Grid

For years now there has been a discussion of having chips inside humans. I was presenting this idea twenty years ago, and often used the example of the Baja Beach Club. The idea made sense: get a club chip inserted under the skin and you need no wallet or phone … just dance. It particularly…

As I posted analysis of the state of financial innovation in Ukraine the other day,  I thought it only fair to get the other side of the story: what’s happening in Russia? I have many friends in both countries. In particular Daniel Gusev, Managing Partner & Founder at Gauss Ventures, has been a good Russia…

The main discussions on the blog this week include … Why old banks should be worried I had an interesting comment the other day from a friend who said that he had worked with incumbents and start-ups. The big difference is that the incumbent views digital as a cost-cutting exercise, whilst the start-up sees it…

I don’t know if you’ve noticed a new start-up called Column, but it’s worth watching as it’s a chartered bank in America created by the co-founder of Plaid, William Hockey, and his wife Anne. What’s Column all about? The problem the Hockeys are trying to solve is that fintechs and large tech companies often need…

Life is swings and roundabouts … you win some, you lose some. Life is Sliding Doors moments … you look back and want to change things or wish you had taken that opportunity (Ed: it’s easy in hindsight). Life is what you make it … you cannot change the past or present, only the future….

Having spent the last decade saying that cryptocurrencies were rubbish (bankers) or the future (libertarians), I really enjoyed this new report from Thomson Reuters (which you can download for free here if you register). Therefore, thought I’d post the summary and tease you to clickthrough … SPECIAL REPORT: Cryptos on the rise 2022 — a…

New banks have great opportunities. They can fix all the things old banks do badly, using a clean sheet of paper. But sometimes they get it wrong. For example, many are fans of Monzo, one of the fastest growing UK challenger banks. I’m a fan, but have noticed one issue that keeps getting social media…

I had an interesting comment the other day from a friend who said that he had worked with incumbents and start-ups. The big difference is that the incumbent views digital as a cost-cutting exercise, whilst the start-up sees it as a customer-enhancing opportunity. It rang a bell with me. Having spent so long dealing with…

This week’s main blog discussions include … What if cancel culture leads to being financially cancelled? I saw an interesting letter in Metro the other day: A world where you can be financially cancelled A thought on what is described as ‘cancel culture’. Once all money is digital, the ability will exist to cancel people…

I saw an interesting letter in Metro the other day: A world where you can be financially cancelled A thought on what is described as ‘cancel culture’. Once all money is digital, the ability will exist to cancel people from buying or selling anything, just as they can be cancelled from social media today. Will…