I haven’t written much about Facebook’s digital currency Diem, as there’s not much to write about. A dead duck from day one, it would never succeed. I said so back when it launched in 2019: The bottom-line is that Facebook may have developed a stablecoin using blockchain to enable global payments within Messenger, Instagram and…
Thinking about process redesign, I remember when the ATM was invented. I wasn’t there – I’m not that old – but I remember reading about the great debate they had as banks didn’t believe people would be able to remember a PIN. The BBC reports that “Mr. Shepherd-Barron came up with the idea when he realized…
Question: Has retail banking transformed to be digital forever? Answer: No. I’ve always said that banking can never be purely digital as it needs a human touch. It needs the ability to talk to someone as money is the second most important thing in our lives. In fact, for some, it’s the most important thing…
I watch the world through the lens of the network, and have noticed that China is leading the world with digital currencies. The digital yuan is ready for release in time for the winter Olympics and a CBDC is likely to be launched in China before anywhere else. So why are Chinese consumers swapping potatoes…
Years ago, I was writing about the role of an infomediary. The idea was that there should be a broker between customer’s data and their service providers. Unfortunately, that role has become four companies for those in the Americas and two for those in Asia: Amazon, Facebook (Meta), Google (Alphabet), Twitter (Block), Tencent and Alibaba….
We seem to be at an intersection. The intersection is the moment that we realise our futures are threatened by many things, particularly the climate emergency. The intersection is that the solution to the climate emergency is a mixture of government, finance and technology. The three areas are critical to solving our future. Government is…
I stumbled across an interesting report by Clarivate who, using a statistical analysis, have identified the 100 most innovative companies in the world. Technology advancement is a complex composition of talent, of competition and of need. New ideas emanate from everywhere scientists, engineers and developers reside. What is the methodology? They basically take the inventiveness…
I was thinking about the balance between money, wealth and power, versus health, happiness and love. Is it versus or is it inclusive? Is happiness related to wealth, or is it true that money can’t buy you love? Obviously it’s an existential question and, tbh, I’ve met many happy people who are dirt poor and…
The Financial Brand published an interesting piece challenging the use of the word bank in a brand. It got me thinking, and agreeing with their summation, which is yes. Sure, you can have Chime, Chase, Citizens and Truist, but is that the right thing. In fact, on the last point, the use of the word…
I picked up an article talking about 16 Ways Banks Will Need To Change To Survive Advances In Fintech in Forbes. It’s a survey of an expert panel that cites that banks must do the following action points: Become Nimble And Decentralized Incentivize Culture Change Combine Security With Blockchain Technology Lean Into People-Centric Customer Service Provide…
