There are moments when an unexpected event reveals more about the world than years of official speeches and carefully crafted reports. The recent leak of Peter Thiel’s invitation-only network, Dialog, feels like one of those moments. This is not because it exposes some great conspiracy, but because it offers a glimpse into the conversations taking…
For years, one of fintech’s favourite hobbies has been complaining about regulation. Every new rule is another obstacle. Another compliance cost. Another reason why innovation was supposedly impossible. Startups would proudly describe themselves as moving fast and breaking things, while regulators were portrayed as the people standing in the way of progress. Then something interesting…
I see a story about Revolut every day, several times a day. As one of the most remarkable success stories in modern banking, it’s not surprising. In just a decade, it has grown from a prepaid travel card into a financial super app serving tens of millions of customers across dozens of countries and a…
I’ve been meaning to write this for a while. I’ve finally got there, although my friend Dave Birch will probably roll his eyes at the density of buzzwords. Still, both ideas – AI-native banking and quantum computing – are no longer fringe. They sit squarely at the centre of fintech’s next wave of disruption. The…
Almost every innovation is met by people who believe it will destroy our ability to earn a living. The Luddites feared mechanisation. Clerks feared computers. Bank managers feared the internet. Taxi drivers feared ride-sharing apps. Retailers feared ecommerce. And now everyone fears AI. The latest prediction is that artificial intelligence will eliminate millions of jobs,…
Thirty years ago, a journalist laughed when I predicted that someone would one day make a payment from the top of Mount Everest. In 2013, it came true. Why am I thinking about this today? Because I am going somewhere that has a hidden secret. Going where? Uzbekistan. The hidden secret? Payme. Payme is one…
For years, Decentralised Finance (DeFi) has sold itself as the future of finance: transparent, decentralised, unstoppable. Now one of the most respected security figures in crypto is saying: get out whilst you still can. Manuel Aráoz, co-founder of OpenZeppelin, believes AI has fundamentally changed the security equation in decentralised finance but his latest warning is…
For years, banks have been criticised for fraud. Today, a growing number of bankers are asking a different question: why are banks paying for fraud that originates elsewhere? Across the world, consumer groups, regulators, banks and campaigners are increasingly pointing to the same source of online scams: Meta’s platforms, particularly Facebook and Instagram. This is…
The latest McKinsey Global Banking Annual Review paints a fascinating picture of modern banking and shows that the industry is both richer than ever and more threatened than ever. On the surface, everything looks fantastic. Global banking generated around $1.3 trillion in net income in 2025, making it one of the most profitable industries on…
For years, the conversation around digital banks focused on whether they could survive. Today, the question is very different: what are they becoming? The latest results from Monzo, Revolut and Starling reveal something remarkable. These institutions are no longer niche challengers. They are profitable, growing rapidly, attracting millions of customers and, perhaps most importantly, becoming…
