Grid

During the lockdown, banks moved rapidly to sign cloud contracts. Thing is they were signing with the likes of Amazon, Google and Microsoft, but these are all American firms. Where are the European ones? I raised this issue two years ago, but it is now coming to a head as new rules require banks to…

This week’s main blog discussions include … FinTech’s growing pains and toxic cultures I find it interesting reading the articles about toxic cultures at Revolut. If you Google “Revolut Culture”, the second search item is this one: “You’re nothing but a number to them with dollar signs attached.” That’s how Revolut, one of the fastest…

Thing is once you become The Boss, how do you stay The Boss and not become The Old Boss? Writing yesterday about the growing pains of FinTech firms, there are also menopausal strains at incumbents. Once you become The Boss, how do you stay The Boss? That is a key question. When you become a…

I find it interesting reading the articles about toxic cultures at Revolut. If you Google “Revolut Culture”, the second search item is this one: “You’re nothing but a number to them with dollar signs attached.” That’s how Revolut, one of the fastest growing fintech startups in the UK, described traditional banks when advertising for business…

Banks are loners. They do it all internally. They don’t want outsiders stepping in. Too much risk. Leave us alone. Thing is, that doesn’t work anymore. Today, banks are just a component on the network of finance. They are just part of an ecosystem on a platform. Do they understand this? I don’t think so…

I’ve recently engaged with Dr Gail Bradbrook, Co-Founder of Extinction Rebellion and asked if she would write a monthly column for The Finanser. Thankfully she agreed and so at the start of each month I will offer Gail a voice on The Finanser. Here is the first one:   Are we paid to be stupid and dishonest,…

When you mention Africa, some people think it is a country full of famine and war. First, it is not a country but a continent and yes, there is some famine and war, but that’s not Africa. Before the pandemic, I travelled to many countries in the region and had amazing experiences in Kenya, Rwanda,…

This week’s main blog discussions included … We need to talk about crypto Crypto is in its usual rollercoaster mode with bitcoin prices halving in January, but then it did the same in January 2021. Regardless of this and, building on yesterday’s blog, there’s an interesting trend I’ve spotted, and it is the reason why…

South Park recently did a great skit on NFTs, and one line really resonated with me: The reason the line works so well is that money and finance, markets and companies, countries and laws, are all about beliefs. That’s the basic underlying fundamental. If you believe this contract with this currency authorised by this government…

Based on this article from the Verge, I thought I’d give my explainer of NFTs. What does NFT stand for? NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token, an acronym and phrase that no mere mortal understands. The gist of it is the word Fungible. Fungible means it can be replaced by something else. I give you a…