Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Opinion

Are customers so important for banks?

I was asked the other day about what’s on the CEO’s agenda?  Revenue, restructuring, regulations, share price, bonus, wife, mistress … whoops, sorry, I digress. In fact the four key areas top of mind with most bank CEOs are: Competition: and that’s not just interbank competition, but also new competitors in the form of challenger…

Apple Pay will be the mobile wallet of choice and here’s why

So Apple Pay finally launched in the USA on October 20 and there’s been mixed reviews.  Some people couldn’t make payments, whilst some found they were double-charged.  However, these are just teething issues and the overwhelming reports are positive.  Even former Apple CEO and Financial Services Club keynote speaker John Sculley: I think Apple Pay…

Stipe

AML prevention lies in digital identities: the new form of money

After yesterday’s post about KYC, PEPs and AML, someone said: “so what’s the point Chris?” @FSClub not quite sure of the point you are making here. Money L bad. Hard to catch. Harder if not in official channels. It was ever thus? — Julian Lee (@JulianDDLee) May 8, 2014 The point of yesterday’s blog was…

Bankers and regulators: do you want a Red or a Blue Pill (Matrix)?

I had a Red Pill moment last week. Not an Aha moment but a Red Pill moment because I realised the false reality of our world. You see, I present all the time and talk about the forces of change for the future: Political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST). I usually skip over the Political…

Digital wallets will process all the money on earth by 2025

Another presentation that surprised me in Oslo came from Tor Jacobsen, CEO of TSM Nordic. It surprised me as I had no idea about TSM, a mobile wallet provider owned by Telenor and DNB – Norway’s biggest mobile network operator (MNO) and biggest bank – and will launch in the Norwegian market later this year…

Global-mobile-wallet-market

It’s a wonderful digital life … if you’re a digital disruptor

I recently had an epiphany.  It was not painful, but it was enlightening. The realisation occurred to me as I looked at this chart from Zopa: It’s an interesting chart, especially the hockey stick rise in funds transferred as the financial crisis hit, and relates to a recent headline in the Financial Times: “P2P group…

Zopa

It’s a wonderful digital life … if you’re a digital disruptor

I recently had an epiphany.  It was not painful, but it was enlightening. The realisation occurred to me as I looked at this chart from Zopa: It’s an interesting chart, especially the hockey stick rise in funds transferred as the financial crisis hit, and relates to a recent headline in the Financial Times: “P2P group…

Zopa

Big Data is all about knowing what questions to ask

Like everyone, I was shocked by the news of the Westgate Shopping Mall shootings in Nairobi, Kenya. The real shock is how they determined who to shoot, singling out individuals and asking whether they could name the Prophet Muhammad’s mother: Reports from separate floors of the building in the first hours of the assault told…

Big Data is all about knowing what questions to ask

Like everyone, I was shocked by the news of the Westgate Shopping Mall shootings in Nairobi, Kenya. The real shock is how they determined who to shoot, singling out individuals and asking whether they could name the Prophet Muhammad’s mother: Reports from separate floors of the building in the first hours of the assault told…

Some banks are run by nutters

There’s a new book out about Fred Goodwin, the former Knight of the Realm. It shows what a control freak he was. How come no-one spoke up at the time? Because he was some form of sociopath apparently. I’ve mentioned this before – is your boss a demented maniac? – but Fred shows all the traits…