Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Why CBDCs fail: a lack of trust in authorities?

I spend a lot of time thinking about the way the network is impacting finance. The network is the network of citizens, enabled by mobile smartphones, the internet and cloud computing. The result is that everything can be developed and delivered on a peer-to-peer decentralised basis. The knock-on effect is that governments and centralised institutions…

Why is the bank asking me if I’m a Mr, Mrs or Ms?

A new Pew Research report documents that, in 2021, 68% of 25-year-olds were living outside their parents’ home, 22% were married and 17% had a child, according to a Pew Research Centre analysis of the most recently available Census Bureau data. In 1980, 84% were living on their own, 63% were married and 39% had a child, the report said….

The Finanser’s Week: 3rd July – 9th July 2023

This week’s main blog discussions include … How AI will impact your business Some people may think McKinsey are a dark force, but their research is pretty good. In the latest white paper, they summarise what is happening with AI and GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) and, with all the buzz around ChatGPT and BankGPT, the…

This week’s FU!

Holidays are all about taking a break and it seems Goldman Sachs is thinking about taking a break from their relationship with Apple. Will this be the end of their foray into consumer finance after losing more than $3 BILLION since 2020 on their experiment? SOME of the cast of the show managed to meet…

The world of opportunities, if you know where to look

2023 is proving to be a punishing year for banks, finance, technology and fintech. Firms have seen massive downgrades of their market cap, and we have seen the demise of major companies ranging from Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic and Credit Suisse. Some say that this is a crisis. However, it seems more like a…

How AI will impact your business

Some people may think McKinsey are a dark force, but their research is pretty good. In the latest white paper, they summarise what is happening with AI and GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) and, with all the buzz around ChatGPT and BankGPT, the paper is worth sharing here. These are the key take-aways: Generative AI’s impact…

The moment you realise crypto has gone mainstream

Those who read my blog often know that I see FinTech as the partnership between old bankers and young technology visionaries or, in context, a parent-child relationship. The parent wants stability and to maintain the status quo; the child wants to break down barriers and change the world. That’s a tough alignment, especially if you…

The Finanser’s Week: 26th June – 2nd July 2023

The main blog discussions this week include … The relationship between banking, fintech and the Titanic I hesitate to write this, as it is controversial. But then I am not afraid to confront controversy. After the tragic implosion of Titan, the OceanGate submersible submarine that was doing the deep dive to the Titanic … ……