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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I was reading McKinsey’s annual summary of what’s hot and what’s not in banking the other day. They pick on four areas: Technology The new consumer Capital efficiency Targeted M&A What got me is that this is just PEST in other words. What’s PEST? It’s the way we predict the future based upon Political, Economic, Social…
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Interestingly, as AI kills search engines and browsers, it also appears to be destroying the market for consultants and research firms. That’s not just a proposition but a reality, if you look at the share price performance of consulting and research firms this year. Whilst the likes of Accenture and Cap Gemini have dropped by…
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This week’s main discussions include … CBDC? Computer says no … I find it so interesting the debate about CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), stablecoins (a digital currency backed by real world assets) and cryptocurrencies (a digital currency backed by the decentralised network of everyone). This is the biggest battleground for the future of how…
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I’ve written for years about “the end of …” somethings a lot. The death of cards; the end of cash; the branchless future; the murder of the keyboard; and more … and they’ve all come true. We are cashless, cardless and branchless today, although I still love my keyboard. Sure, I can record voice memos…
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My friend Ron Shevlin was putting some shade on Starbucks app this week. The reason is that some claim Starbucks is a bank because their prepaid app is so popular. Ron claims it is just PNBL – Pay Now, Buy Later – and is nothing to do with being a bank. The thing about his view…
Read MoreI just got a whole new set of tech phrases from a Gartner report. Giving my interpretation, here we go: Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) is a proposed framework for Device Direct connectivity using satellite and cellular communication combination. The framework enables partnership between satellite (specifically low Earth orbit [LEO]) providers and terrestrial mobile operators…
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Giving away one of my trade secrets, I asked ChatGPT to give me suggestions about what to blog about and it came up with seven things: 🚀 1. The Rise of Embedded Finance 2.0 How non-financial platforms are evolving from offering simple payments to full financial ecosystems (e.g., credit, insurance, and investments built into SaaS,…
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After my blog yesterday about mortgage by machines, I left out one key component: humans. You have to remember that machines don’t think, they only appear to think because we develop them that way. Sure, there may be sentient machines at some point in the future when we get to the great Singularity but, until…
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I’m about to have a week in Kuala Lumpur, if anyone wants to meet-up, with a focus on Islamic Finance. I remember twenty years ago talking with Mike Hanlon who was founding the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), and he was telling me how UK Gov really did not understand the concept. What is the…
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It was interesting that the Labour Party Annual Conference in Liverpool last week did not talk about digital identity schemes. This is the party in government who, days before the conference started, announced that all people who wanted to work in Britain would need a digital ID in their government app. Like the National Insurance…
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Watching Sibos from afar – I haven’t been invited for a while due to being too provocative – I was not surprised to see that Quantum computing, AI, CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenization and blockchain are all making the headlines, as these are all the themes I spend my time presenting about around the world. Cybersecurity, AI…
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I’ve just created a platform to tokenize idols. Any idol and even bits and pieces related to them. You can tokenize Taylor Swift’s underwear; tokenize Rory McIlroy’s golfing glove; tokenize Ryan Reynolds Wrexham shirt; or even tokenize Harry Kane’s big toe. After all, any part of an idol is worth something to a fan, so…
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I was having a chat the other day. It was behind closed doors, under Chatham House Rule but, nevertheless, will share my thoughts here as the big question was: who are you marketing to? Several major football teams have bank brands all over them. Many websites are associated with financial brands. On television, there are…
Read MoreI find it so interesting the debate about CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), stablecoins (a digital currency backed by real world assets) and cryptocurrencies (a digital currency backed by the decentralised network of everyone). This is the biggest battleground for the future of how we trade and are paid, and the losers appear to be…
Read MoreMy friend Ron Shevlin was putting some shade on Starbucks app this week. The reason is that some claim Starbucks is a bank because their prepaid app is so popular. Ron claims it is just PNBL – Pay Now, Buy Later – and is nothing to do with being a bank. The thing about his view…
Read MoreI just got a whole new set of tech phrases from a Gartner report. Giving my interpretation, here we go: Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) is a proposed framework for Device Direct connectivity using satellite and cellular communication combination. The framework enables partnership between satellite (specifically low Earth orbit [LEO]) providers and terrestrial mobile operators…
Read MoreAfter my blog yesterday about mortgage by machines, I left out one key component: humans. You have to remember that machines don’t think, they only appear to think because we develop them that way. Sure, there may be sentient machines at some point in the future when we get to the great Singularity but, until…
Read More
When I was a lad, to get a mortgage was a complex process. You would go to the bank for a meeting with the branch manager. The branch manager would assess you, your job security, work status and salary and, if all boxes were ticked, you could get a mortgage up to four times your…
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I have blogged often about change and how people avoid it (who moved my cheese?), but it cropped up again the other day when I was reading Harvard’s Rosabeth Moss Kanter* thoughts on business. She has six key principles for business: Show up. Speak up. Look up. Team up. Never give up. Lift others up. Many…
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My presentations these days are focused upon the challenge of change. Every day, something is in the headlines to challenge your thinking from AI to quantum to digital currencies to digital identities. The only constant is change. Whenever I talk, I come back to the wrongly attributed quotation of Charles Darwin that it does not…
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I was really interested that Barclays Private Bank published an interview about AI the other day. Why? Because it’s the private bank and it’s from a bank. The interview is with Professor Michael Wooldridge, one of Oxford University’s leading AI academics with more than 450 research papers to his name. He knows his stuff. What…
Read MoreI’m about to have a week in Kuala Lumpur, if anyone wants to meet-up, with a focus on Islamic Finance. I remember twenty years ago talking with Mike Hanlon who was founding the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), and he was telling me how UK Gov really did not understand the concept. What is the…
Read MoreI find it so interesting the debate about CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), stablecoins (a digital currency backed by real world assets) and cryptocurrencies (a digital currency backed by the decentralised network of everyone). This is the biggest battleground for the future of how we trade and are paid, and the losers appear to be…
Read More
Paying with crypto is traceable but favoured by fraudsters. Is it the solution or the problem? Fraudsters never know how their action impacts their victim, until confronted by the person they’ve defrauded. Is crypto the solution? After all, unlike fiat currencies, all blockchain-based transactions can be traced for history. So, is crypto the solution to…
Read MoreWatching Sibos from afar – I haven’t been invited for a while due to being too provocative – I was not surprised to see that Quantum computing, AI, CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenization and blockchain are all making the headlines, as these are all the themes I spend my time presenting about around the world. Cybersecurity, AI…
Read MoreI’ve just created a platform to tokenize idols. Any idol and even bits and pieces related to them. You can tokenize Taylor Swift’s underwear; tokenize Rory McIlroy’s golfing glove; tokenize Ryan Reynolds Wrexham shirt; or even tokenize Harry Kane’s big toe. After all, any part of an idol is worth something to a fan, so…
Read More
It’s been really interesting watching the moves of Donald Trump to Make America Great Again by doubling down on the dollar being the reserve currency of the world forever more through the GENIUS Act. Well, that’s my take anyway. Add on to this that the Trump family made billions by launching World Liberty Financial, their very…
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As blogged yesterday, the GENIUS Act can open the doors for closed-loop networks using stablecoins that circumvent the traditional four-pillar model of issuer, acquirer, merchant and processor. Yes, it could save billions in interchange fees, but there’s another movement in stablecoins trying to change the world. This one is trying to get rid of SWIFT,…
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Short answer: possibly. Long answer: the GENIUS Act (the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act) gives a massive stamp on cryptocurrency tokens, stablecoins and protecting the US dollar as the reserve currency of the world. Oh, and it also creates a major opportunity for non-banks to become players in payment processing. For…
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In recent days, I’ve discovered a lot of theorems and ideas in digital areas where, when you integrate finance and technology, you realise that you are living in a world of rocket science thinking. For example, I am spending a lot of time talking with experts about digital identity and trust, as that’s the theme…
Read MoreAn awful lot of what I read these days is about stablecoins. By way of example, my things worth reading daily update is filled with news about them. Just this morning: Some big US banks plan to launch stablecoins, expecting crypto-friendly regulations Central banks face dilemma over rise of dollar-backed stablecoins Could Britain be about…
Read MoreI was reading McKinsey’s annual summary of what’s hot and what’s not in banking the other day. They pick on four areas: Technology The new consumer Capital efficiency Targeted M&A What got me is that this is just PEST in other words. What’s PEST? It’s the way we predict the future based upon Political, Economic, Social…
Read MoreInterestingly, as AI kills search engines and browsers, it also appears to be destroying the market for consultants and research firms. That’s not just a proposition but a reality, if you look at the share price performance of consulting and research firms this year. Whilst the likes of Accenture and Cap Gemini have dropped by…
Read MoreI’ve written for years about “the end of …” somethings a lot. The death of cards; the end of cash; the branchless future; the murder of the keyboard; and more … and they’ve all come true. We are cashless, cardless and branchless today, although I still love my keyboard. Sure, I can record voice memos…
Read MoreWarning: if you work for a bank, this is a rant and you probably won’t like it Over the last decade or so, there’s been a big rise of Greentech and Green Fintech. Unfortunately, the banking industry isn’t listening. I wrote a book about it, along with over twenty other contributors, and the gist is…
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I was going to write up my panel discussion during the GIFF (Global Islamic Finance Forum) but Zawya did the job for me. Having said that, their website is quite difficult to access due to location restrictions and so I’m just going to cut and paste their summary here. Hope you like it! Revolutionising Islamic…
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I was honoured to be invited to Kuala Lumpur to join the Global Islamic Finance Forum last week. Why? Because they had the Royal Sultan speak over dinner and the Prime Minister of Malaysia give a keynote speech? Yes but, more than this, I learned a lot. In particular, during my panel session, someone asked…
Read MoreI was really interested that Barclays Private Bank published an interview about AI the other day. Why? Because it’s the private bank and it’s from a bank. The interview is with Professor Michael Wooldridge, one of Oxford University’s leading AI academics with more than 450 research papers to his name. He knows his stuff. What…
Read More
There are people who run the world and those who watch it. I’m in the latter group, but constantly watch Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman (the PayPal Mafia), Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Bill Gates and more for their thoughts and actions. Also Warren Buffet, Charlie Munger and others. But one…
Read MoreWatching Sibos from afar – I haven’t been invited for a while due to being too provocative – I was not surprised to see that Quantum computing, AI, CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenization and blockchain are all making the headlines, as these are all the themes I spend my time presenting about around the world. Cybersecurity, AI…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … The two tiny banks fuelling the Trumps’ crypto empire ‘I don’t know who he is,’ says Trump after pardoning crypto tycoon Hong Kong Monetary Authority presents ‘Fintech 2030’ strategy Russian clients living in the E.U. struggle to regain banking access after fintech company Revolut freezes accounts The UK bank…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … ‘Shadow banking’ could lead us into an apocalypse like 2008 Prince Andrew fixed Buckingham Palace visit for cryptocurrency firm that agreed to pay Sarah Ferguson £1.4million Tokenization takes prime role in Hong Kong’s Fintech 2030 strategy Crypto Taxation: Is It a Blessing or a Curse for Fintech Startups? Starling…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … CBDC? Computer says no … I find it so interesting the debate about CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), stablecoins (a digital currency backed by real world assets) and cryptocurrencies (a digital currency backed by the decentralised network of everyone). This is the biggest battleground for the future of how…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include: PayPal, OpenAI sign ChatGPT payments deal Metro Bank selects Infosys, Workday to boost finance operations UK mobile bank Monzo to replace CEO Anil from February Coinbase and Tink Partner to Launch Pay by Bank Crypto Payments in Germany The Bank of England’s emerging technology blueprint for the UK financial system…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … More than a million current account switches in year as bank apps attract savers HMRC ‘taking money from bank accounts’ sounds ‘alarming’ says expert The key steps to take to protect your pensions and investments if the AI ‘bubble’ bursts US fintech giant Fiserv stock plummets over 44% after…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Barclays acquires US lender Best Egg in $800m deal American adventure for Barclays: It is good to see a British bank on Wall Street UBS third-quarter profit soars, trouncing expectations HSBC warns it could take years to settle Madoff case as bank takes $1.1bn hit AWS Outage Shows Fintech’s Need…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … HSBC profits fall 14% as bank takes hit from Madoff lawsuit provision Starling Bank launches AI tool for customers to spot purchase scams Zelle to Enable International Payments via Cryptocurrency Why I will be opposing the ‘cryptocurrency freedom’ bill Understanding the Role of ISO 20022 in Cryptocurrency Payments Fintech…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include: Britain’s fintech crown is slipping Chancellor unveils plans to ‘supercharge’ growth of innovative financial services firms Farage signals he’d oust Andrew Bailey if he were PM ‘He’s one of the few politicians who likes crypto’: my day with the UK tech bros hosting Nigel Farage Kyrgyzstan Launches National Stablecoin, Sets…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … CBDC? Computer says no … I find it so interesting the debate about CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), stablecoins (a digital currency backed by real world assets) and cryptocurrencies (a digital currency backed by the decentralised network of everyone). This is the biggest battleground for the future of how…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … UK Gov needs to bring back the Fintech mojo Giving away one of my trade secrets, I asked ChatGPT to give me suggestions about what to blog about and it came up with seven things: 🚀 1. The Rise of Embedded Finance 2.0 How non-financial platforms are evolving from…
Read More
This week’s main blog discussions include … OK boomer! Mortgage by machines When I was a lad, to get a mortgage was a complex process. You would go to the bank for a meeting with the branch manager. The branch manager would assess you, your job security, work status and salary and, if all boxes…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Is crypto the solution or the problem? Paying with crypto is traceable but favoured by fraudsters. Is it the solution or the problem? Fraudsters never know how their action impacts their victim, until confronted by the person they’ve defrauded. Is crypto the solution? After all, unlike fiat currencies, all…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Key take-away from #SIBOS 2025: it’s no longer banking and payments Watching Sibos from afar – I haven’t been invited for a while due to being too provocative – I was not surprised to see that Quantum computing, AI, CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenization and blockchain are all making the headlines,…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … Revolut opens its new HQ and takes over the world? I asked my friend Max, an early investor in Revolut, to provide an insight into the new headquarters the company opened this week in Canary Wharf, London. Revolut bought the building that was previosly the HQ of Thomson…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … It is time to level up We are in a third generation of change in finance. When I wrote Digital Bank over a decade ago, the focus was all about reinventing banking from being physical at the core to being digital at the core. Now we have to do it…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Everything is a scam and why principles matter I clicked the other morning on Nicoo, the robot puppy, after seeing an ad on YouTube. I was going to order it for my wife’s birthday but thought, just before clicking, is this real? So, I go and Google Is Nicoo…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Will the upstarts replace the incumbents? Is it just me or has the whole digital currency space become hot, hot, hot? Every five minutes, I see stuff about CBDCs – who needs them?; cryptocurrencies – who’s using them?; and stablecoins – what’s that all about? The last one is…
Read MoreThis week’s main discussions include … Last century processes in the digital age I’ve just had two requests for notarised ID documents: one from my accountant and another from a bank. So, I went to the notary to get notarised and they said no. It reminds me of an Amy Winehouse song: I tried to…
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