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Digital Bank

It’s all about the money, money, money

The lockdown pandemic has been interesting from a financial markets’ perspective. First, people withdrew as much cash as they could, worrying that things would be bad, and cash was king. It wasn’t. They didn’t need the cash. They didn’t spend it. In fact, I was particularly struck by this chart from McKinsey’s report on payments…

Could machines be human?

It’s 2020 and, since I was born in 19-whenever it was, I cannot think of a more challenging year. We are being forced to isolate, stay indoors, go nowhere and stay well. As I’ve blogged a few times, that’s good news for digital but bad news for humanity. I think this year has really brought…

And when the Great Unlock happens, what happens to challengers?

As I ponder the world and everything, this article by Jemima Kelly in The Financial Times keeps coming back to me: The virus has crushed the challenger bank dream In it she says things like: There comes a time in your life that you realise that some of the friends you used to consider good…

What do customers think?

I don’t usually cover press releases as they bore me, but this one caught my attention: Customer Online Conversations Reveal ‘All to Play for’ in Battle between Challengers and Incumbent Banks, Finds Economist Intelligence Unit Report   Groundbreaking report by The Economist Intelligence Unit uses machine-learning to analyse over 10 million online conversations about personal…

So what would kill a bank?

Stumbling over an interesting article about bank consolidation in Europe, reminded me of Francisco Gonzalez’s (former Chair of BBVA) prediction that there’s only enough room for a maximum of fifty banks globally. I don’t believe either. As written about yesterday, banks don’t disappear. They don’t die. For over a quarter of a century, there’s been…

Why banks don’t die

Have you noticed how people talk about disruption more and more, and note the collapse of companies like Blockbuster, Kodak, Nokia and Thomas Cook? In fact, there are more companies entering and leaving the stock market lists than ever before, with the average tenancy now under two decades compared to six decades or more in…

What was the first record you ever bought?

I’m running a survey around how this crisis has impacted physical versus digital access to services – please take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KCSBYMM … and you will get a free copy of the results – but, building on the physical versus digital debate,  it really hit me as I listened to a great debate on the…

The future of branches is not what you think

Yet again, I’m returning to the story of branches. There are so many reports about the branch of the future and the end of branch banking out there that you would think the world of branches had no future. The debate is pretty pointless to be honest, as there will always be some who think…

Recognising six (Canadian) bankers doing a good job

I just stumbled across a report in Canada’s Globe and Mail, recognising the top 50 business executives who have helped see the country through this year’s crisis. It recognises quite a lot of banking people, and I wouldn’t normally share such content … except that many of those selected were chosen for trying to make…

As Treasury moves into cryptocurrencies, what’s your view?

It’s been interesting to see two major firms – admittedly FinTech firms – commit to crypto in the past month: PayPal and Square. The fact that such big processors are committing is a sign of the times and a move towards many organisations embracing the cryptocurrency world. If you didn’t see it: PayPal steps into…

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