Opinion

I just received an interesting report released in January by ClearBank and Celent, looking at how electronic money and electronic payment institutions (EMIs and EPIs) work with banks and the financial ecosystem. The findings indicate that these start-up companies fill the gaps where incumbent banks feared to tread, such as offering crypto clearing services. John…

Vitalik Buterin, the guy who created Ethereum cryptocurrency and smart contracts, blogged the other day about what happens when AI and blockchain collide. Funnily enough, that’s the theme of my new book Intelligent Money. Vitalik cites four major areas where blockchain and AI will make a difference, and each has different ramifications. The focal point…

Two years ago Stuart Kirk, the then head of responsible investing for HSBC, delivered a mic dropping speech at the FT Moral Money conference. What did he say? Here’s a few quotes: “Who cares if Miami is six metres underwater in 100 years? Amsterdam has been six metres underwater for ages, and that’s a really…

I got into a Scruples debate this week. You know Scruples? A feeling of doubt or hesitation with regard to the morality or propriety of a course of action. Well, that’s the dictionary definition. The real definition should be where you know something is wrong morally and ethically, and wonder what to do about it….

I grew up with lots of things, but one that struck me in the heart was a song Seven Minutes to Midnight that came out in the late 1970s (showing my age). What did the song mean? I discovered it related to the Doomsday Clock, the clock that measured the threats to our planet and…

There’s a big scandal in Britain. It’s been bubbling away for almost thirty years, but has only come into the mainstream today thanks to a TV drama about what happened. So, 2024 started with this TV dramatization of the true story of how the UK postal service bankrupted many of their franchise holders due to…

According to most pundits, 2024 looks like a great year for cryptocurrency. Analytics Insight predicts a resurgence, with the crypto market expected to surpass the US$3 trillion mark. Why? The main driver seems to be another bitcoin halving, but also Ethereum and altcoins seem to be big movers, alongside rising crypto adoption amongst mainstream institutions. Gemini,…

This blog often talks about Elon Musk,  but then it also looks at the activities of Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson and more. They all share several things: billionaries, visionaries, autism and a yearning to open a bank or destroy banking. Just four months ago, I asked the question … Q: Can Elon Musk create PayPalX?…

Space … the final frontier … these are the voyages of the challenger bank Trekkie. Our mission: to boldly go where no bank has gone before. Today, we landed on planet Earth and decided to look at financial inclusion, and the role of banks in ensuring everyone has access to an account. In some countries,…

I’ve had a lot of thoughts recently about how much automation can go. In most banks, one or two people look over the shoulder of those doing the work to make sure they comply. If we could get rid of all those people checking the checkers, there would huge savings which made me beg the…