Opinion

A final reflection on the way of the world before getting back to FinTech and banking. Whilst on holiday, we became interested in buying a property in Dubai, and began making enquiries. It soon transpired that this would be a dream, as the average price of a villa on the Palm was over $4 million,…

Another musing whilst on holiday is that it is difficult to get into the head of a twenty- or thirty- something millennial when you’re a Gen X or Baby Boomer. In my head, I still think I’m 20 but, when I look in the mirror, I know I’m not. This thought struck me as I…

I just had a nice holiday in Dubai. The hotel had a huge mixture of Asians, Russians, Indians, Europeans and even a few Americans. It was lovely. Geared up for families, there were rug rats and strollers everywhere. This got me thinking. Yet again, I was thinking how different these children’s lives will be to…

I was reflecting on this year’s Edelman Trust Monitor, a global survey of trust amongst consumers that has been running for 18 years. This year’s results prove fascinating, as there has been a slump in confidence in the media over the past year, due to fake news. However, the part that stood out for me…

Finally, just over a week ago, Open Banking came into the UK and Open APIs into the European Union. I am sure you all know what this is all about by now but, just in case, it is the regulations that force banks to share data through APIs – plug and play software – with…

As usual, the Financial Services Club was delighted to host David Doyle as our starting speaker for 2018, and he presented a fine overview of all the things bubbling as top  of the agenda in the European Union’s regulatory plans for 2018. Led by the Bulgarian presidency, the agenda focuses primarily on pushing forward the…

I am tempted to predict the price of bitcoin for the end of 2018 but know I’d be wrong, so I’m not. It could be $1 or $1 million. I’m not going to forecast it, as there are over 1,000 digital currencies out there and who knows which will be the winner long-term. However, one…

I’m often talking about digital identity and struggle with the subject. This is because the meeting of ID2020 I attended at the United Nations 18 months ago, talked about the issues of digital identity and poverty, and how the poorest are the most susceptible to human trafficking and slavery: How the system crushes the poor Most…

Banks need to make money on new products and services, from things that don’t exist yet, in the same way that children will need to find jobs that don’t exist yet. You may not have seen it, but it is estimated that two-thirds of the jobs of the future are yet to be created, and…

I was asked by my speaker’s agency – Speakers Associates – to give some predictions for 2018. It was interesting to see that they did the same with six other speakers and so thought I would share all of our thoughts here today. How will the world change in 2018? Noreena Hertz Regarded as a…