Blog Index

The main blog posts this week were … Wouldn’t it be simpler just to launch a new bank? One of the commonest questions I’m asked is whether the bank should just launch another bank, rather than trying to be digital and convert the existing bank.  The idea is that the new bank will have no…

Here are our key posts for the past week … Do we really need to rip up the roads? In a discussion yesterday, I made a comment which resonated.  It was in comparing FinTech with transportation, and the idea that just because FinTech comes up with the idea of a self-driving car does not mean…

The main blog posts this week were … Next generation insurance and the future of humanity Building on yesterday’s InsurTech theme, I remember being taught the principles of insurance some years ago.  A key difference between insurance and any other business is that it is seller beware rather than buyer beware.  This is why the…

Here are our key posts for the past week … Do banks need a CIO? I was talking with a technology firm the other day.  They offer everything from cloud to core systems.  Their issue is that the competition wins every time.  Not IBM.  Not Accenture.  Not TCS.  Not FIS.  Not SAP.  Not any of…

  Here are our key posts for the past week … Do banks need a CIO? I was talking with a technology firm the other day.  They offer everything from cloud to core systems.  Their issue is that the competition wins every time.  Not IBM.  Not Accenture.  Not TCS.  Not FIS.  Not SAP.  Not any…

Here are our key posts for the past week … How the system crushes the poor Building on yesterday’s discussion of the digital divide turning into a human divide*, I find it intriguing how we talk incessantly about financial inclusion and how technology will bank the unbanked.  It is our dream.  But is it just…

Here are our key posts for the past week … Applying Blockchain to Clearing and Settlement I’ve talked a lot about blockchain, but not much lately about the use cases, of which four stand out in terms of real activity: Clearing and Settlement, Trade Finance, Payments and Digital Identity.  I thought I’d do a deeper dive…

Here are our key posts for the past week … Renewing core systems is like renovating the subways Someone recently equated banks and their systems and structures, to the underground in London.  It’s a lot of pipes, wires, cables and tunnels that were built in the Victorian times and are still operating today.  You have…

Here are our key posts for the past week … Looking for a live Unicorn I was chatting about Unicorns yesterday.  I won’t say which one we talked about, but one specific firm was being picked on as unsustainable and incorrectly valued.  I was particularly surprised to hear that their cost of customer acquisition is…