The Finanser’s Week: 22nd August – 28th August 2016

Here are our key posts for the past week …

Applying Blockchain to Clearing and Settlement

I’ve talked a lot about blockchain, but not much lately about the use cases, of which four stand out in terms of real activity: Clearing and Settlement, Trade Finance, Payments and Digital Identity.  I thought I’d do a deeper dive into these during the quietness of …

Six Standout Start-ups Focused Upon Blockchain Clearing and Settlement

After yesterday’s blog generally about blockchain use case implications in Clearing and Settlement markets, here are the six companies I see as being at the forefront of changing the game: Digital Asset, SETL, tO, Clearmatics, Symbiont and itBit. Digital Asset Digital Asset – also known …

Applying Blockchain to Trade Finance

After Clearing and Settlement as a blockchain use case, the next big area of interest is Trade Finance.  This is primarily because it’s an area full of inefficiencies and open to fraud.  Bills of Lading and Letters of Credit are old world methods of managing …

Five Standout Start-Ups Focused Upon Blockchain Trade Finance

In Trade Finance there’s a lot of activity.  As mentioned yesterday, you have HSBC and Bank of America working with HyperLedger; R3 trialling with 15 banks based upon Corda; Ripple working with Standard Chartered and DBS; and JPMorgan have been developing a trade finance trial …

Applying Blockchain to Payments

I’ve blogged for over a week about blockchain based developments in Clearing & Settlement and Trade Finance, and will continue for another week talking about the developments in Payments and Digital Identity.  However, at this point, I should clarify that I use the term blockchain …

Nine Standout Start-ups Focused Upon Blockchain Payments

There are a number of base blockchain platforms that are important in the payments sphere, with the three leading players being Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.  These are the base development platforms, rather than a payments service per se, and choosing which to use is intriguing …

Applying Blockchain to Identity

In my final deep dive into blockchain use cases, I come to digital identity.  Now this is a thorny area for three reasons. First, we need to understand what we mean by identity before we can talk about how blockchains could help. Second, we need …

12 Standout Start-ups Focused Upon Blockchain Identity

Digital identity is a complex area, as discussed yesterday.  First, it is focused upon shared ledgers and blockchain, not just blockchain; second, it needs to have some permission basis; third, we need to have a structure agreed for who is providing permissions; and fourth, it …

How much is being invested in blockchain start-ups?

I can’t finish writing my blockchain and DLT dialogue without wrapping up the missing bits.  This blog series is not meant to be an exhaustive list of every company and every use case, just the ones that stand out for me in a banking context. …

 

The key headlines this week include ...

Deutsche boss: negative interest rates are 'fatal' - The Telegraph

Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio on his alleged affair: We all make mistakes - The Telegraph

Banks are forgetting their social function - The Guardian
It is not only commercial banks that are creating problems (Communities count cost as high street banks vanish, 22 August). I act as treasurer to a small sports club and have, at the end of the summer, hundreds of pounds in match fees to bank in small change.

Blockchain Is Banks' Secret Sauce - Bloomberg
Here's some good news for bank shareholders: Profits are about to rise. Sorry to inform the hundreds of thousands of people who work in the various transaction-verification processes, but that will come at the expense of your jobs.

Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio to express 'deep regret' to staff following affair allegations - The Telegraph

Big banks plan new digital currency - Financial Times
Group of major lenders seeks industry standard for settlements

The euro has destroyed the EU and led directly to Brexit - The Telegraph

Bank branch closures trigger high street alarm bells - The Guardian
The big banks have shut 1,700 branches across the UK in the last five years with many more planned. Those counting the cost will be small businesses and the elderly, campaigners warn

Establishment has much to learn from new breed of retail banks - Financial Times
The new competitors in the financial sector do not sound much like banks. With Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group you knew where you were. The upstarts go by Starling, Atom, Mondo and the even more cryptically named “B”.

This is how scammers are using iPods to steal your bank details - Daily Mirror
Police say the simple trick is being used by an organised gang of criminals operating across the country to dupe unwitting customers out of huge sums of cash …

 

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