Twenty years ago, four critical things happened: cloud computing became mainstream; the smartphone was launched; Satoshi Nakamoto released the bitcoin whitepaper; and the global financial crisis killed all trust in traditional financial institutions. All of these things pretty much happened at the same time. Twenty years later, a multi-trillion dollar world has appeared on the…
I’m such a futurist nerd in banking that, thirty years ago, I forecast banks would open telco services and vice versa, and can prove it if you want. The reason? Both have frequent customer contact, high transaction volumes and similar capabilities. Just seven years ago, I was still banging on the same drum. It is…
I guess the key thing about becoming an AI-native bank is to start with a clean sheet of paper. Most banks are adding AI services to old systems and dysfunctional processes; what we should be doing is starting from scratch, creating an AI core that looks at how to deliver the best customer experience. For…
For longer than most fintech founders have been alive, I’ve been advocating digital transformation. Digital transformation is where digital is at the heart of the business. You convert from physical to digital by reinventing the business and the business model. You start with digital at the core, and add physical on top when and where…
Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI and creator of ChatGPT and more – along with the PayPal Mafia https://www.ceotodaymagazine.com/2025/04/who-owns-chatgpt/ – was speaking about bank capital rules this week and made an interesting comment that: “There are some FIs that will accept a voice print to move a lot of money. That is a crazy thing…
We are really good at creating bingo buzz words in business to get everyone feeling they are missing the buzz. Terms such as Big Data, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS, invented by me!), embedded finance, invisible banking and more turn up every day. Some get traction and some don’t, but the whole idea is to make you feel…
I recently got an invite to present a TEDx talk at Haberdashers School in Elstree, England. Shortly afterwards, a second TEDx talk invite came through from the American School of Warsaw, Poland. Of course, I accepted both, but then the challenge became how to do two TEDx talks with some clear differentiation. The result is…
In recent days, I’ve discovered a lot of theorems and ideas in digital areas where, when you integrate finance and technology, you realise that you are living in a world of rocket science thinking. For example, I am spending a lot of time talking with experts about digital identity and trust, as that’s the theme…
I often meet CxO executives in financial institutions and fintechs who talk about the importance of the customer journey, but I wonder what they mean by this. After all, we all know that hold the line and the computer says no is the general experience these days. Most of this is caused by underfunding and…
