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I still haven’t managed to get rid of the elephant in the room. In fact, it’s worse now, as he’s moved into the bedroom in the evenings. It makes it really hard to sleep. Yes, I need to sleep on the bed too, but find it hard to sleep as …

I’m doing a bit of research work with various companies, one of whom is Salesforce. It’s interesting, as so many people talk today about embedded finance but Salesforce talk about autonomous finance. What is autonomous finance? Namer Aljazrawi, global head of Strategy & Operations for Financial Services at Salesforce, explains. What …

I’ve never thought about it much but the saying: “Necessity is the mother of invention” … came back to me today. This came back to me because I was reading an interesting description of what happened in 1815. Do you remember that year? Of course not, probably, but that was …

As I ponder the world and everything, this article by Jemima Kelly in The Financial Times keeps coming back to me: The virus has crushed the challenger bank dream In it she says things like: There comes a time in your life that you realise that some of the friends …

Way back in March 2020 – what month is it now? – I said that lockdown would be a challenge for all. Obviously. Now, so many months later – what year is it now? – it is clear that has challenged all. Personally, I see two massive rifts: the physical …

Is Deutsche Bank a scrambled egg of banking? I’ve talked about Deutsche Bank for some years. Originally with respect but, increasingly, with disdain. Most recently, I’ve used them as an illustration of a struggling bank, worth far less than an innovative start-up like Stripe. The most recent valuation of Deutsche …

The main blog discussions this week include … Why banks don’t die Have you noticed how people talk about disruption more and more, and note the collapse of companies like Blockbuster, Kodak, Nokia and Thomas Cook? In fact, there are more companies entering and leaving the stock market lists than …

I don’t usually cover press releases as they bore me, but this one caught my attention: Customer Online Conversations Reveal ‘All to Play for’ in Battle between Challengers and Incumbent Banks, Finds Economist Intelligence Unit Report   Groundbreaking report by The Economist Intelligence Unit uses machine-learning to analyse over 10 …

When Digital Human was released in 2018, the opening chapter is all about the history of humankind. I don’t claim to be an expert on history, but I do know a lot of history, having visited museums in over 100 countries around the world. So, I was fairly offended by …

Stumbling over an interesting article about bank consolidation in Europe, reminded me of Francisco Gonzalez’s (former Chair of BBVA) prediction that there’s only enough room for a maximum of fifty banks globally. I don’t believe either. As written about yesterday, banks don’t disappear. They don’t die. For over a quarter …

Have you noticed how people talk about disruption more and more, and note the collapse of companies like Blockbuster, Kodak, Nokia and Thomas Cook? In fact, there are more companies entering and leaving the stock market lists than ever before, with the average tenancy now under two decades compared to …

I’m running a survey around how this crisis has impacted physical versus digital access to services – please take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KCSBYMM … and you will get a free copy of the results – but, building on the physical versus digital debate,  it really hit me as I listened to …

The main blog discussions this week include … The impact of the US election on finance and FinTech No politics from my side here, but just reflecting on the politics of America. The US election – whatever your view of its process and outcome – leaves us with a different …

The really annoying elephant is still in my room. It’s got to the stage now that I walk past him every day and don’t notice him. That’s what the elephant in the room is all about. It’s big, it’s annoying and you walk past it every day and just don’t …

No politics from my side here, but just reflecting on the politics of America. The US election – whatever your view of its process and outcome – leaves us with a different perspective on financial markets and, specifically, on FinTech start-ups and funding. Looking at US dollar rates, they’ve been …