Welcome to The Finanser, the portal to the knowledge base of the Financial Services, chaired by Chris Skinner. To make an enquiry about a speaking engagement, just contact us and, if you are interested in Chris Skinner as a speaker, here’s an illustration of his keynote presentations …
Read More »Are regulations the roots of innovation?
For most of my time working with banks, regulators were about clipping banks’ wings to suit the mark…
The state of neobanking 2022
I just received an interesting report from Simon Kucher & Partners, a marketing strategy consult…
Why crypto does and doesn’t make sense
I’ve been looking at buying a small property using my crypto savings. Practically, this creates an i…
The rocky road of cryptocurrencies
During May, the floor fell out of the cryptocurrency markets with many losing their life savings. Yo…
The Finanser’s Week: 9th May 2022 – 15th May 2022
This week’s main blog discussions include … I just woke up to my cancelled culture Growing up, my br…
I just woke up to my cancelled culture
Growing up, my brother used to try hard to persuade me to attend The Motor Show. He is a petrolhead …
Have you heard of the human library?
I stumbled across the human library the other day. I’d never heard of it, but the idea is that inste…
Could bitcoin destabilise the dollar?
I was thinking about cryptocurrencies and the fact that most of us have heard of bitcoin and Ethereu…
We need same-day financial firms
I’ve been writing about banks needing to refresh core systems for years. and I’m fed up with it. I’v…
Would you like to attend the launch of ‘Digital for Good’?
Chris Skinner, best-selling author of Digital Bank, Digital Human and Doing Digital, has just releas…
The Finanser’s Week: 2nd May 2022 – 8th May 2022
This week’s main blog discussions included: What’s the new book about, Chris? I had an interview the…
Shared experiences and the networked economy
I was in the theatres again recently, watching shows. I love theatre, especially musicals (Ed: is it…
Walk the line: the balance between regulation and innovation
I noted that the FCA is holding the new UK banks to account for their mishaps over customer onboardi…
Stripe’s IPO – how much?
We all got excited a couple of years ago about the biggest FinTech IPO that would ever be listed. An…
The Emperor’s Clothes and Barclays Bank
Here’s the latest blog from Extinction Rebellion’s Co-founder Gail Bradbrook, with her colleagues Ai…
What’s the new book about, Chris?
I had an interview the other day about my new book Digital for Good. It felt like it was a worthy di…
The Finanser’s Week: 25th April 2022 – 1st May 2022
This week’s main blog discussions include: How can you oversee a system you don’t see? I was intrigu…
Are cryptos actually currencies or just gambling?
It’s interesting as I found two studies over the past few days that show Dogecoin and shiba Inu coin…
How can you oversee an algorithm you can’t explain?
After yesterday’s blog How can you oversee a system you don’t see?, Ricardo replied on twitter: Make…
How can you oversee a system you don’t see?
I was intrigued by a post from a friend who had worked for a leading fund manager. Her boss was jail…
People who fear being tracked and traced … it’s too late
For years now there has been a discussion of having chips inside humans. I was presenting this idea …
FinTech in Russia: how has this changed since the “special military operation”?
As I posted analysis of the state of financial innovation in Ukraine the other day, I thought it on…
The Finanser’s Week: 18th April 2022 – 24th April 2022
The main discussions on the blog this week include … Why old banks should be worried I had an intere…
The nuances of BaaS
I don’t know if you’ve noticed a new start-up called Column, but it’s worth watching as it’s a chart…
I get knocked down, but I get up again
Life is swings and roundabouts … you win some, you lose some. Life is Sliding Doors moments … you lo…
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Just being average is good enough
We had a huge bust-up last night, when my banking colleague and I were discussing customer service. Over dinner we were all recounting stories of good and bad customer services, and boy did we have a few humdingers. The change of address where the telecoms …
Read More »Just being average is good enough
We had a huge bust-up last night, when my banking colleague and I were discussing customer service. Over dinner we were all recounting stories of good and bad customer services, and boy did we have a few humdingers. The change of address where the telecoms …
Read More »UK Government to urge Merchants to take Biometric Payments
In a post reminiscent of something I wrote a few months ago, the BBC reports today that "supermarkets could be asked to take people’s fingerprints as part of the government’s identity card scheme." Watch that space.
Read More »How to beat up a Banker
Just found a great new little blog called "How to beat up anything". It just shows how nutty folks are to come up with such a site. They even have a guide as to How To Beat Up an Apple-Throwing Tree From The Film "The …
Read More »Banks are technology firms in disguise
This week, there are quite a few folks in Prague at a conference on payments in Central & Eastern Europe including myself. Lots of local banks presenting as well as regionally focused transaction providers, such as ING, Raiffiessen and Deutsche. What struck me as these …
Read More »Banks are technology firms in disguise
This week, there are quite a few folks in Prague at a conference on payments in Central & Eastern Europe including myself. Lots of local banks presenting as well as regionally focused transaction providers, such as ING, Raiffiessen and Deutsche. What struck me as these …
Read More »American banks also win today
We wake up today to find that Barack Obama has been duly crowned Prince, sorry, elected as the next President of America. Whatever your view of that result, the fact is that it brings a sense of ‘hope over fear’ to America, and the world. …
Read More »Wells Fargo: a lesson in Web 2.0
I was delighted to host Wells Fargo at the Financial Services Club last night. Wells gave an update on their Web 2.0 strategies, which are far and away ahead of most other banks in Europe. This was corroborated by the bankers attending, who said to me afterwards …
Read More »Wells Fargo: a lesson in Web 2.0
I was delighted to host Wells Fargo at the Financial Services Club last night. Wells gave an update on their Web 2.0 strategies, which are far and away ahead of most other banks in Europe. This was corroborated by the bankers attending, who said to me afterwards …
Read More »Marketing Financial Services to the over 50’s
Dick Stroud, an expert on using interactive channels to communicate with the over-50s market, posted a blog on his website yesterday that includes a link to his presentation on the subject. The presentation is fascinating as it shows the major growing group of users of …
Read More »Marketing Financial Services to the over 50’s
Dick Stroud, an expert on using interactive channels to communicate with the over-50s market, posted a blog on his website yesterday that includes a link to his presentation on the subject. The presentation is fascinating as it shows the major growing group of users of …
Read More »Fonejacker on Sarah Palin
Nothing to do with banking, but this phone call between Sarah Palin and Neecolas Sarkozee is very funny. Not for Sarah Palin however.
Read More »Halifax: a success in the sun
A couple of weeks ago, I had a moan about HBOS’s marketing. Maybe it’s not so bad though, as they seem to have pulled that advert. To add some balance therefore, here’s an interesting case study about the Halifax, part of HBOS, and this marketing …
Read More »Halifax: a success in the sun
A couple of weeks ago, I had a moan about HBOS’s marketing. Maybe it’s not so bad though, as they seem to have pulled that advert. To add some balance therefore, here’s an interesting case study about the Halifax, part of HBOS, and this marketing …
Read More »Halifax: a success in the sun
A couple of weeks ago, I had a moan about HBOS’s marketing. Maybe it’s not so bad though, as they seem to have pulled that advert. To add some balance therefore, here’s an interesting case study about the Halifax, part of HBOS, and this marketing …
Read More »Lloyds TSB: first for mobile banking in the UK
After blogging about mobile the other day, I was surprised but pleased to see that Lloyds TSB claim to be the first to offer banking on the phone: What surprised me even more is that they are already advertising this on the net with celeb …
Read More »What could you buy instead of Barclays?
After talking about the £5.8 billion (near $10 billion) that the Sovereign Wealth Funds of Qatar and Abu Dhabi gave to Barclays in return for a 30% stake in the Bank, which is by no means a done deal by the way, I wondered what …
Read More »A Diamond Mastercard … iss very nice!
For quite a while now, MasterCard has been issuing a Diamond MasterCard. Yes, it is a MasterCard and yes, it has real diamonds in it. This one came out in the Spring in Dubai, and yes, that is real gold too. What benefits does the …
Read More »A Diamond Mastercard … iss very nice!
For quite a while now, MasterCard has been issuing a Diamond MasterCard. Yes, it is a MasterCard and yes, it has real diamonds in it. This one came out in the Spring in Dubai, and yes, that is real gold too. What benefits does the …
Read More »A Diamond Mastercard … iss very nice!
For quite a while now, MasterCard has been issuing a Diamond MasterCard. Yes, it is a MasterCard and yes, it has real diamonds in it. This one came out in the Spring in Dubai, and yes, that is real gold too. What benefits does the …
Read More »A Diamond Mastercard … iss very nice!
For quite a while now, MasterCard has been issuing a Diamond MasterCard. Yes, it is a MasterCard and yes, it has real diamonds in it. This one came out in the Spring in Dubai, and yes, that is real gold too. What benefits does the …
Read More »A Diamond Mastercard … iss very nice!
For quite a while now, MasterCard has been issuing a Diamond MasterCard. Yes, it is a MasterCard and yes, it has real diamonds in it. This one came out in the Spring in Dubai, and yes, that is real gold too. What benefits does the …
Read More »Happy November 1st
After having every little rugrat in the neighbourhood banging on the front door shouting "trick or treat", I gave their mums and dads a copy of this cartoon from Pugh: That soon got rid of them.
Read More »Every bankers’ must-see movie of 2009
Just noticed this trailer for The International, a movie that is to be released in February 2009 starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. The story, courtesy of the Internet Movie Database, goes: "An obsessive Interpol agent (Clive Owen) who spearheads an investigation into one of …
Read More »Every bankers’ must-see movie of 2009
Just noticed this trailer for The International, a movie that is to be released in February 2009 starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. The story, courtesy of the Internet Movie Database, goes: "An obsessive Interpol agent (Clive Owen) who spearheads an investigation into one of …
Read More »Every bankers’ must-see movie of 2009
Just noticed this trailer for The International, a movie that is to be released in February 2009 starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. The story, courtesy of the Internet Movie Database, goes: "An obsessive Interpol agent (Clive Owen) who spearheads an investigation into one of …
Read More »Every bankers’ must-see movie of 2009
Just noticed this trailer for The International, a movie that is to be released in February 2009 starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. The story, courtesy of the Internet Movie Database, goes: "An obsessive Interpol agent (Clive Owen) who spearheads an investigation into one of …
Read More »HBOS lost control
Watching the BBC’s Money Programme, they have just started a six-part series about the Credit Crash on Thursday nights. The first episode focused upon HBOS and their issues. Fascinating programme that included an interview with Paul Moore, the Group Head of Risk for HBOS from …
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