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

I don’t like blogs on a Saturday – we should be relaxing – but this X update from one of the Winklevoss twins (Tyler) caught my eye and so I just thought I would leave it here. Here’s what Tyler posted: Today, the Fed confirmed that Operation Choke Point 2.0 remains in full swing, provided... The post Will the US Presidential race hinge on...

I found it fascinating to spot this TikTok interview highlight with Ford, the car company, CEO Jim Farley explaining the challenge they have with software updates. What he is describing is the path that many banks are taking and which, tbh, I have been promoting, which is curating the ecosystem on the platform. The issue with... The post Curation, integration, platformisation and harmonisation: is this...

Things we’re reading today include … Barclays becomes first UK bank to lift cap on bonuses | Barclays | The Guardian Goldman Sachs CIO on How the Bank Is Actually Using AI – Bloomberg Russia legalizes Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining (cointelegraph.com) What Is Bitcoin’s Layer 2 Full Potential? – TheStreet Crypto-Friendly Bank Ordered by U.S.... The post Things worth reading: 9th August 2024 appeared...

On landing home recently, I had a run-in with the customs officer at the airport. A long and delayed flight followed by a lost bag had made my irritation levels overflow. Then, upon leaving the airport, the customs inspector asked me about my bags and I said “get lost”. BIG MISTAKE. The next thing I... The post Is gold a currency or an asset?...

Things we’re reading today include … “Terrifying” deepfake video alert – Santander warns fraudsters will use AI | Express.co.uk UK fintech investment hits $7.3bn in H1 2024 – almost triple the amount during H1 2023 – The Accountant (theaccountant-online.com) Piling on capital isn’t preventing bank failures – The Banker Major UK banks now better prepared... The post Things worth reading: 8th August 2024 appeared...

For those who are fans of Black Mirror, I just got news of the forthcoming Netflix Series 7. As usual, it is a dark anti-tech futuristic vision, but I was particularly intrigued by the script of Episode 3: the Trust Token*. The theme is that, in the near future, as Earth globalises and integrates, we ditch... The post Black Mirror, Season 7, Episode 3: The...

Things we’re reading today include: The bank of Starbucks: Coffee retailer has $1.77 billion in unredeemed gift cards – MarketWatch Big UK banks need to do more to be ready for potential failure, says Bank of England | Banking | The Guardian SEC investigating Wall Street banks over ‘billions’ in lost interest payments (ft.com) Revolut... The post Things worth reading: 7th August 2024 appeared...

After years of travelling the world, I find it interesting how countries differ. For example, having moved to Poland a few years ago, Polish people are not good at being arrogant. They are pretty humble, tbh. This means they are not good at marketing and selling in general. Sure, there are exceptions, but I find... The post The problem with Japan appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include: Bitcoin price in free fall as crypto market crashes | The Independent Bitcoin price crash: Why is the crypto market collapsing? (msn.com) How the Bank of Japan has fuelled the market rout (cityam.com) Nationwide to open dementia clinics in bank branches (telegraph.co.uk) Barclays’ $2bn coal loans expose ‘enormous loophole’ in... The post Things worth reading: 6th August 2024 appeared...

Whilst most banks are closing branches, JP Morgan Chase are opening new ones in the USA. Why? My LinkedIn friend Arcady Lapiro, CEO and founder of Agora, explains: Wondering where JPMorganChase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon will be jet-setting in the next couple of weeks? Here’s a hint: think “Small Town, USA.” Kicking off today,... The post The growth of branches appeared first on...

I find it interesting that most reportage of fintech is very much B2C focused. We talk a lot about Stripe, Adyen and Klarna; we talk about A2A, P2P and PIS; we talk a lot about challenger banks and neobanks; we talk a lot about retail and consumer markets. We don’t talk so much about B2B... The post Digital is a journey, not a destination...

Things we’re reading today include … The bank of Starbucks: Coffee retailer has $1.77 billion in unredeemed gift cards – MarketWatch Metro Bank returns from the brink but tough road lies ahead | Metro Bank | The Guardian How I got ‘hacked’ and what that says about the banking system (ft.com) InvestHK seeks to boost... The post Things worth reading: 5th August 2024 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … Multisensory payments: is this the future? I just spotted a new innovation in India from Paytm, who I consider friends of mine after interviewing their founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma for Digital Human a few years ago. What’s the innovation? Talking payments. The Paytm soundbox – which works both online and... The post The Finanser’s Week: 29th July – 4th...

Did you ever get that SMS saying a delivery was attempted but failed, or an email stating that you need to confirm details for a delivery or an in-app message to say ‘approve this’? These are the primary ways in which scammers are targeting consumers to give their bank information voluntarily, when it is not... The post APP fraud in the app is costing...

Things we’re reading today include … US regulators’ warnings on bank-fintech partnerships: how they can benefit the industry (finextra.com) 5 Big FinTech acquisitions announced in Europe in July 2024 (ibsintelligence.com) Monzo Leverages SAP and Google Cloud for Digital Transformation | FinTech Alliance (fintech-alliance.com) Trump’s big cryptocurrency bet – CBS News Russia passes new cryptocurrency law... The post Things worth reading: 2nd August 2024 appeared...

I just spotted a new innovation in India from Paytm, who I consider friends of mine after interviewing their founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma for Digital Human a few years ago. What’s the innovation? Talking payments. The Paytm soundbox – which works both online and offline with QR codes – allows merchants and customers to hear their transactions... The post Multisensory payments: is this the future? appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … Metro Bank soars as eyes turn to profitability again (proactiveinvestors.co.uk) The Bank of England’s climate-related financial disclosure 2024 | Bank of England Bank of England launches discussion paper on “ambitious agenda” for UK’s payments landscape – FinTech Futures How Can Fintechs Balance Profitability and Purpose? | The Fintech Times Female... The post Things worth reading: 1st August 2024 appeared...

In a long feature, Bloomberg describes how Donald Trump has become a crypto fan. Trump Bitcoin 2024: How NFTs Made Him a Crypto Cheerleader – Bloomberg My reading: it’s based on his vanity. The cryptoworld created a whole range of NFT trading cards of Trump a few years ago and, because it made a lot... The post Will Donald Trump be the Crypto President?...

Things we’re reading today include … Trump Bitcoin 2024: How NFTs Made Him a Crypto Cheerleader – Bloomberg Russia to allow crypto payments in international trade to counter sanctions | Reuters Ripple and Fenasbac Join Forces to Accelerate Fintech Innovation in Brazil (cointrust.com) Top 10 Gen AI platforms | FinTech Magazine Metro Bank on track... The post Things worth reading: 31st July 2024 appeared...

I just found an interesting blog by Plaid: 10 fintech trends for 2024 that define the industry’s future What are the 10 fintech trends? Trend #1: Consumers will use more fintech apps than ever Trend #2: Fintech increasingly provides financial stability during uncertain times Trend #3: Emerging payment technologies will become as normalized as the... The post 10 trends that define the fintech industry’s...

Things we’re reading today include … One-third of customers would change bank after outage (consultancy.uk) UK’s Open Banking Success: 10 Million Users (pymnts.com) Challenging The Banks | Global Finance Magazine (gfmag.com) Revolut’s UK Banking License Is Vital – But Could It IPO in the US? (forbes.com) Japan’s Rakuten Slides Most Since May on Fintech Reorganization... The post Things worth reading: 30th July 2024 appeared...

I just found an interesting report about the big tech trends of tomorrow, written by McKinsey. They have identified fifteen things to follow, as shown below. Not sure I would agree with all of them but, for any CIO or investor out there, it could be useful for you to know. You can download their... The post The top 15 tech trends to follow...

Things we’re reading today include … How scammers could be hijacking trusted protocols to steal millions of cryptocurrency – Times Brussels poised to close bank owned by friend of Prince Andrew (telegraph.co.uk) The end of Wall Street as we know it! | Daily Mail Online ECB finds ‘shortcomings’ in banks’ ability to cope with cyber... The post Things worth reading: 29th July 2024 appeared...