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I was talking with some friends at the most innovative bank in Europe. A bank that has stopped getting on my radar for the past few years. I first blogged about them back in 2012, when I met the founder at an event. That bank is called Fidor. Following that first meeting, we became friends, and I…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is moving at a pace, creating a really interesting online debate the other day about its applications. Specifically, the question was raised about self-driving cars and how they make decisions. For example, when a self-driving car crashes, who should die? This is a question explored in depth by researchers from the MIT…

I got this headline today: Most banks will be made irrelevant by 2030 – Gartner Within 12 years time, 80% of financial firms will either go out of business or be rendered irrelevant by new competition, changing customer behaviour and advancements in technology, according to forecasts by Gartner. And it really made me mad because…

You’re probably familiar with an app. Maybe you even have some on this thing called a smartphone. I apologise for the few financial guys I know who are still using blackberries, as what follows may blow your mind.  Ok, I know that was patronising but there are actually still a few people who don’t know…

Every now and again people like me are drawn back into reality. Sure, I fly business class, sometimes first, and drink champagne at 40,000 feet. I land and stay in luxurious hotels whilst partying with a network of people who are friends, rather than business associates. I eat at fine restaurants and am treated by…

The main blog headlines are … Technosocialism? As if … Someone told me I should start a travel blog, as I fly more than most pigeons do. True. But I’m not sure my travel blog would be read so much. However, it does make me reflect on travel and money. Some countries are still reliant…

It is interesting how the FinTech world has developed over the past decade. My first memory of any company that would fit the FinTech world stems way back to March 30, 2005. On that memorable evening, one of the funders of a technology start-up talked about a vision where platforms could connect people who have…

I enjoyed chairing a half day stream at #Money2020 in Las Vegas focused upon breaking news and views. It actually turned out to be more around how banks are partnering with start-ups, with several sessions discussing how the partnership started and how it worked. The first session had Amazon discussing their cloud services. I remember…

Like many of us, I have several pet hates about banks. My main one is when they sting you with charges you don’t expect. I always remember getting a £50 charge for an unauthorised overdraft a few years ago. I’d been with the bank for over twenty years and never been overdrawn before. This instance…

Someone told me I should start a travel blog, as I fly more than most pigeons do. True. But I’m not sure my travel blog would be read so much. However, it does make me reflect on travel and money. Some countries are still reliant on cash whilst others are cashless. I go to the…