The main blog discussions this week include ...
I’ve claimed for some time that machines cannot do what humans do, because they have no heart. They purely do what we program them to do. True. Yet if you watch movies from Ex Machina to Terminator, machines can turn to do what they want …
With one of my financial providers I am an uber, super, mega, gold, wipe-my-ass, top tier client. They usually offer me champagne and free peanuts, and will go the extra mile to deal with me. Very nice (as Borat would say it). Thing is, I …
Trickle-down economics, the 1% and the masses
I had a bit of a twitter spat with my friend Peter Matza, who has a background in corporate treasury. You can follow the thread from here: The total wealth of billionaires worldwide rose by $5 trillion to $13 trillion thanks to digital transformation and …
Very interesting article on AltFi about FinTech unicorns tripling in value this year. Here’s a few selected lines: In the first quarter of 2021 alone, UK fintechs raised more than $2.9bn in funding, an increase of 331 per cent on the same period in the year …
I participated in a call the other day about financial inclusion and the moderator said that giving people banking was like giving a child the keys to your Ferrari. Without education, they would crash it so, rather than financial inclusion, you need inclusive finance. It …
Noteworthy:
- Fintech billionaires invade The Times Rich List 2021
- What ING Bank Might Steal From DeFi
- SoftBank is backing buy-now-pay-later firm Klarna in funding round that values it at over $40 billion
This week’s news headlines (via Citadel Advantage):
- Fed Guidelines Look to Curb Fintechs Before They Run Wild
- Major payments trade group weighs in on CBDC development
- SWIFT Assesses What Roles It Could Play in Future CBDC Ecosystem
- CBDC – 3 reasons to just say no
- CNA Financial's reported $40M ransom payment likely a record
- Fed paper this summer aims to spur 'broad conversation' on CBDC
- HSBC CEO says Bitcoin not for us
- Ransomware seen as top cyberthreat as extortion demands, payouts soar
- AI Is Everywhere — Should We Be Excited or Concerned?
- Cyber premiums rise as insurers struggle to assess risk, GAO says
- CFOs can be on the hook for investigations — even after they leave
- Square may soon offer small-business checking and savings accounts, app code shows
- Fintechs attack cross-border business payments as banks and legacy players rush to innovate
- Twitter looks to add e-commerce features, CFO says
- Pinning ransomware gangs is a game of 'whack-a-mole'
- Expert: Biden's executive order on cybersecurity is a good start toward protecting organizations
- AI will yield biggest return in CFO spending during coming decade: Gartner
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...