Our biggest stories of the past fortnight are ...
Metro Bank: 200 branches by 2020
A couple of years ago, I was talking a lot about Metro Bank. The reason being that it is Britain’s first brand spanking new retail bank in living memory. The bank has since received lots of free publicity as the...
Fidor Bank: the most innovative bank concept out there
After discussing Metro Bank yesterday, the other presentation that caught my attention at innotribe Belfast was from Fidor Bank. The two presentations are like going from one extreme to another however – Metro with their branch based focus compared with...
Is your boss a demented maniac? I hope so
I’ve spent a long time working for maniacs, idiots and psychopaths, and now I know why: that’s what it takes to get to the top in banking technology circles. It’s been scientifically proven too – to get to the top...
Waiting for the PayPal of mobile payments
I had an interesting dialogue over lunch yesterday. One of my colleagues had just got his iZettle dongle. iZettle is a Square for Europe, offering Chip & Signature payments on smartphones (Square reads the mag stripe). It was originally going...
The whistleblower who sued Citibank, and won
Just been reading this month’s Bloomberg Markets, with the lead story: “Woman Who Couldn’t Be Intimidated By Citigroup Wins $31 Million”. The story proves to be an intriguing in-depth analysis (4,000 words) and is not an indictment of Citigroup per...
The major general news stories of the past fortnight include ...
HSBC could be the real winner from M&S Bank - The Telegraph
Does Marks & Spencer, a food and clothing retailer where profits fell 16pc last year, really need banking?
Silicon Valley Bank opens in UK - BBC
Silicon Valley Bank, the US hi-tech investment bank with $20bn in assets, opens its first UK branch offering banking and loan services to the UK tech industry.
Bank account fraud reaches new heights - The Telegraph
Fraud involving current accounts soared to a new peak in the first quarter, it is disclosed in a survey today.
Metro Bank to open more branches - BBC
Metro Bank, which first opened in London in 2010, plans to expand its business across the South East with another seven branches.
UBS 'rogue' trader bailed – to McDonald's car park - The Independent
The man accused of Britain's biggest bank fraud was freed on bail in farcical scenes yesterday ahead of his trial which is due to start in September.
Reaction to Apple Passbook Announcement - Payments News
There were a number of interesting reactions to yesterday's Passbook announcement from Apple. Glenbrook's own Scott Loftesness posted his take on the announcement over on Payments News. Jim Bruene, the creator of Finovate, took a look at Apple's new mobile wallet and wondered if Passbook is friend or foe of
ATMs to operate without a card - BBC
New technology to enable people to withdraw money from cash machines using their smartphone has been unveiled.
Peer-to-peer lending hits £250m - BBC
Peer-to-peer lending via three websites that link savers with borrowers - bypassing the banking system - has topped £250m.
London slips down rankings of world's most expensive cities - The Independent
If you think the UK in general and London in particular are expensive locations for foreign businessmen – think again.
How would Greece switch currencies? - BBC
How would Greece switch currencies?
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Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
