This week's main stories are ...
The Digital Bank Debate Continues
I mentioned a few weeks ago that we had a great twitter debate between Brett King and Michal Panowicz, with others joining like Jim Marous and myself. The debate continues, as there were too many reports coming out at the weekend signalling the death knell of the branch operation. It started with the BBA’s annual update on the Way We Bank Now, which found amazing stats, such as ...
Digital banks think differently
Six years ago, when #innotribe first started at #sibos, we were given the chance to pitch an idea. My team’s idea was to integrate the trust you have built in the social network into the financial credit scoring system, and give you a trust score that could be leveraged by the bank. We didn’t win the pitch competition, but I’ve always believed this is a great idea.
Three key steps to becoming a Digital Bank
I had a fascinating conversation with a bank about digital strategies, and am now well versed in my approach. A bank has to redesign itself from the ground up to be digital. It’s not a channel or an add-on, but fabric and foundation of the new way to bank. Old systems that process in batch over days no longer are relevant in a real-time mobile world, so we must rethink. To do this, we have three challenges: first to buy into digital; second to get everyone on board; and finally to convince our customers.
If I call you and you pick up next week, am I happy? So why do I accept this for a payment?
I often sit and think about the claim from my bitcoin friends that they’ve invented money without government. I’ve blogged about it quite often too. The reason it is of so much interest is that if the blockchain and bitcoin can circumvent the financial system and the banks, then we really are in transformational times.
My favourite banking screw up stories
There are so many examples of banks messing up customer accounts around the world that it would be tough to know where to start … except that as I live in Britain, that’s pretty good place to begin. The media here love to regularly report banks messing up, and so here are some of my favourites.
The major general news stories of the past week include ...
Lloyds' boss to support bank ring-fence - The Telegraph
Lloyds Banking Group chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio will break ranks to defend the ring-fence
Natwest customers are panicking after thousands of payments went 'missing' overnight - The Independent
NatWest has alerted customers that up to 600,000 overnight payments may be "missing" from bank accounts due to a technical glitch, sparking a string of complaints over "yet another Natwest blunder".
Nationwide accounts 'disappear' online after weekend IT upgrade - The Independent
Millions of Nationwide customers were unable to access their accounts online yesterday after a planned IT upgrade at the weekend caused accounts to apparently “disappear”.
A Bank CEO Said Elizabeth Warren Doesn’t Understand Wall Street. Her Response Was Perfect. - Think Progress
On Wednesday, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon said of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (D), “I don’t know if she fully understands the global banking system.” By Thursday, Warren already had a response.
Sweden’s 3rd Largest Bank Sponsors a Full-Page Ad to Explain Its Stance on Bitcoin - The Coin Telegraph
Swedish bank SEB (Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB) placed a sponsored, full-page ad this week in Sweden’s largest online newspaper, Swedish Dagbladet. Written in article format, it was titled “This May be Bitcoin's Fatal Blow.”
The hi-tech future of banking, coming to an app near you soon - The Telegraph
The enthusiasm with which the British public has embraced mobile banking has been 'staggering', according to banking chief
The tricky business of rebranding banks - Financial Times
When it comes to names, globalisation is going into reverse
Greece poised on the verge of catastrophic debt default as bailout talks collapse - The Independent
The world’s financial markets are facing up to the possibility that Greece could soon become the first country to crash out of Europe’s single currency. Talks between Athens and its eurozone creditors have collapsed in acrimony just days before a final deadline for Greece to unlock the €7.2bn (£5.2bn) in
Greece 'headed for painful euro exit' - BBC
Greece's central bank has warned for the first time that the country could be on a "painful course" towards default and exiting the eurozone.
Is Europe really safe in the event of a Grexit? - The Independent
Greece is on the brink of crashing out of the eurozone. So what’s new? Haven’t we been reading headlines like that for the past three years?
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Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
