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Regulation

Banks make a corporates’ first experience, the worst experience

We had an interesting dinner this week talking about customer onboarding.  The focus was on counterparty banks and corporate account opening processes, and the ongoing challenges therein.  In a nutshell, due to the documentary and regulatory requirements for proof of identity and trust, the account opening process is the worst part of banking and can…

Toilets

Is a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) inevitable?

So last week I was honoured to present at a conference in Washington just before Senator Elizabeth Warren, the leading voice in America for changing the bank system. Senator Warren made a strong-worded speech condemning big bank mentality.  A few choice comments included a condemnation of Jamie Dimon, who apparently was personally calling congressmen to…

Elizabeth Warren

The implications of PSD2 and third party access to accounts (research)

I just found some interesting research about how banks in Europe are reacting to the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2), and what other banks worldwide think about it. PSD2 is a work-in-progress European regulation that will impact financial institutions already operating within the scope of the first Payment Services Directive of 2009.  PSD2 extends the…

Banks could change, but the regulator won’t allow it

I mentioned yesterday that a bank CEO asked me the three things I would do if I were him.  My response was: create the dream, live the dream, deliver the dream.  A bit cheesy, but you need to read the context if you want to know more about the background to this. He responded by…

Why it’s so difficult to compete with incumbent banks

I presented at a great conference last week on how ot start a bank.  The conference featured some fine discussions of the challenges and opportunities of opening a new bank in Britain, and included a presentation from Victoria Raffé. Victoria was, until recently, the go to person fornprocessing bank licence applications with the Financial Conduct…

Licence

My favourite banking screw up stories

There are so many examples of banks messing up customer accounts around the world that it would be tough to know where to start … except that as I live in Britain, that’s pretty good place to begin. There media here love to regularly report banks messing up, and so here are some of my…

Are banks getting a rough deal from regulators (just look at Third Party Account Access)

I seem to be relentlessly blogging about fintech, cryptocurrencies and disruption these days.  I guess because these are the things that are being discussed the most at the conferences I attend.  So it’s easy to forget that there are key regulatory changes coming into play, and the consequences of these, probably because these things are…

Holvi

The challenges of client onboarding (or why bitcoin will be regulated)

I hosted a dinner last night under Chatham House Rule (no quoting anyone) in a superb venue (Rules, the oldest restaurant in London, established in 1798). The conversation was all about client onboarding and the challenge of keeping it fresh.  You get the KYC info, and then the customer is onboard.  But for how long?  …

Rules

As the Bitcoin Foundation fails, banks wake up

I’ve blogged before about how bitcoin will become institutionalised, that you cannot have money without government, why it needs a Foundation and how a Wild West structure for value exchange will fail.  It’s certainly moving in that direction after the latest revelations about the Bitcoin Foundation, alongside the equally revealing announcements that banks are incorporating…

Bitcoin foundation

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