~chris-skinner-s-blo | Bookmarks (191)

Things we’re reading today include … Santander will have a full-service digital bank in US by end-2025, chair says | Reuters Kidnapped for crypto: 4 men flew from Florida to Portland, tied a man to a post before stealing his cryptocurrency, feds say On cryptocurrency, 63% of US adults not confident it’s safe, reliable |... The post Things worth reading: 25th October 2024 appeared...

I just did a search for papers on digital transformation and was surprised that I got a whole load of results from every single tech company out there addressing the question: “what is digital transformation?” (a question I have blogged about a lot). As someone who has been doing this his whole life, my simple... The post What is digital transformation? appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … Italy seeks to raise 68 mln euros from tougher web tax, cryptocurrency capital gains, ET LegalWorld AI Patents at Bank of America Increase 94% Since 2022 | FinTech Alliance Barclays profit beats forecasts as investment bank rebounds A new multilateral bank, not an American “Marshall Plan” alone, is the... The post Things worth reading: 24th October 2024 appeared...

There’s a really interesting research paper recently published by Apple’s engineers looking at how well LLMs (Large Language Models), the heart of AI systems like ChatGPT, and asking about their ability to deliver mathematical reasoning. They conclude that they are not ready for prime time right now. To illustrate the issue, TechCrunch gave this example: Let’s say... The post AI may be good with words, but...

Things we’re reading today include: HSBC splits bank between East and West in major overhaul – BBC News AI Takes Center Stage in Banks’ Digital Transformation Strategy – FintechNewsCH Sibos 2024: AI and the human-centric future of financial services – FinTech Futures BlackRock faces legal action over ‘sustainable’ investment claims – FinTech Global Trump’s Recent... The post Things worth reading: 23rd October 2024 appeared...

Living in Poland, I have got used to using their local system for payments called BLIK. The way BLIK works is that you access your bank account app, enter a code, get a code back and make a payment at a point-of-sale, ATM, online or anywhere that needs a payment approved. The reason I like... The post Could Poland’s BLIK be core to the...

Things we’re reading today include … How scammers duped job seekers with a fake bank branch – BBC News HSBC splits up bank amid growing tensions between China and the West Santander launches Openbank in the US, expanding its consumer banking business nationwide Bank of America exec stripped of his role after death of Green... The post Things worth reading: 22nd October 2024 appeared...

I just picked up several interesting reports. The first is McKinsey’s review of Banking 2024. The good news? “The past two years have been the best for banking since before the Great Recession. Globally, banks generated $7 trillion in revenue and $1.1 trillion in net income, with return on tangible equity (ROTE) reaching 11.7 percent. Banks... The post Today’s banking, crypto and fraud, and tomorrow’s...

Things we’re reading today include: Potential health hazards of cryptocurrency mines laid bare by scientists Commonwealth Bank forced to refund millions of customers | Daily Mail Labour ‘plans to take money from benefit fraudsters’ bank accounts’ as part of crackdown Concerns over Barclays Tesco Bank transfer | The Independent Debt will overshadow IMF gathering as... The post Things worth reading: 21st October 2024 appeared...

This 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... The post The Finanser’s Week: 14th October – 20th...

A year ago, a government commissioned report in the UK asked for a National Payments Vision and Strategy, or NPVS for short. Looking into this a year later, there does not seem to be much action. The report was produced by Joe Garner, founder of a start-up in the dot.com boom, a director at the... The post Where is the National Payments Vision? appeared...

Things we’re reading today include: Donald Trump’s $300M Crypto Venture Faces Backlash (msn.com) Siam Commercial Bank launches stablecoin cross border payments – Ledger Insights – blockchain for enterprise Russia Economy: Moscow Blocking Sale of Western Bank Assets to Local Firms – Business Insider Stripe in talks to acquire fintech startup Bridge for $1B – SiliconANGLE... The post Things worth reading: 18th October 2024 appeared...

I remember companies like Gartner and Forrester predicting that there would be a trillion dollar market in online sales by 2020 back in the 1990s. Now we are in 2024, it’s a three trillion dollar market, and so I thought it might be interesting to look at the various statistics being bandied about by firms... The post How the internet has taken over our...

Things we’re reading today include … Tesla moves $760M in Bitcoin amid cryptocurrency surge (turkiyetoday.com) UK to raise bank ringfencing threshold to ‘improve competitiveness’ (ft.com) Wall Street hits new highs on better-than-expected bank results | Shares Magazine Bank Stocks Shine While Tech Giants Face Setbacks – Finimize Top 10 Digital Wallets Revolutionising Payments in 2024... The post Things worth reading: 17th October 2024 appeared...

Everyone keeps saying that the core of banking is trust. It’s not ROI, ROE, CI or other acronyms. It’s trust. But what is trust, and how is it created and maintained? That’s a core of where we should focus. In banking, trust is not in the brand or the name; it is in the belief... The post In Gov we trust appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … How did a ‘bank snooping’ scandal ensnare politicians in Italy? | Explainer News | Al Jazeera Fintech App Trap: Enraged Customers Struggle To Cancel Their Subscriptions (forbes.com) Natural disasters wreck FinTech infrastructure, proving cash is still king BaaS is dead, long live BaaS 2.0 – FinTech Futures: Fintech news... The post Things worth reading: 16th October 2024 appeared...

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 well as many other ventures from augmented reality to their X-like idea... The post Is 2025 Meta’s nemesis year? appeared first...

Things we’re reading today include … Revolut takes on Square with payment terminal for larger businesses (cityam.com) Revolut customers say e-money firm failed them after being scammed – BBC News AI amplifies systemic risk to banks: India Reserve Bank boss • The Register How AI and ‘behavioral banking’ boosts FI revenue – Bank Automation News... The post Things worth reading: 15th October 2024 appeared...

I just stumbled across a leap in the world. Cordless charging. Forget your cables, everything is now just charged through the air or by putting something onto a wireless charging point. It’s called induction charging and you’ve probably already used it. You put your phone down on a mouse-mat sort of base, and it starts... The post The future should look like the future...

Things we’re reading today include … Poorest countries in worst financial shape since 2006, World Bank says | Al Jazeera Westpac outage causes app, online banking to stop working for Australians | Daily Mail Bank of England and FCA joint approach to the Digital Securities Sandbox | Bank of England Farther raises $72m Series C... The post Things worth reading: 14th October 2024 appeared...

This 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... The post The Finanser’s Week: 7th October – 13th...

My family has just been through a hard time. Mother, mum, is old and losing her faculties. My brother is her full-time carer and recently organised the sale of her house. Funds were finally transferred into her bank account, and that’s where the trouble started. My brother isn’t young and, in the spirit of trying... The post Why we still need bank branches appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … The FBI made a cryptocurrency to catch crypto scammers (qz.com) TD Bank fined $3bn in historic money laundering settlement – BBC News TSB Bank handed huge fine for failing customers in arrears (cityam.com) Monzo staff to sell shares as valuation soars again to £4.5bn | Sky News Labour’s cosy... The post Things worth reading: 11th October 2024 appeared...

I noted the other day that 60% of UK bank branches have been shuttered since 2015. A lot of people aren’t happy about this and so we see new bank hubs opening where, for each day of the week, the hub represents a different bank. But why do we need branches? I posed this question... The post Let’s get rid of bank branches appeared...