I’m acutely aware that so many people write and talk about how big banks are dumb and stupid and don’t get digital, that I try to avoid that mantra personally. People do accuse me of being a bank basher, but I’d rather say that I’m a bank challenger (not a …

Things we’re reading today include ….   Lloyds Bank creates inheritance mess for hundreds of bereaved families after wills storage blunder The next Bank of England governor will face another recession – and Brexit won’t help with that PPI hit could tip Lloyds Bank into red Barclays profits plunge as …

Last week I blogged about Chime’s issues with their third party partner Galileo going down, blocking payments and cards for their five million users for a short time. I made the comment: I would still claim that using cloud native third party partners in a technology ecosystem is far better …

Things we’re reading today include … Revealed: the bank accounts thousands are switching to Lloyds and Halifax online banking down as ‘thousands’ struggle to access accounts The World’s Most Expensive Bank Limits Staff Water to Cut Costs Which way will the Bank of England jump on Brexit? Who are the …

A few talking points last week, but two hit me in particular. The first is a McKinsey report that reckons half of the world’s banks are not viable. Their cost of equity is higher than their return on equity. Should another downturn hit … well, they’re gone. “Every bank is …

The main blog headlines are … Why decentralised currencies are a PEST! Sometimes you debate stuff and a realisation comes. I had one of these today. When futurists talk about the future, they generally based their opinions on forces of change, known colloquially as PEST. Political, Economic, Social and Technological …

Following on from the discussion of payments in the cloud, I was recently asked by Volante Technologies to consider what being a digital bank means for a commercial bank’s payments and treasury services and identified three areas of focus: moving payments to the cloud; fast-tracking real-time / instant payments adoption; …

I’ve avoided any commentary on Brexit in recent times, as it seemed to be going nowhere. Finally, just ten days before deadline, the House of Commons voted that a deal could be done … just not in the deadline given. So, it now looks like 31st January, 2020. Maybe. The …

Things we’re reading today include … Facebook’s Zuckerberg grilled over Libra currency plan Is Facebook’s Libra doomed? Metro Bank posts loss during ‘challenging’ time Mario Draghi: His legacy after eight tumultuous years at the ECB Can central bankers talk too much? Peer-to-peer lender Funding Secure goes into administration Superyachts and …

Sometimes you debate stuff and a realisation comes. I had one of these today. When futurists talk about the future, they generally based their opinions on forces of change, known colloquially as PEST. Political, Economic, Social and Technological change. So I was having this debate with a friend about the …

Things we’re reading today include … Morgan Stanley elbows out rivals for plum role in $1.5 billion IPO relaunch: sources Infosys: India software giant probes whistleblower claims LSE bids show exchange world’s new priorities UK cyber-centre targets payment card fraud Revealed: The passwords putting you at most risk of cyber …

Banks are control freaks. I’ve blogged about that often. I’ve also blogged often about how they need to move to be open and partnering. That’s not easy. It’s obviously easier to launch a brand new bank, fresh with no legacy and open to everything, isn’t it? Not necessarily so. The …

Things we’re reading today include … Chinese vice foreign minister says progress made in trade talks with U.S Infosys starts probe into alleged ‘unethical practices’ by CEO; shares tank ‘I wish the bank had asked about my spending’ China has more ‘unicorn’ start-ups than the US Brexit deal acceptable, says …

I’ve been noticing that there are more and more issues arising with the big internet giants. Unlike in China, where the companies are working with governments, the big Western giants work outside government control. That creates issues, particularly in Europe where government does not like to be out of control. …

Things we’re reading today include … Life after Libra: how regulators could fuel rise of digital currency China’s central banker says yuan level ‘appropriate’, trade tensions risk to global economy Top fund manager forced to resign after BBC investigation Citi signals confidence in post-Brexit London World economy is sleepwalking into …