It’s not just AI that’s hot, but there is still the metaverse, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and more. So, I’ve been friends-ish with Yoni Assia, the co-founder of eToro, for many years. The story of eToro is pretty amazing actually. If you’re not familiar with it, you can find a summary over here…
After yesterday’s chat with Dan McCrum of The Financial Times who broke the Wirecard story, wrote the book about it, helped create the documentary on Netflix and is an all round good guy, I wondered whatever happened to the key instigator, organiser and mastermind behind the fraud, Jan Marsalek. Dan: It did feel quite dangerous…
I’ve been following Dan McCrum, the investigative journalist with The Financial Times, for quite a while. He’s the guy who broke the Wirecard story, even though it could have meant quite a lot of personal danger. If you haven’t read his book The Money Men, I can strongly recommend it or, if not, watch the…
In the 1990s, I got very excited about a number of challenger banks. Sainsburys, Tesco and Virgin all launched new banks in the UK, and there were several others worldwide such as the (David) Bowie Bank and the G&L (Gay and Lesbian) Bank. Where are they now? Nowhere. Sainsbury bank is up for sale, Tesco…
A really interesting survey by Sifted appeared this week* about start-up founders. It’s not specific to tech of fintech, although that’s the bulk of Sifted’s audience, but the results are fascinating. The reason? The fallout of funding. I called out a fintech bloodbath over a year ago (October 2022) and, a year later, here it is,…
There are perennial questions that come around all the time: Do banks need branches Why are banks so bad at stopping bad actors (AML and KYC) Will we end up cashless Can banking be run by machines Are banks needed (disintermediation) Can regulators keep up Can we create a system that has no government involved…
This week’s main blog discussions include … Introducing the Dimonsaur For the past decade, Jamie Dimon has regularly been decrying bitcoin as a scam. Here’s a few of his quotes: Jamie Dimon tells Davos that Bitcoin is a ‘pet rock’ that does nothing—except help with fraud and money laundering Jamie Dimon lashes out against crypto:…
I have found that several of my major bank account providers have started to question me about various activities from cryptocurrency investments to general document identification and reidentifying who I am. Of course, these are all driven by regulatory requirements for compliance, KYC, AML and such like but, in the process, it has killed my…
For the past decade, Jamie Dimon has regularly been decrying bitcoin as a scam. Here’s a few of his quotes: Jamie Dimon tells Davos that Bitcoin is a ‘pet rock’ that does nothing—except help with fraud and money laundering Jamie Dimon lashes out against crypto: ‘If I was the government, I’d close it down’ JPMorgan…
You may or may not know Cornerstone Advisors. If you don’t, you are missing out on major news! They are my favourite bank consulting service in the USA ever since I subscribed to their newsletter Gonzo Banker, years ago. They also have two of my favourite people in the banking world on their staff: Ron Shevlin,…
