Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Crime

Why cash works and mobile internet doesn’t

The wireless world of connectivity we live in has risks, and the greatest risk has to be infection of technology. Technology viruses like trojans and man-in-the-middle look mild today, when you see the tsunami of malware that’s out there. Just a year ago, I was saying that banks should offer advice to consumer about security and…

Malware pc

Why cash works and mobile internet doesn’t

The wireless world of connectivity we live in has risks, and the greatest risk has to be infection of technology. Technology viruses like trojans and man-in-the-middle look mild today, when you see the tsunami of malware that’s out there. Just a year ago, I was saying that banks should offer advice to consumer about security and…

Malware pc

Anonymous: dangerous or laughable?

We have seen a great deal of activity from the activist online community called Anonymous in the last year. They first hit my radar when they closed down the websites of PayPal, Visa and MasterCard in retaliation for the arrest of Julian Assange and closure of Wikileaks funding accounts. This resulted in a co-ordinated Distributed Denial…

191590-occupy-anonymous

Anonymous: dangerous or laughable?

We have seen a great deal of activity from the activist online community called Anonymous in the last year. They first hit my radar when they closed down the websites of PayPal, Visa and MasterCard in retaliation for the arrest of Julian Assange and closure of Wikileaks funding accounts. This resulted in a co-ordinated Distributed Denial…

191590-occupy-anonymous

Who the hell needs biometrics in banking?

Biometrics isn’t discussed that much at banking conferences these days. Most of the time, when I raise the topic, there’s a groan from the banking audience. “Oh, been there, done that.” The usual view is that biometrics doesn’t work.  It’s too flakey.  Too many false positives and false negatives, as in it doesn’t read the…

Now it’s an eyePhone

Talking about iris recognition and passwords recently, I got a note from Spanish Bank, Bankinter, which has just launched an app that identifies clients through iris recognition on the phone.  The way it works is that customers access their brokerage accounts by blinking into their smartphone’s camera. The app has algorithms built-in that look for eye…

Bankinter1

Passwords just don’t hack it

Like everyone, I’m completely fed up with passwords and online security. It just doesn’t hack it anymore, or is that makes it easiest to hack. The system is thirty years old – I used to use passwords to get onto the company network back in the 1980s.  In fact, it’s even older than that. Polybius…

Stealing your mobile bank data

We had a meeting of the Financial Services Club last week that looked at fraud and mobile malware with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the International Systems Security Association (ISSA).   It was an interesting meeting, as I’m particularly intrigued by stories about mobile as this is our hot space right now. Every bank…

Fraud

Two out of five businesses switch banks due to fraud

I regularly write about fraudulent aspects of finance, and it’s getting worse. As I say in my presentations: “with five billion points of data breach, how can you keep secure?” and this is a key question, as every mobile device is now a point of payment or sale. Equally, as everyone is loosely leaking their…

Data breaches1

Can’t take my eyes off of you

For a long, long, long, long, long, long time, I’ve talked about biometrics taking off in banking … and it hasn’t. The biometrics market has picked up and tailed off in fits and starts, but there is no real mainstream biometric program out there that I’ve spotted to date. The nearest I got was some…

Intelligent Money - Chris Skinner Keynote @ Pay 360 conference 2024

What is the future?

Learn more

Learn more about Chris

About Chris Skinner

The Past, Present And Future Of Banking, Finance And Technology

Fintech expert Chris Skinner: countries need digital transformation to remain competitive

Join me on Linkedin

Follow Me on X!

Hire Chris Skinner for dinners, workshops and more

Learn directly from from one of the most influential people in technology, gain insights from the world's most innovative companies, and build a global network.

Chris’s latest book

Chris Skinner’s ‘Digital For Good’ Book Launch Event – CFTE

Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on FinTech 2023

Chris Skinner
Commentator, CEO of The Finanser and best-selling author at The Finanser

Thinkers360 Thought Leader

Contact Me

Global Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award

Global 100 - 2024 Winner

Chris Skinner - Financial Markets Advisor of the Year - The Finanser - UK 2023

Best Financial Markets Advisor of the Year 2023

30 Best Regtech Blogs and Websites 2023

Kids creating the future bank | TEDxAthens

Captain Cake and the Candy Crew

Captain Cake Winner of a Golden Mom’s Choice Award

TWO-TIME WINNER OF A MOM’S CHOICE GOLD AWARD!

Alex at the Financial Services

Gaping Void's Hugh MacLeod worked with the Finanser