Opinion

I didn’t want to comment on the death of the Queen. It’s got nothing to do with FinTech, Banking, Technology or finance … but, in the last few years, I created a charity with my good friend Basia Hamilton, a world-leading portrait artist, to encourage children to paint and draw. The Portrait Foundation is now…

The strapline for the film Alien was that in space, no one can hear you scream. It doesn’t sound quite as scary, but I was thinking about the cashless world and realised that: In case you cannot see the words: In space, no one can take your money Do you ever see anyone paying for…

As a guy who has invested a little in cryptocurrencies, I sat back a year ago in a warm glow. The investment had risen phantasmagorically, and was now worth a good pension. Today? It’s worth almost nothing. Source: Daily Mail What’s gone wrong? Well, it started with Terra, and it’s led to Terror. The wobbles…

Growing up, my brother used to try hard to persuade me to attend The Motor Show. He is a petrolhead and the show would be the highlight of his year. I went once. My lasting memory is almost every stand had women who were dressed in a sexy way to entice the men onto the…

I was thinking about cryptocurrencies and the fact that most of us have heard of bitcoin and Ethereum. You may have heard of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. Maybe you even know Cordana and Polygon. But do you know about UNI and Potcoin? Or Putincoin and Trumpcoin? What about Whoppercoin or Catcoin? It seems like madness…

I was intrigued by a post from a friend who had worked for a leading fund manager. Her boss was jailed for financial manipulation. In her words: “I witnessed the effect of regulators on an innovative mind. Prior to jail, he was a financial trailblazer in encouraging companies to dream big, much like today’s venture capitalists….

Life is swings and roundabouts … you win some, you lose some. Life is Sliding Doors moments … you look back and want to change things or wish you had taken that opportunity (Ed: it’s easy in hindsight). Life is what you make it … you cannot change the past or present, only the future….

I’ve noticed that my blogging has developed into regularly asking questions. Many of my blog entries end with a question mark. Why is that? It’s because I’m always asking questions. It’s because I cannot accept the way it is. It’s because I want to know more. It’s because I’m curious. Funnily enough I presented at…

It seems to be a week of guest columns, but that’s what happens when you find interesting things online and in your network. Today’s guest is Piotr Jan Pietrzak, Director of International Development at BLIK, the innovative Polish payment system. For followers of my blog, you may remember that I wrote about PEPSI two years…

Following on from last week’s discussion of smarter people not necessarily being wealthier, the mind is a funny thing. What makes you tick? What makes you laugh? What makes you cry? When you reflect, you introspect. It can be dangerous. Who are you? Why are you here? What is your purpose? What do you stand…