Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Opinion

Goldman Sachs compare bitcoins to tulips, and cryptofolks aren’t happy

Goldman Sachs just became the bad boy on the block in the bitcoin brethren by saying bitcoin has nothing behind it. Remember last week when we were all bullish for the Goldman Sachs Bitcoin call? L pic.twitter.com/W5lRyx1L5Y — Zack Voell (@zackvoell) May 27, 2020 However, when you look at their presentation … … they don’t…

When a FinTech CEO steps down (#Monzo)

In any business, there are different movers and shakers. Some can create momentum; some can maintain momentum; some create ideas; some kill ideas; some run the business; some change the business; and so on and so on and so on. I’m an ideas guy. I could never run a business. I mean, I do run…

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Financial Inclusion

I spent some time recently chatting with Joanne Dewar, Chief Executive Officer, Global Processing Services (GPS). I spotted GPS a while ago, and blogged about how they worked with Monzo, Starling, Revolut and more last October. Anywho, Joanne wrote a brilliant piece on the Nasdaq website the other day, which she kindly has given me…

Is Facebook’s Libra the next Paypal?

What if we make money truly global, stable and secure? That’s Libra’s ambition and I’ve got to hand it to the guys at Libra. Having announced their idea to create a global currency last summer, and then see it ripped to pieces by regulators, they’re back. Yes, it’s Libra 2.0. What’s the difference between 1.0 and…

Does #coronavirus mean being rude to people?

I grew up in a time that was not politically correct. We used to have names for people who did not fit with our thinking, that were often derogatory and rude. Then, as I grew up, the world globalised and inclusion became more the norm. We became connected by easy travel and low-cost airlines, and…

Banking is not about relationships. It’s about secrets

Britain’s Got Talent is running right now in the UK and I really enjoyed this comedic sketch by Baptist Minister Allan Finnegan. You may not be able to watch it in your country, so here’s the script: I’ve been married for thirty years, which means my love life is a bit like my bank card…

The politics of pandemics (#coronavirus)

Looking back, the world should have locked down when China did in January. The reason we didn’t? Economics, business, commerce and the financial metrics. If we had? Well, we wouldn’t be suffering nearly as much now. But hey, hindsight is a great thing, isn’t it? One of the things that struck me during all of…

The failure of government (#coronavirus)

I’m really frustrated between what the government is saying, the media is reporting, the behaviour of banks, the thrust of business and the reality of life. Governments worldwide are locking down and, at the same time, saying they’re going to help citizens and business; media is telling everyone there’s help, support, money, aid out there;…

The future of the Euro (#coronavirus bonds)

For most of my adult life, we’ve been part of the European Union. The Brexit vote came as a shock, and the unravelling of Britain from Europe for the past four years has been a major stalemate in British life and politics. Now, the whole euro project might come tumbling down, so maybe the Brits…

Should retail banks be retailers?

There’s a great write-up by one of my guest contributors Alex Johnson, about the bad sales culture of most banks. Admittedly, he says it’s partly inspired by my blog of last year about challenger banks, but his write-up takes it further and has a swipe at the whole bank culture of cross-selling and being retailers…