Welcome to The Finanser by Chris Skinner. The Finanser discusses all things fintech, finance, banking, technology and, most importantly, the future. To make an enquiry about having Chris write or speak for you, here’s an illustration of his presentations … … Chris Skinner has regularly forecast the changes in finance driven by technology. He is…
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I thought I had just found a new podcast called Money by David Walliams, the famous British comedian and children’s author. Then I found out it is by David McWilliams, the less famous Irish economist and author of Money: A Story of Humanity. BBC Radio4 selected this as its book of the week recently, and began…
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Why do we count to ten? Because we have ten fingers*. That’s one of the things I learned recently which, when someone said it, made absolute sense. That’s why we have ten times table, and everything is broken down this way today … apart from binary 1’s and 0’s, which is probably because technologists only…
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With the launch of Gladiator II this week (one of my fave films of all time was the first one), did the Roman Empire end because of the failure of the economy and, specifically, the monetary supply? Some would say yes. In fact, some would say the fall of the Roman Empire was due to…
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Fifteen years ago, I did a major survey into the use of cloud computing in financial services. Bear in mind this was really early days, and the results were quite nebulous. The main headline was that cloud computing needs better definition to succeed: The research report, which encompasses the views of over 230 financial professionals…
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Fifteen years ago, I did a major survey into the use of cloud computing in financial services. Bear in mind this was really early days, and the results were quite nebulous. The main headline was that cloud computing needs better definition to succeed: The research report, which encompasses the views of over 230 financial professionals…
Read MoreI was interested in this speech given the other day by Patrick T. Harker, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, because its title was: Fintech, AI, and the Changing Financial Landscape The speech is broad, and focuses upon the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to the financial…
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Last week, McKinsey released their latest podcast and the title caught my eye: Transforming to an AI-powered finance function It’s a really interesting chat between OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar and McKinsey senior partner Lareina Yee on the podcast At the Edge. Listening to it (and there’s also a transcript), here are a few highlights of Sarah’s thoughts,…
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Unsurprisingly, after a major election that will influence the Western world, the election of Donald Trump resulted in a flood of PR releases and contacts to tell me how this will influence the economy, Europe and the world. Some even got more specific, talking about how it will change fintech and cryptocurrencies. Let’s take a…
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Two weeks ago, I asked where the UK Payments Vision is. It should have been delivered this year, and yet there is still no sign of it. Having said that, the Bank of England did start to build a view. In late July 2024, the Bank of England launched a Discussion Paper on Innovation in money…
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I have been amazed by the transformative power of technology in finance over the past two decades. From mPESA in Kenya to Alipay in China to NuBank in Brazil to PayTM in India, we have seen a massive shift in the world of finance. The fact is that today, wherever you are, whoever you are,…
Read More
It intrigues me how quickly our world of money is changing from crypto to fintech to BaaS to infinity and beyond. The question that constantly sits in the back of my mind is how to regulate all this stuff to maintain trust? From Synapse to FTX to Beenz to Boo, how can the regulator keep…
Read More
I recently had a discussion about Genghis Khan, who I think of as some ancestral tyrant dictator who sowed his seed so far and wide that most of the modern world has his DNA. However, he also had another side called leadership. A friend of mine decided to use Khan’s leadership model to frame digital…
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As mentioned, I’m dealing with my mother’s financial affairs as she reaches end of life, and I’m finding it incredibly frustrating. The process is that there first needs to be a Power of Attorney in place. Luckily, she saw that coming and gave it to me. That’s a government portal which allows me to take…
Read MoreFifteen years ago, I did a major survey into the use of cloud computing in financial services. Bear in mind this was really early days, and the results were quite nebulous. The main headline was that cloud computing needs better definition to succeed: The research report, which encompasses the views of over 230 financial professionals…
Read MoreLast week, McKinsey released their latest podcast and the title caught my eye: Transforming to an AI-powered finance function It’s a really interesting chat between OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar and McKinsey senior partner Lareina Yee on the podcast At the Edge. Listening to it (and there’s also a transcript), here are a few highlights of Sarah’s thoughts,…
Read MoreUnsurprisingly, after a major election that will influence the Western world, the election of Donald Trump resulted in a flood of PR releases and contacts to tell me how this will influence the economy, Europe and the world. Some even got more specific, talking about how it will change fintech and cryptocurrencies. Let’s take a…
Read More
Building on my blog the other day about BLIK (the Polish digital wallet), I just got two really insightful pieces of analysis on European payments – talking of a payments vision – from PWC in a report on Europe’s open banking vision and Jeremy Light, a good friend formerly of Accenture, on EU wallets. Here’s the…
Read MoreTwo weeks ago, I asked where the UK Payments Vision is. It should have been delivered this year, and yet there is still no sign of it. Having said that, the Bank of England did start to build a view. In late July 2024, the Bank of England launched a Discussion Paper on Innovation in money…
Read MoreI have been amazed by the transformative power of technology in finance over the past two decades. From mPESA in Kenya to Alipay in China to NuBank in Brazil to PayTM in India, we have seen a massive shift in the world of finance. The fact is that today, wherever you are, whoever you are,…
Read More
You may be wondering about the headline of this blog, but it’s all about the rapidly changing would of money. It used to be simple. Government would control monetary supply in the economy and wholesale and retail banks would distribute such money to businesses and citizens. It’s still the same, just that it’s all moving…
Read MoreIt intrigues me how quickly our world of money is changing from crypto to fintech to BaaS to infinity and beyond. The question that constantly sits in the back of my mind is how to regulate all this stuff to maintain trust? From Synapse to FTX to Beenz to Boo, how can the regulator keep…
Read MoreI recently had a discussion about Genghis Khan, who I think of as some ancestral tyrant dictator who sowed his seed so far and wide that most of the modern world has his DNA. However, he also had another side called leadership. A friend of mine decided to use Khan’s leadership model to frame digital…
Read MoreIt seems like most of the news this week has been about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Between Donald Trump, a crypto convert, and Elon Musk, a crypto enthusiast, everyone is now getting in on the game. By way of example, here’s a few headlines in the past week: There’s another big winner of the US election:…
Read More
It’s fascinating how things change. Donald Trump is President-Elect and bitcoin’s price soars to over $80,000. Quite predictable as he will be the crypto-President, as mentioned in July, but maybe a forecast of a bitcoin price of $100,000+ by year-end is not so outrageous after all. Then, what intrigued me, is two stories. The first…
Read MoreUnsurprisingly, after a major election that will influence the Western world, the election of Donald Trump resulted in a flood of PR releases and contacts to tell me how this will influence the economy, Europe and the world. Some even got more specific, talking about how it will change fintech and cryptocurrencies. Let’s take a…
Read MoreIt intrigues me how quickly our world of money is changing from crypto to fintech to BaaS to infinity and beyond. The question that constantly sits in the back of my mind is how to regulate all this stuff to maintain trust? From Synapse to FTX to Beenz to Boo, how can the regulator keep…
Read More
I just got the latest Finch Capital report on The State of Fintech 2024. Many of us think that fintech valuations and investments have gone through the floor, and this reports make clear that it depends where you are. The UK is doing well, as is the Netherlands, whilst Ireland has seen a 90% drop…
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There’s a quote I often use from John Oliver that cryptocurrency is “everything you don’t understand about money combined with everything you don’t understand about computers”. That was 2018. It’s now 2024, and things are a lot worse. I’ve blogged about the confusion of money recently, and it is not only the fragmentation of money…
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I find it hard to believe that some commentators are still talking about BaaS and the great unbundling of banking. The reason? Well that was the conversation we were having fifteen years ago. Today, the discussion is much more around embedded banking that is intelligent, ubiquitous, everywhere, anywhere, anytime … except that I was having…
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You may have seen my shameless plug of the new book Intelligent Money: When Money Thinks For You … well, here’s another one. After a podcast with my friends in Finland, who quite like my thinking, Pål Krogdahl wrote up his thoughts on our chat on LinkedIn. I really enjoyed his summary, so here it is. Meanwhile, you can…
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It seems weird to debate a US presidential election based on attitudes towards cryptocurrencies but, as previously blogged, Donald Trump is very pro-crypto. His attitude turned with NFTs of his image. Nothing like narcissism. Back then, I was blogging about Donald Trump vs Joe Biden, and Biden looking like a loser. Now, we have Donald…
Read MoreIt seems like most of the news this week has been about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Between Donald Trump, a crypto convert, and Elon Musk, a crypto enthusiast, everyone is now getting in on the game. By way of example, here’s a few headlines in the past week: There’s another big winner of the US election:…
Read MoreI was interested in this speech given the other day by Patrick T. Harker, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, because its title was: Fintech, AI, and the Changing Financial Landscape The speech is broad, and focuses upon the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to the financial…
Read More
I stumbled across this clip the other day of Jeff Bezos on The Tonight Show twenty-five years ago. Jay Leno asks him how the company can be worth billions when it consistently makes losses. Jeff Bezos laughs along but then says: “we are a famously unprofitable company, but we are investing in the future”. We…
Read MoreIt’s fascinating how things change. Donald Trump is President-Elect and bitcoin’s price soars to over $80,000. Quite predictable as he will be the crypto-President, as mentioned in July, but maybe a forecast of a bitcoin price of $100,000+ by year-end is not so outrageous after all. Then, what intrigued me, is two stories. The first…
Read MoreUnsurprisingly, after a major election that will influence the Western world, the election of Donald Trump resulted in a flood of PR releases and contacts to tell me how this will influence the economy, Europe and the world. Some even got more specific, talking about how it will change fintech and cryptocurrencies. Let’s take a…
Read MoreBuilding on my blog the other day about BLIK (the Polish digital wallet), I just got two really insightful pieces of analysis on European payments – talking of a payments vision – from PWC in a report on Europe’s open banking vision and Jeremy Light, a good friend formerly of Accenture, on EU wallets. Here’s the…
Read MoreTwo weeks ago, I asked where the UK Payments Vision is. It should have been delivered this year, and yet there is still no sign of it. Having said that, the Bank of England did start to build a view. In late July 2024, the Bank of England launched a Discussion Paper on Innovation in money…
Read MoreYou may be wondering about the headline of this blog, but it’s all about the rapidly changing would of money. It used to be simple. Government would control monetary supply in the economy and wholesale and retail banks would distribute such money to businesses and citizens. It’s still the same, just that it’s all moving…
Read MoreAs mentioned, I’m dealing with my mother’s financial affairs as she reaches end of life, and I’m finding it incredibly frustrating. The process is that there first needs to be a Power of Attorney in place. Luckily, she saw that coming and gave it to me. That’s a government portal which allows me to take…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Logan Paul accused of misleading fans over cryptocurrency investments – BBC News Starling Bank staff resign after new chief executive calls for more time in-office | The Guardian Fintech unicorns watch Klarna IPO for signs of when window will reopen JPMorgan’s Chase UK bank launches first credit card Revolutionary…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Donald Trump’s social media group in talks to buy crypto trading venue HSBC Makes Managers Vie for Jobs Amid CEO Streamlining FinTech Connect Report: Majority of FinTechs Seeking Investment, But Face Hurdles in Securing Funding Barclays Bank in talks over giving away 80% stake in merchant acquiring business Christian…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Cryptocurrency trader turns $1.1k into $1.62 million in 20 days Couple accused of money laundering €21m using money mules and cryptocurrency Fintech at heart of UK’s financial services growth strategy – Chancellor AI doubts at Asia’s largest fintech festival — Capital Brief ECB split over report showing big EU…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … Will the new America be based upon a digital dollar that is stable? It’s fascinating how things change. Donald Trump is President-Elect and bitcoin’s price soars to over $80,000. Quite predictable as he will be the crypto-President, as mentioned in July, but maybe a forecast of a bitcoin…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Senator Lummis Bullish For A US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Deutsche Bank Highlights Crypto’s Growing Role in BRICS Cross-Border Payments World Cloud Report 2025 – Unlock Financial Growth with Cloud Donald Trump Says Jamie Dimon Won’t Be Part of New Administration – Bloomberg Bank of England governor says Brexit has…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include: Musk supports radical change in who controls America’s supply of money Dogecoin Price News: Trump Confirms Musk to Lead D.O.G.E as Traders Target $1 Bitcoin’s record-breaking price rally continues amid ‘Trump bump’ crypto frenzy Top bitcoin analyst says Trump’s win is ‘not the main story’ behind recent bitcoin price surge,…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … NatWest blocks staff from using WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger – BBC News Metro Bank fined nearly £17m for failure to monitor potential money laundering | The Guardian After fining Metro Bank and Starling, which challenger bank will the FCA target next? Monzo Bank app comes top in user satisfaction…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … There’s another big winner of the US election: cryptocurrency | The Independent The cryptocurrency market has surpassed the total value of the FTSE 100 – Share Talk End of Treasury’s stake in NatWest is nigh, and no flashy sell-off required | Nils Pratley | The Guardian Argentinian fintech Ualá…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … Will the new America be based upon a digital dollar that is stable? It’s fascinating how things change. Donald Trump is President-Elect and bitcoin’s price soars to over $80,000. Quite predictable as he will be the crypto-President, as mentioned in July, but maybe a forecast of a bitcoin…
Read MoreThis week’s blog discussions include: What does Trump’s victory mean for banks, tech, fintech and the future? Unsurprisingly, after a major election that will influence the Western world, the election of Donald Trump resulted in a flood of PR releases and contacts to tell me how this will influence the economy, Europe and the world….
Read MoreThis week’s blog discussions include … Banks make millions from the most vulnerable As mentioned, I’m dealing with my mother’s financial affairs as she reaches end of life, and I’m finding it incredibly frustrating. The process is that there first needs to be a Power of Attorney in place. Luckily, she saw that coming and…
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This week’s main blog discussions include … The Lloyds Bank Turd If you’re having breakfast or eating right now, please do not read this blog entry. I really didn’t want to write this blog, but it’s too irresistible to ignore. In fact, I cannot believe I haven’t seen this before as, the other day, guess…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … Is 2025 Meta’s nemesis year? Thinking about the Big Tech firms, most of them are enabling commerce. Amazon and Apple are building specific structures to make buying and selling easy. But one company is enabling fraud, scams and criminal activities. Meta. Meta runs Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … Why are fintechs worth more than banks? I just got the latest Finch Capital report on The State of Fintech 2024. Many of us think that fintech valuations and investments have gone through the floor, and this reports make clear that it depends where you are. The UK…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … US banks invest three times more in tech than European banks I got an interesting question in my recent banking presentation: US banks have spent far more on technology than banks in Europe – will European banks ever be able to catch-up? It is true that American banks…
Read MoreThe main blog discussions this week include … Everything you don’t understand about money combined with everything you don’t understand about computers There’s a quote I often use from John Oliver that cryptocurrency is “everything you don’t understand about money combined with everything you don’t understand about computers”. That was 2018. It’s now 2024, and…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … Schrödinger’s Cat, qubits and the future of everything I’ve spent a long time trying to get under the hood of Quantum Computing and always come back to Schrödinger’s Cat. Schrödinger’s Cat is a famous thought experiment that demonstrates the idea in quantum physics that tiny particles can be in…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … What does Kamala Harris think of crypto? It seems weird to debate a US presidential election based on attitudes towards cryptocurrencies but, as previously blogged, Donald Trump is very pro-crypto. His attitude turned with NFTs of his image. Nothing like narcissism. Back then, I was blogging about Donald…
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Global 100 - 2024 Winner
Chris Skinner - Financial Markets Advisor of the Year - The Finanser - UK 2023
Best Financial Markets Advisor of the Year 2023
