This week’s main blog headlines are …
I’ve been saying for so long now that banks need to replace core legacy systems that I’m boring myself, but here I go again. The reason I’m talking about it again is that, even though some disagree and think they can fudge the issue with …
Throwing technology over the wall
I was listening to someone talking about monolith versus microservices structures recently, and they likened it to an old car versus a new one. Old cars were made of metal and welded together into a solid machine where, if any part breaks, you have to …
I was in a conversation with a regulator about bank competition, and they wondered how I saw banks changing. In particular, they were concerned about collegiate – read that as bank cartels – actions by the banks to protect their own interests. I thought about …
Most bank names are meaningless
Why are most bank brands just acronyms? I know it’s a silly question, as banks are acronyms because who wants to say John Pierpont Morgan Chase when it’s easier just to say JPM, but it is endemic to banking that banks are acronyms. I was …
The compelling case of Alipay and Christmas
We hosted ePassi at our recent launch of Nordic Finance Innovate (NFI) in Helsinki, Finland. ePassi are the partner firm of Alipay, bringing the app to Finland to allow Chinese tourists to pay easily when travelling via Finland to Europe. It’s been very successful as …
I’m involved in quite a lot of start-ups, ICOs and funds these days, and recently started a mini-series of interviews with them, as I think it will be of interest to readers of my blog. In the second of this series, I’m interviewing Andrew Zimine, CEO …
Beware complacency about data protection (GDPR)
I just got a press release with some stats and anyone who knows me will know that I like numbers. So here you go: With just 200 days to go until the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on 25th May 2018, new …
The latest news headlines …
ING, a Dutch bank, finds a winning digital strategy - The Economist
An approach that came unstuck in the crisis has provided the foundation for success
A London startup has managed to make banking cool among hipsters - Quartz
When he started a restaurant in east London about a year ago, Greg Kirk noticed many customers were using fluorescent orange payment cards. The color and widespread popularity of the cards picked his interest: “I wanted to know what was going on,” says Kirk
Bank of Amazon? Facebook Financial? Regulator could open banking to tech giants - Sydney Morning Herald
Bank of Amazon. Facebook Financial. Wal-Bank. Amid intense lobbying by financial firms, US politicians for years have rejected attempts by giant retailers to muscle in on banking.
How Deutsche Bank’s high-stakes gamble went wrong - Financial Times
Over two decades, the institution went from sleepy German lender to the world’s largest bank — only to plummet into a downward spiral that some claim has left it ‘beyond repair’
This Bank CEO Is Learning to Code - Bloomberg
Frederic Oudea is doing everything he can to keep up with the technological changes roiling the European banking industry. The chief executive officer of Societe Generale SA has collaborated with fintech startups, backed accelerator programs to nurture innovation, and invested heavily in its French mobile-banking unit as well as in hundreds of apps.
'We lost £300,000 through payment scam' - BBC
As "push payment" scams come under fire again, a victim tells of her "sheer horror" at being conned.
Challenger bank Monzo raises another £71m - Techcrunch
Monzo, one of a number of “challenger” banks in the U.K. aiming to re-invent the current account, continues to be on a roll, both in terms of user numbers and now a significant new funding round.
Barclays and Munich Re criticised for keeping ties with McKinsey and KPMG - Financial Times
Bank and reinsurer have continued to use the professional services firms outside S Africa
Has Lloyds come up with a credible shrinking bank branch? - Guardian
Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Lloyds micro-branches have replaced counters with iPads
Crash fears escalate as soaring markets hit highs not seen since Black Tuesday and dotcom disaster - The Telegraph
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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...
