2023 is proving to be a punishing year for banks, finance, technology and fintech. Firms have seen massive downgrades of their market cap, and we have seen the demise of major companies ranging from Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic and Credit Suisse. Some say that this is a crisis. However, it seems more like a…
Some people may think McKinsey are a dark force, but their research is pretty good. In the latest white paper, they summarise what is happening with AI and GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) and, with all the buzz around ChatGPT and BankGPT, the paper is worth sharing here. These are the key take-aways: Generative AI’s impact…
I’ve realised that my thoughts these days seem to focus mainly on artificial intelligence (AI), cryptocurrencies, the metaverse and space travel. That’s not surprising as that’s where Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg are focused. These are the future technologies and capabilities that are inspiring our next generation. The question is: what if we…
We treat our world very simplistically, and yet we have made our world incredibly complex. When you think we can land a spacecraft on a meteor hurtling through space, it’s amazing what we have achieved. What makes this interesting is the way in which humans have created incredible infrastructures, supply chains and logistics on Earth…
I’ve always expected a PSD3 (the third European Payment Services Directive), as PSD2 had flaws. For example, banks were complaining that an OpenAPI for Trusted Third Parties is fine, but what about a reciprocal agreement or, if you prefer, why should we give them our data if they won’t give us theirs? Or maybe you…
Yesterday, the European Union kicked off the digital euro proposals focused upon ensuring cash is still accepted, whilst complementing cash with a digital version of the euro. The two proposals are summarised as: A legislative proposal on the legal tender of euro cash to safeguard the role of cash, ensure it is widely accepted as a means…
The username and password began to appear with technologies back in the 1960s although some might say they even date back two thousand years. Over the past half century we have also added more security systems for banking. The start of change was when we introduced a 4-digit PIN for getting cash. Funnily enough the…
I hesitate to write this, as it is controversial. But then I am not afraid to confront controversy. After the tragic implosion of Titan, the OceanGate submersible submarine that was doing the deep dive to the Titanic … … emails came to light where the founder of OceanGate, Stockton Rush, flagrantly disregarded warnings that the…
Every now and again, a newspaper produces a piece that is amusing, interesting and enlightening about banking. The Daily Telegraph did just this the other day and I liked it so much that I’ve stolen it to reproduce here. Enjoy … The true horrors of British bank bureaucracy Telegraph readers showcase the true horrors of…
