Fintech

I find it interesting that most reportage of fintech is very much B2C focused. We talk a lot about Stripe, Adyen and Klarna; we talk about A2A, P2P and PIS; we talk a lot about challenger banks and neobanks; we talk a lot about retail and consumer markets. We don’t talk so much about B2B…

I just spotted a new innovation in India from Paytm, who I consider friends of mine after interviewing their founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma for Digital Human a few years ago. What’s the innovation? Talking payments. The Paytm soundbox – which works both online and offline with QR codes – allows merchants and customers to hear their transactions…

In a long feature, Bloomberg describes how Donald Trump has become a crypto fan. Trump Bitcoin 2024: How NFTs Made Him a Crypto Cheerleader – Bloomberg My reading: it’s based on his vanity. The cryptoworld created a whole range of NFT trading cards of Trump a few years ago and, because it made a lot…

I just found an interesting blog by Plaid: 10 fintech trends for 2024 that define the industry’s future What are the 10 fintech trends? Trend #1: Consumers will use more fintech apps than ever Trend #2: Fintech increasingly provides financial stability during uncertain times Trend #3: Emerging payment technologies will become as normalized as the…

Sitting down to blog today, I wondered what was the difference between A2A and P2P. I’m sure you know that A2A is Account-to-Account and P2P is Peer-to-Peer, but surely they are one and the same thing? Ahem, no. According to Brite, a player in the open banking space: Account-to-account payments are direct transfers of funds…

I recently read a book to my kids. It was Dr Seuss’ I Had Trouble In Getting to Solla Sollew which, if you don’t know the book, involves an arduous journey to Solla Sollew, “where they never have troubles! At least, very few”. Solla Sollew is believed to be a place of hope and wonder,…

I blogged the other day A new British Government: what does it mean for fintech? and asked the question of how the new Labour government could maintain the UK’s leadership in this space. Today, I’m asking the other question about our special relationship with America, and what a new American Government would mean for fintech. The…

With great power, comes great responsibility. It’s a quote from Spiderman, but actually not. It’s from Spiderman’s Uncle Ben. Well, it’s not tbh. It’s from Voltaire … or is it? Wherever it is from, it’s a great phrase. So, here’s a new one. With great power, comes great threat, and that one is from me….

There’s been a lot of activity around Stripe this week, who are now valued at $70 billion (slightly down from 2021 but up from 2023). Stripe’s valuation has edged up to $70 billion as Sequoia Capital offers to buy shares from its investors looking to cash out of the fintech that helps merchants process customer payments. Source: Marcel…

I’m sure you’ve all noticed that artificial intelligence (AI) is the big news of the last year, but have you been watching Nvidia, the chip maker that drives AI? It’s now bigger than Intel and about to exceed Microsoft and Apple in market valuation. Here’s an analyst’s view from Barrons: Nvidia Has More Than Doubled…