Every now and again I look at the week’s fintech headlines and realise they tell a much bigger story than anyone intended. This week was one of those weeks. One headline celebrated the UK cementing its position as Europe’s fintech powerhouse, with 24 unicorns collectively worth almost $160 billion. Another reported that PayEm, a fintech…
Why are we still talking about branch or not to branch? The debate about bank branches has become oddly polarised. One side argues that branches are an expensive relic of the twentieth century. The other insists they remain the heart of community banking. The reality, as always, is more nuanced. The future probably belongs to…
We’ve been told that artificial intelligence is going to make banking faster, cheaper, safer and smarter. Now the people who regulate the financial system are starting to ask a different question. What if AI becomes the biggest systemic risk since the global financial crisis? That isn’t coming from technology sceptics. It’s coming from the Bank…
Building on the commentary about Taylor Swift’s big wedding, we’ve all heard the saying that money talks but wealth whispers. It’s a lovely phrase because it conjures up images of old aristocratic families quietly living behind the gates of country estates whilst the newly rich roar past in Ferraris. The implication is that once you’ve…
This week’s main blog discussions include … Crypto and Politico: One Step Beyond For years I thought cryptocurrency was a fascinating financial experiment. It challenged banks, questioned governments and forced regulators to think differently about money. What I hadn’t fully appreciated was that it wasn’t just disrupting finance. It was quietly becoming a force in…
There was an interesting reaction to the reports surrounding Taylor Swift’s lavish wedding. It wasn’t really about the money. Everyone knows she’s a billionaire and nobody expected a modest ceremony in the local church hall. What seemed to irritate many people was something deeper. For years, Swift has cultivated the image of the relatable girl…
We often think wars are won with missiles, tanks and soldiers. In reality, they are won with banks. Every shell that is fired, every drone that is launched and every factory that shifts from producing washing machines to artillery shells has to be financed by someone. Governments issue debt. Central banks manage liquidity. Commercial banks…
Power used to be easy to understand. Kings inherited it; governments exercised it; central banks controlled money; banks allocated capital; corporations built wealth. The lines between politics, finance and business were reasonably clear. Each institution had its own role; each exercised power in different ways. Those lines have blurred almost beyond recognition. Today, political influence…
Whilst most of the world is still debating whether AI should sit inside an app, Tencent – the Chinese Tech Titan – has quietly embedded an intelligent assistant inside one of the largest digital ecosystems on the planet. To appreciate why this matters, you first need to understand the scale of the platform. WeChat, known…
For years I thought cryptocurrency was a fascinating financial experiment. It challenged banks, questioned governments and forced regulators to think differently about money. What I hadn’t fully appreciated was that it wasn’t just disrupting finance. It was quietly becoming a force in politics and government, as I blogged the other day, and it’s now gone…
