Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

If you think Open Banking is where it’s at, think again

As someone who has set up a number of small businesses, there are three major tasks that I hate: Doing the accounts Tax returns Invoices As the business owner, all I want to do is my job, to have fun, to get on with creating more customers and more business. However, the issue with accounts,…

The drive to be a digital-native bank

I posted a joke the other day. The joke was that we had not ordered anything online yesterday, and our usual delivery guy called by today to check we were OK. The joke made me realise something. The realisation is that we really have pivoted from a world of stores and streets to a world…

The radical restructuring to be digital – did you miss it?

I posted a joke the other day. The joke was that we had not ordered anything online yesterday, and our usual delivery guy called by today to check we were OK. The joke made me realise something. The realisation is that we really have pivoted from a world of stores and streets to a world…

The Finanser’s Week: 7th June 2021- 13th June 2021

This week’s main blogs include: Should banks have more technologists than Microsoft? I saw an interesting article about the Head of Technology at a major bank, let’s call it ABC Bank for the purposes of my column, and the article began by saying that this guy “commands a budget of $10 billion and a team of 40,000…

What does cashless really mean?

As we move from cash to cashless, turbo-charged by the pandemic, there is a fundamental challenge to ATM providers like NCR and Diebold Nixdorf. I had this view back in the 1990s. It’s just taken a quarter of a century to become a reality. In the UK Link, the largest cash machine network, said there…

Should banks have more technologists than Microsoft?

I saw an interesting article about the Head of Technology at a major bank, let’s call it ABC Bank for the purposes of my column, and the article began by saying that this guy “commands a budget of $10 billion and a team of 40,000 technologists.” $10 billion is about half the total amount invested in European…

Can machines replace humans?

Yet another day of reflections – too many of those lately – and thinking about generations. My parents were war parents, living through the Second World War; their parents were people growing up in Edwardian Britain as a carpenter and housewife. Things were different. I don’t remember my parents struggling, although I know my grandparents…

If you woke up without a goal, go back to sleep

When I was growing up, my parents drilled into me a number of key reasons to live: get a good job, build wealth, buy a house, get married and have kids. They also made it clear I should not cheat – should not cheat on my partner or employer; should not steal or back-stab; should…

The Finanser’s Week: 31st May 2021- 6th June 2021

This week’s main blog updates include … What currency will you be using in 2121? Having watched the emergence of cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for a decade, I have made a firm view. Most of the people involved in this space are deluded and naïve; most of the people involved…

Our global village: meet the Earthians

I grew up in a village, miles from the nearest town. I moved to a city in the north after university and then to London for work. I enjoyed my work and yearned to travel. Luckily, my work allowed me to travel. I’ve been to more countries than I care to mention but then, back…