Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Tax me, I’m a millionaire

Well, I’m actually not. But there are a few out there and they’ve ganged together to create Millionaires for Humanity. The aim of this group is to get governments to tax them more. High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) and Ultra High Net Work Individauls (UHNWI) are those two groups who are served by private banks…

Pay-by-Nose, a new innovation

I blog regularly about what a fanboy I am of Chinese technology giants Alibaba and Tencent. It’s getting a bit ridiculous now however, when payments companies are designing payments for cats and dogs … or maybe it’s not … it’s just an extension of technologies that work for humans. My last blog on this subject…

The FinTech Karaoke Challenge: My Way

OK, OK, OK.  I know that some of my friends have been doing FinTech and Banking songs for a while, and I’ve avoided it. I’ve also avoided doing much video, as I don’t like seeing myself on camera. And I don’t sing, except in the shower. But … … oh dear … … my FinTech…

The Finanser’s Week: 13th July 2020 – 19th July 2020

The main blog headlines are … What you really, really want is money (that’s what I want) I’ve written quite a few times about how economies work and the role of money as power. In particular, money is not just power but status, and leads to attractiveness, and the ability to get someone above your…

What you really, really want is money (that’s what I want)

I’ve written quite a few times about how economies work and the role of money as power. In particular, money is not just power but status, and leads to attractiveness, and the ability to get someone above your league in looks. I’ve likened it to experiments with monkeys where, when fruit becomes a currency, many…

Apple Card #fail?

Years and years ago, I did a business process analysis for an insurance company. One of the people I met there and interviewed said: “We’ve bred a group of box tickers and button pushers” This was, in context, about their underwriters. They ticked boxes and pushed buttons. Their process was black and white: you’re either…

AI will augment, not destroy humanity

I’ve spent years talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Source: Europa Bearing in mind that we always talk about AI in the context of the Turing Test – a test that Alan Turing created back in 1950 – it’s not surprising. That test is that we will have achieved the true opportunities for technological  development when…

Digital Banking for the Poor

I have a few friends around the world that I pick up on, and The World Bank and CGAP are amongst that crew. Therefore, when I saw that Peter Zetterli, senior financial sector specialist with CGAP, was blogging about financial inclusion I couldn’t but help reach out to him and ask him to write a…

Chris Skinner’s FinTech Rap

This could be a serious mistake, as I’m an old guy who wasn’t born for rapping, but I can’t help myself. I woke up today and thought: you should make a rap video. Stupid, I know, but can’t help myself. My wife actually wandered into the office as I recorded this and said: are you ok?…

The Finanser’s Week: 6th July 2020 – 12th July 2020

The main blog headlines are … HSBC and Standard Chartered are wrong to kowtow to China over Hong Kong I keep saying that I don’t want to be political on this blog – I’m not qualified and it’s not why you read it – but, as a human being, I cannot ignore things like Black…