks to settle spoofing claims for $1bn ‘My bank is shutting my account because of Brexit’ Westpac handed record fine worth £722m – for breaching money-laundering laws 23 million …

A while ago, I wrote about the IPO and whether you should invest. It’s still coming, but the valuation of the company is now even bigger. 15 percent bigger to be exact. That will make Ant’s IPO the biggest ever in history! Not bad for …

Things we’re reading today include … Bank of England to propose simpler rules for small banks The financial watchdog may have finally brought insurers to heel Brexit and the City: Brussels’ new battle to rival London in finance Could churches double up as bank branches …

I first started blogging about smart mobile wallets in earnest in 2014. Back then, the mobile network operators were starting to get active and to try and bring the M-PESA and other experiences to the modern world. But no one wanted them. Six years later, …

Things we’re reading today include … Bank of the Future, Mapped by McKinsey Starling Bank’s Anne Boden: ‘We’ve always had a model that was going to be profitable’ Federal Reserve starts effort to update bank fair lending rules Europe’s fintechs facing an ‘existential threat’, says …

I’ve realised over the last few weeks that my FinTech Karaoke is generally having a dig at bad bankers. It’s easy to have a go at bad bankers or, as the 99% call them, banksters. It’s because there’s a lot of bad practices historically in …

[A longer version of this blog appears here, explaining why so many songs are anti-bank] During lockdown, Spotify has found that the song Mr Blue Sky by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) is the most popular song of the summer. It makes us feel good, …

Things we’re reading today include … Brits in EU risk losing UK bank accounts ‘within weeks’ Deutsche Bank: Suspected of facilitating funds to ISIS in Iraq Leaked docs: Arab Bank was involved in potential terrorist financing until 2016 FinCEN Files: HSBC moved Ponzi scheme millions …

The main blog discussions this week include …. True innovation comes from collaboration This week is a bit different on the blog as I’m going to introduce you to one of my other businesses: Nordic Future Innovation. Nordic Future Innovation (originally Nordic Finance Innovation) is a …

This week’s blogs are inspired by our global connector Marisol Menendez The final interview with our Nordic Connection Festival companies is with the winner, Meniga (I was not a judge!). I spoke with Bragi Fjalldal, CMO & VP Business Development, about what the company is …

Things we’re reading today include … UK interest rates likely to fall below zero in 2021 Bank of England talks negative interest rates in best ‘ad’ for Bitcoin Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange Plans to Be Global Bank Swedish bank cuts branches and jobs, increases IT spend …

This week’s blogs are inspired by our global connector Marisol Menendez In the second of this week’s interviews with firms who were winners of our Nordic Connection Festival, I spoke with Siam Choudhury, Co-founder and CEO of Pliance, an anti-money laundering solution. To begin with …

Things we’re reading today include … Will the BoE inject more stimulus into the UK economy? British Business Bank boost business loans by 21% over 2020 Former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney adds to his wealth by joining PIMCO Banks report surge in impersonation …

This week’s blogs are inspired by our global connector Marisol Menendez As mentioned, this week is a little different and, in the first of three interviews with entries in our Nordic Connection Festival during the summer, I interviewed Davyde Wachell, founder and CEO of Responsive …

Things we’re reading today include … Relief for City as EU extends bank access to London clearing houses UK banks sign Fintech Pledge This time the insurance industry lost after reading the small print | Nils Pratley EY chairman admits ‘regret’ over Wirecard failures in …

This week’s blogs are inspired by our global connector Marisol Menendez This week is a bit different on the blog as I’m going to introduce you to one of my other businesses: Nordic Future Innovation. Nordic Future Innovation (originally Nordic Finance Innovation) is a venture I  started …

Things we’re reading today include … CREST problems return, Bank of England delays gilt buy-back Consumer Trust in Digital-Only Banks Falls During Lockdown 3x Faster Than High Street Banks Banks aren’t dealing with financial abuse. Monzo has an answer Lloyds to experiment with office changes …

I remember someone made a comment at a conference a while ago, and it got a big laugh. An academic is someone who looks at something working in practice and wonders what it looks like in theory Hmmm. Does that mean: A practitioner is someone …

Now I’m no Jay-Z and definitely a million miles from a Rihanna, but there is an old saying attributed to Mark Twain that “a banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins …

Things we’re reading today include: Climate Stress Tests Will Eventually Influence Bank Capital Quarter of bank branches will close in coming three years Investors call for end to ban on dividends Now banks are charging you interest on your savings Google must act on scam …

Welcome to The Finanser, the portal to the knowledge base of the Financial Services Club, chaired by Chris Skinner. To make an enquiry about a speaking engagement, just contact us and, if you are interested in Chris Skinner as a speaker, here’s an illustration of his keynote …

The main blog discussions this week include …. Does management theory work anymore? After blogging the other day that big banks will never be replaced and they’re just playing a game of Pac-Man, I was watching this two-minute explainer of Michael Porter’s five forces from Harvard …

After blogging the other day that big banks will never be replaced and they’re just playing a game of Pac-Man, I was watching this two-minute explainer of Michael Porter’s five forces from Harvard Business Review (a two-minute video):  The five forces are buyers (customers), suppliers, …