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Way back in the 1990s, we all talked about object-oriented architectures and modular computing. In the 2000s, I called it Banking-as-a-Service, BaaS, and started presenting the idea around the world. The difference between the 1990s and 2000s was cloud and mobile smartphones. This change was the tipping point from fragmented systems to open platforms, and…

Thirty years ago, I presented at a conference with the theme being the end of cash. Thirty years later we are all gradually going cashless. Twenty-five years ago, I presented at a conference, with the view that bank branches weren’t needed. Twenty-five years later, most bank branches are going, going, gone. Twenty years ago, I…

Way back in 2012, I invested £1,000 in bitcoins on Mt.Gox, the Japanese-based exchange that was the most popular platform at that time for trading in said currency. Then they got hacked and went bankrupt in 2014. You may remember but, just in case: Launched in 2010, it was handling over 70% of all bitcoin…

A long time ago, before most of you were born, I worked with Dr. An Wang, a visionary. Wang created Wang computers, a company that blossomed quickly into a global firm thanks to word processing. Word processing? Yes, word processing. What it allowed was the replacement of typewriters with computers, and companies loved it because…

This week’s main blog discussions include … How the Wirecard story unravelled: an interview with Dan McCrum who broke the truth 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…

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,…