Digital Bank

Someone told me I should start a travel blog, as I fly more than most pigeons do. True. But I’m not sure my travel blog would be read so much. However, it does make me reflect on travel and money. Some countries are still reliant on cash whilst others are cashless. I go to the…

I grew up as a marketing guy. My first career roles were in marketing. I was trained by Kotler and Drucker, and still hold true to first principles of marketing: the 4 P’s or, if you’re not a marketing person, product, price, place and promotion. This is the original marketing mix: Product: The goods and/or services…

I don’t normally share press releases or advertorial, because this is my blog and it’s meant to be neutral and independent, but I have a stake in 11:FS and so this is different. 11:FS, for those who are unaware, are a challenger consulting firm, focused on FinTech (click links on my blog’s banner above). I’m…

Ten years ago, I was presenting the concept of Banking-as-a-Service, with the idea that I could find a wide range of plug-and-play software in a cloud-based marketplace, and build my own bank by bringing these pieces of code together into an easy-to-use banking service. A decade later, that vision has come true as more and…

Just continuing on the theme of how different industries can learn from each other, I used to work for NCR. NCR had several major industries they served: retailers, airlines, telcos and banks. The common thread across all of these industries was high frequency customer contact, and the challenge for all of these industries was how…

I keep seeing headlines about Amazon opening a bank, challenger banks pulling the crown off the incumbent banks heads, the end of old banks, the disruption of the system and the end of all traditional financial services. I guess some would say that I fall into this camp and, on occasion, I do write things…

I have one slight concern as we go cashless, having experienced it myself. You cannot go cashless if it does not include everyone. I had this experience in China. Arriving on a Sunday lunchtime at the Holiday Inn Express hotel, I successfully checked in and had a nice room with an empty fridge. Downstairs, being…

We talk about platform companies, and many use the famous TechCrunch quote to illustrate this: Uber,  the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. Something interesting is happening. Something…

Another regular argument I’m having is whether digital is a revolution or evolution. I firmly believe it is revolutionary. When industries are being rebuilt from the ground-up with new technologies and new business models, then it is a revolution. When we are living in an age where every human on earth can be connected through…

I blog a lot about banks needing to change and adapt. I do not blog about the end of banks and I do not predict that banks will be destroyed. I do predict that banks that do not change and adapt will be destroyed, and I do predict that banks that have not fully embraced…