Blog Index

This week’s main blog headlines are … Why FinTech start-ups think they can beat the banks There’s an old joke about the guy who’s lost driving in the countryside who stops to ask a pedestrian how to get to the city.  The pedestrian replies: “oh, if you want to get there, I wouldn’t start from…

This week’s main blog headlines are … Homogenizing the world I’ve pretty much been travelling the world on business non-stop for thirty years, and something has fundamentally changed during that period.  Obviously, the internet and mobile and global connectivity, but also the homogeneity of globalisation.  I remember flying into Singapore’s brand spanking new Changi Airport…

This week’s main blog headlines are … The Top 1000 banks in the world I’ve written a column for The Banker magazine for the last 15 years and, during that time, have collected their special July edition each year.  Every July The Banker publishes their analysis of the Top 1000 banks in the world.  In the 1990s,…

This week’s main blog headlines are … How we travel today will change massively tomorrow I was chatting with a friend about what he’s up to these days.  He started talking earnestly about looking up his family ancestry.  With the internet these days, you can quickly find your grandparents, great grandparents, great-great grandparents and even…

This week’s main blog headlines are … Build or Buy or Build and Die? I was having a chat with a banking buddy who was expressing his frustration with the fact that their PSD2 developments were not going the way he wanted.  He had found a nice little FinTech start-up with a really neat Open…

This week’s main blog headlines are … The crazy world of crypto currencies and ICOs I’m boarding a flight yesterday and murfing (mobile surfing).  Flicking between Facebook apps, twitter, bank account, BBC news and more.  Suddenly I spot a new ICO – Initial Coin Offering – for a new bank.  From Wikipedia: “An initial coin offering (ICO)…

This week’s main blog headlines are … Digital banks are Copernicus banks (incumbents are with the Flat Earth society) Twenty years ago, I was working on re-engineering projects.  Most of the time I was getting exasperated because the banks wouldn’t take on the big projects, like the mortgage process, as it went across too many…

This week I’ve been mainly blogging about developments in Africa and China.  Thoughts on Dot Finance Africa … We need some education (but no thought control) I often think we need a reality check when it comes to digital finance.  Many of the pundit analysts and influencers out there believe no one needs a branch…

This week’s main blog headlines are … Should I buy some bitcoin now? I’m being asked this a lot as the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have increased ten-fold in the past few weeks.  Good for those who have some.  Bemusing for those who don’t.  There are a range of factors driving the rise…

This week’s major updates on the Finanser … What banks can learn from Wal-Mart I picked up Bloomberg Business Week at the airport this week, attracted by the cover. Wal-Mart have issues with the digital revolution.  Amazon is stealing their lunch, literally, and they’ve been struggling for years to work out what to do about it. …