Welcome to The Finanser by Chris Skinner. The Finanser discusses all things fintech, finance, banking, technology and, most importantly, the future. Chris Skinner has been voted the most influential technologist in Britain and received a lifetime achievement award for his visionary approach to the future of money from the Payments Association. He has advised the…
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Google’s latest research delivers a clear warning: the cryptography securing today’s cryptocurrencies is not future-proof. Advances in quantum computing are accelerating, and the resources needed to break core encryption (elliptic curve cryptography) are far lower than previously thought. This isn’t a distant, theoretical risk anymore. It’s a strategic, time-bound challenge. What’s changed? 20x efficiency gain: Google…
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I was talking to an insider friend in the Revolut empire yesterday and he implied that Revolut is in talks to acquire a major Asian bank in its expansion across the region. I asked him which bank? but he kept schtum. So, I was thinking about it and wondered if it could be DBS? DBS operates…
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I recently tried to cash in a bitcoin. It’s a physical bitcoin that is active, and I have the bitcoin address. Then I realised I had lost the private keys to use it and, well, you can guess. It made me realise that, if I wasn’t around, what would happen to my crypto investments? How would…
Read More
Short summary: Tokenization is not new, but dates back 10,000 years when early societies used clay tokens to record ownership of goods. These were not money, but data tools to track value. Modern digital tokens and blockchain systems are simply the latest evolution, but can now do more than just record transactions. We can now…
Read More
I was talking to an insider friend in the Revolut empire yesterday and he implied that Revolut is in talks to acquire a major Asian bank in its expansion across the region. I asked him which bank? but he kept schtum. So, I was thinking about it and wondered if it could be DBS? DBS operates…
Read MoreShort summary: Tokenization is not new, but dates back 10,000 years when early societies used clay tokens to record ownership of goods. These were not money, but data tools to track value. Modern digital tokens and blockchain systems are simply the latest evolution, but can now do more than just record transactions. We can now…
Read More
I was recently watching Dragon’s Den (Shark Tank if you’re American), and spotted an interesting chap – Jinesh Vohra, founder of Sprive, a way of getting your mortgage paid down sooner through your spending. It’s an intriguing idea, so I reached out to him for a chat. Here’s what happened. Chris Skinner: Tell me a…
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I was just having a chat with an AI engine asking about the most common questions people ask about cryptocurrencies. Really interesting answer so, I thought I would share it here (with my edits), as I’d be really interested in your views and answers. Equally, I’m tempted to say that this should be a test…
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A couple of things hit my radar late last week. The first was a prediction by Bain & Co that challenger banks would own a third of the UK banking market by 2030. This coincided with the news of Revolut finally getting their UK banking licence. It’s only taken five years. Let’s dive in. The…
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There are lots of AI tools out there today – Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude and more. The market is crowded. So, when I saw that Facebook had launched Manus, I wondered why and tried it. Simple question: what is the state of fintech? The AI engine ran away and analysed various reports from the likes of…
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The next era of payments: when money moves at internet speed I just found an interesting report by KPMG about a new payment standard called x402. Have you heard of it? If you haven’t, it’s built to ensure open, free, frictionless payments, and could be revolutionary for embedded, invisible finance. Built by Coinbase, the x402 protocol…
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Innovation vs Illicit Finance: Why the Future of Crypto Compliance is Intelligent The US Treasury just produced an interesting document about digital assets, innovation and criminal activity. It’s well worht a read, so download the report here … but, if you can’t be bothered, here is my view. There is a familiar pattern whenever a new…
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I probably shouldn’t say this so, if I get arrested, please send money and help me but, over ten years ago, I told Russian and Iranian contacts to put all their money into bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to avoid sanctions. Yes, it’s my fault. I’m sure there are others out there, but the key thing about…
Read MoreI was talking to an insider friend in the Revolut empire yesterday and he implied that Revolut is in talks to acquire a major Asian bank in its expansion across the region. I asked him which bank? but he kept schtum. So, I was thinking about it and wondered if it could be DBS? DBS operates…
Read MoreShort summary: Tokenization is not new, but dates back 10,000 years when early societies used clay tokens to record ownership of goods. These were not money, but data tools to track value. Modern digital tokens and blockchain systems are simply the latest evolution, but can now do more than just record transactions. We can now…
Read MoreI had a great chat the other day – the first in a series of three – with Quant’s Chief Product Officer Martin Hargreaves about programmable liquidity. What’s that? Read on … Programmable liquidity: five foundations reshaping modern treasury How is programmable money reshaping treasury operations and financial infrastructure? This conversation moved beyond theoretical frameworks…
Read MoreI was recently watching Dragon’s Den (Shark Tank if you’re American), and spotted an interesting chap – Jinesh Vohra, founder of Sprive, a way of getting your mortgage paid down sooner through your spending. It’s an intriguing idea, so I reached out to him for a chat. Here’s what happened. Chris Skinner: Tell me a…
Read MoreI was just having a chat with an AI engine asking about the most common questions people ask about cryptocurrencies. Really interesting answer so, I thought I would share it here (with my edits), as I’d be really interested in your views and answers. Equally, I’m tempted to say that this should be a test…
Read More
I was reading a fascinating case study about Ikano Bank, which is the bank of IKEA. The bank is headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, serves customers across Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the UK, Poland, Germany and Austria, offering savings and loan products for consumers, sales support services for retailers, and leasing and factoring solutions for businesses….
Read MoreA couple of things hit my radar late last week. The first was a prediction by Bain & Co that challenger banks would own a third of the UK banking market by 2030. This coincided with the news of Revolut finally getting their UK banking licence. It’s only taken five years. Let’s dive in. The…
Read MoreThe next era of payments: when money moves at internet speed I just found an interesting report by KPMG about a new payment standard called x402. Have you heard of it? If you haven’t, it’s built to ensure open, free, frictionless payments, and could be revolutionary for embedded, invisible finance. Built by Coinbase, the x402 protocol…
Read More
I was just reading Amazon Web Services’ report about Banking on the Cloud. It’s biased – everything has to be in the cloud of course – but it’s interesting. It also struck me that I was talking about banking on the cloud in 2008. It has taken a long time, and is still developing. Here is…
Read MoreGoogle’s latest research delivers a clear warning: the cryptography securing today’s cryptocurrencies is not future-proof. Advances in quantum computing are accelerating, and the resources needed to break core encryption (elliptic curve cryptography) are far lower than previously thought. This isn’t a distant, theoretical risk anymore. It’s a strategic, time-bound challenge. What’s changed? 20x efficiency gain: Google…
Read MoreI recently tried to cash in a bitcoin. It’s a physical bitcoin that is active, and I have the bitcoin address. Then I realised I had lost the private keys to use it and, well, you can guess. It made me realise that, if I wasn’t around, what would happen to my crypto investments? How would…
Read MoreShort summary: Tokenization is not new, but dates back 10,000 years when early societies used clay tokens to record ownership of goods. These were not money, but data tools to track value. Modern digital tokens and blockchain systems are simply the latest evolution, but can now do more than just record transactions. We can now…
Read MoreI was just having a chat with an AI engine asking about the most common questions people ask about cryptocurrencies. Really interesting answer so, I thought I would share it here (with my edits), as I’d be really interested in your views and answers. Equally, I’m tempted to say that this should be a test…
Read More
I was talking with a friend the other day who asked me to explain some basic questions around cryptocurrencies, as he was confused. It started with why everyone is talking about layers of blockchain? I explained that there are four layers, starting with level 0 and then 1, 2 and 3, and it is all…
Read MoreThe next era of payments: when money moves at internet speed I just found an interesting report by KPMG about a new payment standard called x402. Have you heard of it? If you haven’t, it’s built to ensure open, free, frictionless payments, and could be revolutionary for embedded, invisible finance. Built by Coinbase, the x402 protocol…
Read MoreInnovation vs Illicit Finance: Why the Future of Crypto Compliance is Intelligent The US Treasury just produced an interesting document about digital assets, innovation and criminal activity. It’s well worht a read, so download the report here … but, if you can’t be bothered, here is my view. There is a familiar pattern whenever a new…
Read MoreMost people think of crypto as solely part of the finance world. Buy a Bitcoin, see the price either rise or fall, and sell when it is high. Beneath it all, though, the crypto world has been compelled to solve some truly difficult technical challenges – and solutions are beginning to emerge in areas that…
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I had a lovely deep-dive conversation with Martin Hargreaves, Chief Product Officer at Quant, during our webinar about how programmable money and liquidity are transforming corporate treasury and financial infrastructure. Martin gave me a great definition: “Programmable money is money that responds to external events and conditions while preserving its fundamental nature. The money itself…
Read MoreI was talking to an insider friend in the Revolut empire yesterday and he implied that Revolut is in talks to acquire a major Asian bank in its expansion across the region. I asked him which bank? but he kept schtum. So, I was thinking about it and wondered if it could be DBS? DBS operates…
Read More
I use a variety of sites like Coinbase and IG for investing but find them very cumbersome. Trying to find how to sell and get rid of assets is not easy, unless you do it often. Here’s my vision of the near-term future. Money, investing, saving, trading will be just like Siri and Alex. “Coinbase,…
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I wonder what my kids will feel in a financial future of 2050 and beyond. We will probably regale them with stories about using cheques and cash and paper to exchange value. They will probably be amazed that such systems worked, but it’s a bit like me being amazed about how tally sticks worked a…
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In the last day, I’ve been blown away by two developments coming out of China. One is an AI movie sequence that’s only 15 seconds long; the second was the Spring Festival celebration to welcome the New Year of the Fire Horse. If you haven’t seen them, you need to, because both show how technology…
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I liked this article by Sergiy Fitsak on Finextra: We Asked 300 Finance Leaders What’s Next in Fintech. Here’s What They Said. His company, Softjourn, asked 300 fintech experts, CEOs and more on what’s hot in the fintech space these days. You can read the whole thing, but I’ll pick up some key headlines. AI…
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Many movies, media and headlines portray AI as frightening. It’s going to take out jobs, bring robocop to the streets and take over our lives. It’s going to be Ex Machina, The Terminator or worse. Very few give context of the positive future with AI, but a headline caught my eye today: Meet the ‘AI…
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As you do, I just stumbled upon another report that’s interesting. This one is Accenture’s view on six big trends that will change banking in 2026. You can download the whole report (81 pages) here but, if you don’t have time, here’s a brief summary: Accenture: Top Banking Trends for 2026 — Key Insights &…
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I’ve recently joined the advisory board of a startup focused upon opening financial branches called banxlocal. Why the hell would anyone open branches? Well, it’s all about human needs for human services as that creates trust. I’m a big believer in banking and finance for consumers still providing High Street access in a store or branch….
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Many have argued for years that branches are dead. Many in the fintech world believe that people don’t need branches. Some think that the pandemic proved that customers can bank fine without them and that many now prefer digital. Wrong. A bit like cash, the pandemic forced a change of behaviour. Less cash was being…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … TikTok enters financial services UK banking regulation ‘penalises’ good risk control, say top lenders France probes Iran links in thwarted attack on Bank of America Britain risks financial crisis, Bank of England warns European payments: Eurosystem sets out strategic aims When Instant Payments Meet Digital Dollars Monzo to close…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Monzo and Revolut take banking battle to the playground Coinbase with Fannie Mae mortgage initiative links cryptocurrency with real economy London-headquartered fintech 9fin raises $170M, reaching a $1.3BN valuation What’s holding back an explosion in fintech across Africa? Fastest-Growing Asia Pacific Fintechs, According to the Financial Times (2026) Church…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … McKinsey hacked Zero ceases trading with banking app to shut down today Wise Launches UK Current Account with Travel and Youth Features British Neobank Zopa Explores Acquisitions to Enter Northern Europe HSBC: we’re becoming a simple and more agile bank Ex-Deutsche Bank Manager Sues Bank for at Least $624…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Lloyds bank faces £66m court battle with car loan customers Police thwart suspected bomb attack outside Bank of America building in Paris Nearly half a million Lloyds Banking Group customers affected by personal data glitch BPI’s CEO on leadership and transformation | McKinsey SoFi’s Galileo Integration: A Key Engine…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Programmable liquidity: five foundations reshaping modern treasury I had a great chat the other day – the first in a series of three – with Quant’s Chief Product Officer Martin Hargreaves about programmable liquidity. What’s that? Read on … Programmable liquidity: five foundations reshaping modern treasury How is programmable…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … March 2026: Top five payments stories of the month US reportedly plans to slash bank rules imposed to prevent 2008-style crash A Comprehensive Analysis of Leading AI Cryptocurrency Trading Robot Platforms in 2026 Mastercard Bridges Digital Divide as Stablecoins Target Mainstream Remittances Stopping for gas − speech by Alan…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … UK clearing house fintech Bank of London fined £2m over fraudulent documents NS&I set to pay millions in compensation to customers Starling’s US software push exposes testing gap in legacy banks Six Provocations to Future-Proof Your Bank Payment services and electronic money: FCA publishes updated approach document FCA Outlines…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Lloyds Bank is leaving you, why don’t you leave Lloyds? Revolut and Nationwide sharpen swords in battle to bank Britain Warren scrutinizes MrBeast’s plans for fintech Step National Savings could be forced to pay out hundreds of millions after ‘short-changing premium bonds savers’ Innovation Isn’t Enough: What Institutional Clients…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Programmable liquidity: five foundations reshaping modern treasury I had a great chat the other day – the first in a series of three – with Quant’s Chief Product Officer Martin Hargreaves about programmable liquidity. What’s that? Read on … Programmable liquidity: five foundations reshaping modern treasury How is programmable…
Read More
This week’s main discussions include … Is the future digital identity your heartbeat? I use a variety of sites like Coinbase and IG for investing but find them very cumbersome. Trying to find how to sell and get rid of assets is not easy, unless you do it often. Here’s my vision of the near-term…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … What is x402 and why will it transform payments? The next era of payments: when money moves at internet speed I just found an interesting report by KPMG about a new payment standard called x402. Have you heard of it? If you haven’t, it’s built to ensure open, free, frictionless…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … The Intelligence Revolution I just did a webinar sponsored by Xpand IT. Here is a summary: From Physical to Digital to Intelligent: The Third Revolution of Finance Let me start with a simple question. How many of you think we’re living through a period of unprecedented change in finance?…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Stripe buying PayPal? Wow! Two headlines really struck me this morning. The first is that Stripe is now valued at over $150 billion – I’ve been following Stripe’s valuations for over a decade (it was just over $9 billion in 2016) … … and the second is that they…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … The future is right here, right now In the last day, I’ve been blown away by two developments coming out of China. One is an AI movie sequence that’s only 15 seconds long; the second was the Spring Festival celebration to welcome the New Year of the Fire Horse….
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … The Fat Finger Syndrome I was intrigued to read that a major cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, Bithumb, had an internal error where an employee sent customers a prize that should have been 620,000 Korean won (around $423) to 695 qualifying customers, but instead credited accounts with 620,000 bitcoins…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Cryptocurrencies are rife with scams and money laundering This is not a headline I am happy to share but, after being scammed, it is time to share it. After all, you would think that, working in finance, I would be savvy to all criminal scams. I’m not. Sure, the…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Why bank branches still matter Many have argued for years that branches are dead. Many in the fintech world believe that people don’t need branches. Wrong. A bit like cash, the pandemic forced a change of behaviour. Human needs for human service (why branches matter, part two) I’ve recently…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Stop “living within a lie”, Mark Carney #Davos Everyone has been hailing Mark Carney’s speech at Davos as one of the GOAT speeches of the 21st century. It forced me to take out 15 minutes to listen to it, and yes, it is a great speech. Well worth the…
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