Grid

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 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…

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…

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…

So, I’m presenting at a Corporate Treasury event, and we get into talking about distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain. Comments are made around so many tests and proofs of work and concept, but so little production. At this point, someone made the comment that it will happen from the ground up, as corporates start…

I was asked at a conference the other day: “so what do you think about a banks’ Innovation Department?” The question threw me a little, so I asked what they meant. “Well, do you think banks should have an Innovation Division?” I replied that divisions divide, and that innovation should be encouraged everywhere. “Ah, so…

Back in the 1980s, Walter Wriston, the then Chief Executive and Chairman of Citibank, said that “information about money is becoming more important than money itself”. His successor, John Reed, said that “banking is just becoming bits and bytes”. A quarter century later, this vision of the future of finance has come true. By way…

The main blog headlines are … Big bank thinking and the danger of the technology testing hole Building on Friday’s blog about small bank thinking, there’s another anomaly that occurs with big banks which is their usual response to technology is to test it. The problem with testing technology is that it is just a…

It’s very confusing these days. I turned up at a conference recently in a suit and tie and no one, literally no one, was wearing a suit or tie. No one had told me the dress code either, so I grinned and bared it. Then I got to another meeting today where the audience were…

I’ve often been hired to run a workshop or presentation at a bank’s boardroom meeting. Usually, I’m hired by the frustrated digital guy who wants to convince the rest of the leadership team that it’s important. They don’t get digital, he or she will tell me, so you must make them understand, they plead. Wow….