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 »Oh no! It’s Bankenstein …
For years, we’ve talked about banks having a spaghetti systems structure aligned to a line of busine…
Data is the key
I’ve recently contributed to an Oracle report, providing the foreword – the report can be down…
Who let the coins out?
I got a bit itchy during the weekend and ended up sitting and writing about bitcoin, dogecoin, crypt…
The Finanser’s Week: 12th April 2021- 18th April 2021
This week’s main blog stories include … Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google … Coinbase? I wa…
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google … Coinbase?
I was reflecting, which is dangerous. I was reflecting on my antipathy towards bitcoin as, like most…
Why I hate the term ’embedded’
OK, I’m a Victor Meldrew and have several pet hates. In particular, people who use corporate-s…
The insurance industry is broken, can InsurTech fix it?
I just rang my pension fund. I realised that I’ve paid £1000’s into the fund, but hadn’t had a state…
Smaller banks have the happiest customers
Following on from why startups will fail if they compete head-to-head with a bank, I got this headli…
A billion excluded women is a disgrace
WARNING: THIS IS WOKE (whatever that is) We talk a lot about diversity and LBTG+ and equality, but i…
The Finanser’s Week: 5th April 2021- 11th April 2021
This week’s main blogs include … Another view: any start-up that challenges a bank will fail We talk…
bitcoin is dead, long live bitcoin!
I’ve not talked much about bitcoin on the blog lately*, but I have tweeted a lot about it. The key t…
The world according to Jamie Dimon
I read Jamie Dimon’s shareholder letter with interest this week. His message does not read lik…
Another view: any start-up that challenges a bank will fail
We talk a lot these days about neobanks, challenger banks, bank disrupters, bank disintermediation, …
What, why and how do you value something … and where do you keep it?
Welcome to the World of Next A few years ago, a friend of mine had an idea. It was to create a digit…
The Roaring 2020s
I blogged the other day about a $3 trillion spending spree, that I just didn’t see happening. The po…
The future of payments: free research by Deutsche Bank (includes crypto, bitcoin and more)
Last year, I blogged about the view of Deutsche Bank regarding the future of payments. They produced…
The Finanser’s Week: 29th March 2021- 4th April 2021
This week’s main blogs include … Venezuela replaces national currency with bitcoin In a fascinating …
Teach children things machines cannot learn
I am involved in a number of activities, one of which is a not-for-profit called The Portrait Founda…
Venezuela replaces national currency with bitcoin
In a fascinating move Venezuela, which has been a basket-case economy ever since Hugo Chavez died in…
The view from 2050
After discussing 2030 and beyond yesterday, I got into an interesting discussion about 2050 and beyo…
The view from 2030
I was recently asked to deliver a presentation set in the year 2030. It was challenging, but interes…
Digital is not “a generational thing”
I was told that living purely digitally was a “generational thing” and this was followed more recent…
The Finanser’s Week: 22nd March 2021- 28th March 2021
This week’s main blogs include … How China’s FinTech is changing everything I joined a C…
What’s blocking blockchain?
Three years ago, I blogged about Ant Group’s strategy for AI, Blockchain, Cybersecurity and more. At…
China’s breaking the superapp
I’ve been amazed at the rise of superapps in China. Alibaba and WeChat allow you to socialise, ship …
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Recent Posts
Bankers battle over dress code
I recently encountered an interesting conversation between two CIOs of two major European banks. I won’t say anything more than one was a major French bank and the other a major Dutch bank who both share the same building. The first and second floor are …
Read More »Government scraps identity cards
The government intends to scrap the controversial national identity card program. Instead, the Home Office is working with NATO and the US Department of Homeland Security to create a globally recognised standard for identity management using the latest chip designs from VeriChip Corporation. The program …
Read More »Government scraps identity cards
The government intends to scrap the controversial national identity card program. Instead, the Home Office is working with NATO and the US Department of Homeland Security to create a globally recognised standard for identity management using the latest chip designs from VeriChip Corporation. The program …
Read More »Government scraps identity cards
The government intends to scrap the controversial national identity card program. Instead, the Home Office is working with NATO and the US Department of Homeland Security to create a globally recognised standard for identity management using the latest chip designs from VeriChip Corporation. The program …
Read More »Government scraps identity cards
The government intends to scrap the controversial national identity card program. Instead, the Home Office is working with NATO and the US Department of Homeland Security to create a globally recognised standard for identity management using the latest chip designs from VeriChip Corporation. The program …
Read More »Government scraps identity cards
The government intends to scrap the controversial national identity card program. Instead, the Home Office is working with NATO and the US Department of Homeland Security to create a globally recognised standard for identity management using the latest chip designs from VeriChip Corporation. The program …
Read More »Ha, ha, ha … April Fool … or is it?
Click here, here and especially here to find out …
Read More »Banks losing fight against money laundering
It must be that time of year, e.g. it’s quiet in the summer so let’s release our research and get the headlines. After IBM’s report yesterday, I then got KPMG’s report on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) today. This report proves interesting in that it makes it …
Read More »Get global, get specialized or get out
IBM sent me a report this morning called “Get global. Get specialized. Or get out. Unexpected lessons in global financial markets.” The report’s theme is that the financial markets will enjoy dramatic growth except that financial firms do not have strategies to capitalize on this …
Read More »Get global, get specialized or get out
IBM sent me a report this morning called “Get global. Get specialized. Or get out. Unexpected lessons in global financial markets.” The report’s theme is that the financial markets will enjoy dramatic growth except that financial firms do not have strategies to capitalize on this …
Read More »Get global, get specialized or get out
IBM sent me a report this morning called “Get global. Get specialized. Or get out. Unexpected lessons in global financial markets.” The report’s theme is that the financial markets will enjoy dramatic growth except that financial firms do not have strategies to capitalize on this …
Read More »Files
Download The Changing Face of Payments Download European Payments Survey 2012
Read More »Files
Download The Changing Face of Payments Download European Payments Survey 2012
Read More »Community Currencies, a thing of the future by Chris Skinner
Many years ago, I read a book by Bernard Lietaer on the Future of Money, which expounded the ideas of community currencies. These are currencies where you exchange time and other measures of value that are relevant to communities, rather than money which is referred …
Read More »JWG-IT TechSIG establishes reference solution working groups to fill key MiFID gaps by PJ Di Giammarino
Leveraging impartial research with over 50 financial institutions in 2007, a team of 15 technology vendors, with combined revenue of over €100 billion, has now targeted key hot spots which financial institutions face to comply with the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). Over 60% …
Read More »JWG-IT TechSIG establishes reference solution working groups to fill key MiFID gaps by PJ Di Giammarino
Leveraging impartial research with over 50 financial institutions in 2007, a team of 15 technology vendors, with combined revenue of over €100 billion, has now targeted key hot spots which financial institutions face to comply with the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). Over 60% …
Read More »Comparasites
I've recently been enjoying the spat between insurers and internet providers, especially as this will spill-over into banking before too long. Here's why. Direct Line – owned by Royal Bank of Scotland – is getting fed up with websites that compare insurance quotes. As a …
Read More »Technology and Risk are the same thing by Chris Skinner
Yesterday was a fascinating day full of presentations on risk in the morning from a bunch of old CRO’s (Chief Risk Officers) followed by a lunch with a crock of CIO’s (Chief Information Officers). In fact, there was even one CIO who became a CRO …
Read More »Technology and Risk are the same thing by Chris Skinner
Yesterday was a fascinating day full of presentations on risk in the morning from a bunch of old CRO’s (Chief Risk Officers) followed by a lunch with a crock of CIO’s (Chief Information Officers). In fact, there was even one CIO who became a CRO …
Read More »Prepaid’s demographics by Chris Skinner
We run regular meetings at the Financial Services Club, and launched in Ireland last year. The forthcoming event in Dublin on 14th June is talking about various things from mobile to prepaid and it prompted Kieron Guilfoyle, CEO of 3V, to send me details of …
Read More »Banker fighting to stop child abuse
One of the highlights of the year for me so far has been my recent visit to Shanghai. Shanghai is a great sprawling new City with life pouring out of every street corner, but that wasn't the reason why this was a highlight. The reason …
Read More »Numbers, Part Three: HSBC
Same bank channel and almost the same bank time … Continuing our numbers story we move to a large galaxy known as Canary Wharf on the outer limits of the London Universe, and focus upon a large, 45 floor, gleaming office block … yes, it's …
Read More »Numbers, Part Three: HSBC
Same bank channel and almost the same bank time … Continuing our numbers story we move to a large galaxy known as Canary Wharf on the outer limits of the London Universe, and focus upon a large, 45 floor, gleaming office block … yes, it's …
Read More »Numbers, Part Three: HSBC
Same bank channel and almost the same bank time … Continuing our numbers story we move to a large galaxy known as Canary Wharf on the outer limits of the London Universe, and focus upon a large, 45 floor, gleaming office block … yes, it's …
Read More »Celebrating PayPal’s centenary
PayPal 100 years old – surely not? Well no. PayPal's not 100 years old. In a remarkably understated way though, which no-one noticed – not even PayPal – the California-based payments platform is celebrating a milestone. In March 2007, PayPal celebrated being 100 months old. …
Read More »Celebrating PayPal’s centenary
PayPal 100 years old – surely not? Well no. PayPal's not 100 years old. In a remarkably understated way though, which no-one noticed – not even PayPal – the California-based payments platform is celebrating a milestone. In March 2007, PayPal celebrated being 100 months old. …
Read More »The quest for alpha
At a recent conference, one of the speakers started by saying: "Alpha is what it is all about." He got this look of interest from half the audience and confusion from the other half. After all, much of what goes on in the investment markets …
Read More »The quest for alpha
At a recent conference, one of the speakers started by saying: "Alpha is what it is all about." He got this look of interest from half the audience and confusion from the other half. After all, much of what goes on in the investment markets …
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