Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Firms need business model change, not blockchain

Every now and then, someone writes something better than me and, if they’re very nice, they let me republish their content on this blog. Ben Robinson of Temenos is one of those guys. Two years ago, he wrote a great insight into banking business models and, last week, he did it again in a superb write-up…

The Finanser’s Week: 28th May 2018 – 3rd June 2018

The main blog headlines are … So you think Alipay is just for the Chinese? I’ve got caught in a few discussions recently with people who tell me Ant Financial are Chinese. They’re not. Neither is Alibaba and, if you think they’re just Chinese, you’re going to miss a huge change in the next decade….

So you think Alipay is just for the Chinese?

I’ve got caught in a few discussions recently with people who tell me Ant Financial are Chinese. They’re not. Neither is Alibaba and, if you think they’re just Chinese, you’re going to miss a huge change in the next decade. Ant Financial is an open marketplace of apps, APIs and analytics, that I’ve been describing…

Digital isn’t built in a day

For those who know me they know that I travel a lot and, in those travels, it is fairly obvious that the world is not homogenous. Whilst the Chinese leapfrog the West and move to mobile banking, Europeans are seeing a surge of new banks trying to challenge the old, whilst the USA has megabanks…

When an app replaces 1200 bank branches …

I was invited to address a commercial bank this week, and they wanted me to make it specific to their strategy. In reading their strategy, I saw something that jumped off the page: new branches. Why, in the digital age, would any bank be opening more branches? I asked them this question and they said…

What cost a system outage?

A month ago, I blogged about the problems at TSB when implementing the change-over of their core systems. Yes, core systems replacements are challenging, but they’re not risky when done right. Unfortunately, TSB’s change-over shows all the marks of how to get it wrong. Not only has it been highly public, with the CEO Paul…

The long-term banking future: who are the winners?

I’ve used a statement for a while now about the competitive landscape of finance in the future. It goes something like: Banks have millions of customers, billions of capital and centuries of history, but are hampered by heritage; Start-ups have no customers, little capital and no history, but are driven by vision; whilst Tech giants…

The Finanser’s Week: 21st May 2018 – 27th May 2018

The main blog headlines are … Dubai: cutting edge or bleeding edge? I travel a lot and go to several countries that have smart leadership and smart cities. These cities and countries – you know who you are – are in the forefront of innovation and claim to be visionary. So, I was surprised when…

Dubai: cutting edge or bleeding edge?

I travel a lot and go to several countries that have smart leadership and smart cities. These cities and countries – you know who you are – are in the forefront of innovation and claim to be visionary. So, I was surprised when I was planning a trip to one recently, Dubai, and found a…

Do customers really want ‘invisible banking’?

Quite a few people talk about invisible banking today. The idea is that banking transactions and services should be invisible as if they are noticeable, as in visible, then that means you have pain and friction which should have been removed. A good example of invisible banking is the iTunes store where I can download…

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Fintech expert Chris Skinner: countries need digital transformation to remain competitive

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