The main blog headlines are …
Where Top US Banks Are Betting On Fintech
After yesterday’s article about how backward America is, in terms of payments, there’s a useful article talking about how they’re trying to rectify this. Bearing in mind that the big American banks are all spending $10 billion plus each on technology, they should be updating, …
America: a nation living in the 20th Century
When did you last write a check (cheque)? When did you last receive one? Although a valid payment mechanism in some countries, it has been phased out in many. Finland stopped using checks in 1993, Poland in 2006 and the Netherlands from the start of …
I often say that blockchain is one of the most complex areas, combining all we don’t know about technology with all we don’t understand about finance. It’s a big hole of acronyms, confusion and debate. Some things that claim to be blockchain don’t use blockchains, …
I got an interesting graphic from RBS/NatWest who surveyed their customers about what they’re saving for. The interesting result is the dichotomy between the regions, where it shows that Southern British are saving to buy a house whilst Northerners, Scots, Welsh and Irish are all …
I often talk about the business model of a bank (or any business) being made up of three major parts: A back office that manufactures the product and administers the service; A middle office where the infrastructure is built to connect the back and front …
And the top news headlines this week are …
How has Brexit vote affected the UK economy? August verdict - Guardian
Each month we look at key indicators to see what effect the Brexit process has had on growth, prosperity and trade UK economy: slowing global growth adds to recession risk Recession looms for Britain – experts debate the data Continue reading...
Exclusive: Fake-branded bars slip dirty gold into world markets - Reuters
A forgery crisis is quietly roiling the world's gold industry.
Free-to-use ATMs to be brought to high streets where cash is still king as part of trial funded by banks - The Telegraph
UK banks plan transaction levy to compensate fraud victims - Financial Times
Concern that proposed charges on faster payments could be passed on to consumers
Cryptos/Switzerland: mountain pass - Financial Times
Ultimately, the financial system will benefit from Swiss experimentation.
A meeting of economists and central bankers was overshadowed by President Donald Trump - Economist
But in some ways, he brought them together
RBS and NatWest websites' problems fixed - BBC
Problems accessing online bank accounts have now been resolved, the bank says.
Deutsche Bank says records sought in Trump congressional probe include tax returns - Reuters
Financial records related to U.S. President Donald Trump and three of his children that congressional Democrats have requested from Deutsche Bank AG include tax returns, the bank disclosed in a court filing on Tuesday.
Push to raise proportion of women in top roles hits ceiling - Financial Times
Female applications in financial services’ highest ranks stalls, but mid-level sees progress
Germany on brink of recession as business confidence nosedives - Guardian
In latest sign Europe’s largest economy is struggling, ifo index falls to lowest level since 2012 Germany’s economy is on the brink of recession after business confidence plunged to its lowest level in seven years. The ifo Institute, a Munich-based research group, said: “Worry lines among German business leaders are
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...
