I just got a whole new set of tech phrases from a Gartner report. Giving my interpretation, here we go: Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) is a proposed framework for Device Direct connectivity using satellite and cellular communication combination. The framework enables partnership between satellite (specifically low Earth orbit [LEO]) providers and terrestrial mobile operators…
It’s interesting that we have over 30,000 fintech start-ups worldwide but only a few we talk about a lot. Stripe, Klarna, NuBank, Alipay … sure, there are 300 unicorns but there are thousands of roadkill along the way. What surprises me is how many sneak out of the woods when you least expect it. By…
Your morning coffee purchase travels through 15 countries in 0.3 seconds. It’s not magic. It’s a global network of invisible digital pipes and two college dropouts saw their world-changing potential. Two brothers. Meet Patrick and John Collison: the architects of our digital future. 2010: the Collisons spot a problem: Online payments are a maze of…
Many of you have probably been relaxing for the past month and missed the fact that there was a major event in Mumbai: the Global Fintech Fest. It impressed me that they managed to persuade Shri Narendra Modi, Honourable Prime Minister of India, to deliver a keynote on Friday. What did he say? Well, you can…
Earlier this year, we launched a new book Intelligent Money: When Money Thinks For You, which is doing well and reviews are good. The premise of the book? If you can decentralise money and make it intelligent with AI, what do regulators and banks do? Well worth a read but I am biased, but some people aren’t….
My blog the other day about asking what’s going to change is the wrong question was inspired by the quote from Jeff Bezos and this report from Team8: an unconventional view of the future of fintech https://team8.vc/rethink/fintech/2030-and-beyond/ They delve into three areas: What won’t change? What do we believe are the ‘immutable physical laws of…
If you haven’t noticed, Apple recently launched a new feature called Tap-to-Pay. It seems like a quiet thing, but it’s not. In fact, the new open network offers the opportunity to actively use cryptocurrencies through Apple. There has been a lot written about it, but a recent post by Mike Kelly on LinkedIn* grabbed my attention…
I seem to have been immersed in APP fraud recently, mainly because the UK government is introducing new laws to manage such fraud on October 7. What is APP fraud? It is an Authorised Push Payment. It’s basically where you pay for something voluntarily which is not real, such as a parcel delivery that is…
For some reason, I’ve just been bombarded with emails about the secret memo from venture capital firm Sequoia, about their investment twenty years ago in YouTube. Maybe it’s because it’s only just come to light or maybe it’s because it provides the secret sauce of how to achieve a successful early funding round. For me,…
