Bookmarks (181)

Whilst walking the dog, I’ve been entertained by a fascinating series of podcasts on BBC Sounds called Fool’s Gold. It tells the story of two detectorists – folks who search everywhere using metal detectors – who found gold dating back to the 8th century. Very rare gold. 300 or more coins plus some jewellery. It’s... The post What would you do if you lost...

Things we’re reading today include … UK banks put £75bn into firms building climate-wrecking ‘carbon bombs’, study finds HSBC shareholders urge bank to reaffirm net zero commitment 110-Hour Workweeks Drove Young Bankers to the Brink – WSJ Barclays boss breaks with Lloyds, Natwest and HSBC on major UK banking regulation Revolut and N26 want to... The post Things worth reading: 2nd May 2025 appeared...

Surfing as usual, I stumbled across a new report by Citi talking about Digital Dollars, and how banks and public sector would drive blockchain adoption. So, what does the digital dollar mean? Citi’s view is that “2025 has the potential to be blockchain’s ‘ChatGPT moment’ for adoption in the financial and public sectors. A supportive... The post Citi predict 2025 is when stablecoins explode!...

Things we’re reading today include … Revolut expands into telecom: Can the fintech unicorn keep up with Vodafone and Telekom? Sam Altman-backed Worldcoin cryptocurrency launches in the US Ripple bid up to $5 billion to acquire Circle, offer rejected UK and US join forces to promote responsible cryptocurrency adoption | Digital Watch Observatory Chancellor speech... The post Things worth reading: May 1st 2025 appeared...

The internet was launched in the 1990s based upon generations of technologies that went before. It was designed for the exchange of information, not value. Now, we live in a networked world of information and value exchange, and are trying to retrofit the mechanisms for commerce to a flawed structure. That is why we are... The post Designing the next generation of banking using...

Things we’re reading today include … UK risks losing ground to rival fintech and crypto hubs, execs say U.K. government proposes comprehensive regulations for cryptocurrency industry Bank of England risks ‘killing’ London’s potential to become global hub for stablecoins Reeves unveils new crypto rules as she promises to back UK fintech Prosecutors seek 20-year prison... The post Things worth reading: 30th April 2025 appeared...

I was really irritated the other day as my children wanted to sign on to Minecraft and needed to login to our Microsoft account. The annoyance was two-fold: (a) the Microsoft account has all of my business data in there; and (b) I couldn’t remember the username and password. An hour later it was all... The post Whatever happened to work-life balance? appeared first...

Things we’re reading today include … Bank of England ‘killing’ UK stablecoin ambitions, body warns – City AM HSBC profits drop less than expected as bank announces share buyback of up to $3bn Deutsche Bank reports highest profit in 14 years ‘The mood music isn’t good’: Ultra-wealthy exodus is a disaster for Reeves Bitcoin’s biggest... The post Things worth reading: 29th April 2025 appeared...

Revolut just dropped their annual report and the numbers are simply stunning. In 2024, Revolut processed over £1 trillion in transaction volume, a 52% jump from the previous year, and customer deposits grew to £30 billion. Extraordinary fact: Revolut now serves more customers than HSBC! The question I hear you ask is: why? Why are... The post It ain’t what you do, it’s the...

Thing we’re reading today include … Donald Trump says he cannot rule out insider trading by his staff Why Trump’s tariff chaos could lead to a London IPO boom Post Office to unveil £1.75bn banking deal with big British lenders Swiss National Bank chairman rebuffs bitcoin as reserve asset M&S pauses all online orders after... The post Things worth reading: 28th April 2025 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … How bad is deep fake fraud? I’m listening to a fascinating podcast from the BBC about Whisky Bandits. The scam is that you buy a cask of whisky for thousands of dollars, but the cask you bought does not exist. In other words, you just got a piece... The post The Finanser’s Week: 21st April – 27th...

I’m listening to a fascinating podcast from the BBC about Whisky Bandits. The scam is that you buy a cask of whisky for thousands of dollars, but the cask you bought does not exist. In other words, you just got a piece of paper saying that you own a cask or, in simpler terms, you... The post How bad is deep fake fraud? appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … Revolut profit tops £1bn as it prepares to launch UK bank later this year UK’s FCA seeks to streamline capital rules for investment firms Here’s what stopped Trump in his quest to oust Fed chair Jerome Powell China Declares Currency War: New Plan Aims to Replace the Dollar With... The post Things worth reading: 25th April 2025 appeared...

For centuries, we’ve relied on paper, plastic, and people to prove who we are. A signature, a passport, a nod from someone who knows you — the analogue scaffolding of identity. But in a world where everything is going digital, why are we still treating identity like it’s 1995? Let me be blunt: digital identity... The post Why Digital Identity Is the New Currency...

Things we’re reading today include … Wall Street seems to have decided that Trump is mentally unstable Donald Trump could cost the world a trillion dollars Bitcoin Breaks Records As Cryptocurrency Market Shines Cantor strikes $3.6bn crypto venture with SoftBank and Tether Report: Tennesseans lost millions in cryptocurrency scams last year, per FBI UK’s ‘green’... The post Things worth reading: 24th April 2025 appeared...

In a disturbing new development using AI, I can generate a fake passport in minutes that would fool Revolut and Binance for account opening. This was a discovery by Polish researcher Borys Musielak using ChatGPT-4o, who created a fake passport in five minutes You can now generate fake passports with GPT-4o. It took me 5... The post Create a fake Chris in minutes, thanks...

Things we’re reading today include … Fintech Isn’t Just Back, It’s Being Rearchitected For AI New Research: European Central Bank still backing fossil fuels despite climate promises All change at the US Federal Reserve? Morocco : Digital bank Revolut looking for key to the kingdom GB Bank Breaks £2 Billion Balance Sheet Milestone Report: ING... The post Things worth reading: 23rd April 2025 appeared...

I’m working on my next book which is due for release in spring 2026. The theme is all around how to trust in a deep fake world. As a result, I’ve been talking to a lot of people – technologists, bankers, policymakers, ethicists, hackers (some reformed, some not) – and the conversations is around the... The post How can you prove you are you?...

Things we’re reading today include … Santander deposes UBS as continental Europe’s most valuable bank Rich Americans dump money into Swiss banks as Trump chaos creates dollar anxiety Europe’s fintechs want to bank the rich — can they succeed? Crypto firms seek bank charters Revolut: ‘I was careful and followed instructions closely, but still lost... The post Things worth reading: 22nd April 2025 appeared...

Back in the day, Brett King had this idea of starting a mobile-first bank. It was when Bank 2.0 took off, and I was one of the first investors. We ended up enjoying a day of brainstorming in an American park retreat, and developed the line “spend, save, and live smarter”, which is still there... The post When money thinks for you … appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … The issue with digital In my presentations these days are five key themes: the fintech revolution; cryptocurrency creation; distributed ledger technology; the AI world; and quantum disruption. I could add to the list – the metaverse, 6G+, robots, etc – but these are the top five in the... The post The Finanser’s Week: 14th April – 21st...

Well, not exactly digital but electrical. We saw the massive issue that created at Heathrow airport recently, but I’ve been personally affected by the same issue. Long story short, we have an electric gate at our property, and the electrics keep breaking down. Result? We are either locked in or locked out of our property.... The post When digital goes down appeared first on...

We often talk about technical debt – the cost of maintaining and updating old systems to keep them operational. In most banks, this is 60% to 80% or more of annual IT budgets; in fintechs it’s less, because they have less history, but even here it is often 30% to 50% of costs. The reason?... The post Isn’t it time to sort your business...

Things we’re reading today include … What went wrong between Cryptocurrency influencer Tiffany Fong and Elon Musk after Musk ‘proposed’ her to be mother of his baby Bank of England highlights risks of AI, but keeps being ‘reactive’ BBVA backs UK fintech Plum with £15m in first UK financing deal Singapore Tightens Liquidity Rules For... The post Things worth reading: 17th April 2025 appeared...

There is a regular conversation about the 1% versus the 99%, so I tried to track down: who are the 1%? The numbers surprised me. According to the 2024 Global Wealth Report, the global millionaire count has soared, reaching approximately 58 million. I thought it would be more like 100 million millionaires (and probably is in reality). If... The post Which billionaires care about the world …...

Things we’re reading today include: Wall Street banks reap $37bn from Trump trading boom ‘House of Commons cryptocurrency’ promoted in Twitter hack Cryptocurrency: Why Commonwealth Bank made an accountant sell his bitcoin at a loss Europe’s fastest growing start-up Allica Bank delivers another record year  UK challenger bank targets US’s mid-tier banking sector with tech... The post Things worth reading: 16th April 2025 appeared...

Some days, I sit and pray that God will give me more money, more opportunity and more hope. Luckily, now he/she/they can, thanks to the Church Bank of Greece. In an interesting move, shared with me by Arjun Vir Singh, a Partner with Arthur D. Little, the Church of Greece is opening a digital bank! The Church... The post If God was a [Digital] Banker appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … How a handful of traders caused the collapse of two cryptocurrencies Critics slam deregulation of crypto as Trump family expands its footprint in industry Standard Chartered and OKX launch crypto collateral pilot Judge orders Bank of America to pay $540 million in FDIC lawsuit | Reuters London banking jobs... The post Things worth reading: 15th April 2025 appeared...

In my presentations these days are five key themes: the fintech revolution; cryptocurrency creation; distributed ledger technology; the AI world; and quantum disruption. I could add to the list – the metaverse, 6G+, robots, etc – but these are the top five in the financial world I live in. Then, when you sit back and... The post The issue with digital appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … Crypto scams surge in Israel as AI tech fuels sophisticated fraud Professor Coin: What’s Driving Cryptocurrency Adoption Around the World – Decrypt Bitcoin king: Why is Bhutan betting on crypto? | Business and Economy News | Al Jazeera The Bizarre Origins Of Bitcoin FinTech IPO Index Surges Nearly 14%,... The post Things worth reading: 14th April 2025 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … AI will create 170 million jobs while replacing 92 million … the question is: what jobs? Every day there are more and more headlines about artificial intelligence (AI) AI and its impact on life, the world and the future. The latest one is a good one, which is... The post The Finanser’s Week: 7th April – 13th...

Every day there are more and more headlines about artificial intelligence (AI) AI and its impact on life, the world and the future. The latest one is a good one, which is AI is creating more jobs than replacing them! This comes from the World Economic Forum, whose latest report forecasts that, over the next five... The post AI will create 170 million jobs while...

Things we’re reading today include … Cryptocurrency fraud unit shut down by Justice Department Kraken partners Mastercard to enable crypto payments for UK and European users Cryptocurrency market declines 4.4% amid trade tensions Fintech founder charged with fraud after ‘AI’ shopping app found to be powered by humans in the Philippines | TechCrunch Credit Strategy... The post Things worth reading: 11th April 2025 appeared...

I was thinking about a future where everything is embedded everywhere, intelligent and sentient. What would a day of my financial life look like in 2050? 2050 is a long way away, but here is the scenario. By 2050: currencies have moved from fiat to digital; technology has moved from physical devices to integrated with... The post Life in 2050 with Albert and Jessica...

Things we’re reading today include … Financial Stability in Focus: Artificial intelligence in the financial system | Bank of England Bank of England says AI software could create market crisis for profit Trump’s trade war risks global financial crisis, Bank of England warns Deutsche Bank: The market has ‘lost faith’ in US assets Lloyds Banking... The post Things worth reading: 10th April 2025 appeared...

Your bed wakes you automatically through a system of gentle vibrating, rocking motions with the gradual introduction of light, simulating sunrise. As your eyes open, the bed slowly drops to the floor. You then enter the bathroom which auto­mat­i­cally adjusts to your favourite set­tings from the room tem­per­a­ture to music and coloured light­ing, from the... The post Your life in 2050 appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … Bank of America to Spend $4B on AI and New Tech Initiatives Trading Insights: How the Bank of England harnesses AI and data Supervisors monitoring tariffs impact on banks, no liquidity problems yet, Bank of Spain says | Reuters Barclays ditches gender and ethnicity targets in US | Barclays... The post Things worth reading: 9th April 2025 appeared...

There’s a brand new book on the block, which I wish I had written: who is Satoshi Nakamoto? It’s actually not called that. It’s called: The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto: A Fifteen-Year Quest to Unmask the Secret Genius Behind Crypto by Benjamin Wallace, but you get the idea. Who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin... The post Was bitcoin created by America’s NSA? appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … Barclays, HSBC, Bank of America bosses hold crisis tariff talks Fintech companies caught up in tariff turmoil Why the ‘Crypto President’ has overseen a crash in Bitcoin Airwallex Reportedly Plans to Seek US and UK Banking Licenses Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey to lead global banking watchdog Fintech... The post Things worth reading: 8th April 2025 appeared...

I don’t know about you, but I remember getting my first computer back in the 1980s. It was OK, but quite difficult to use and pretty expensive. In around 1990, I got my first laptop and can remember it cost around £2,000. It wasn’t worth it. Ever since, like most people, I’ve probably changed computers... The post Happy 50th Birthday Microsoft appeared first on...

Things we’re reading today include … Klarna puts IPO plans on hold | Sifted UAE aims to launch retail central bank digital currency this year “I am a junior at a top US bank. We openly discuss whether this bank is going under” Lloyds accused of failing small firms as it reduced its lending –... The post Things worth reading: 7th April 2025 appeared...

This week’s main blog discussions include … #Stripe’s policy: by raising risk, you become risk (#RDR) On my LinkedIn stream, I’ve been getting more and more alerts about malpractices at Stripe. That surprises me as they are the poster child of fintech, so I investigated and found that most of my feed was being filled... The post The Finanser’s Week: 31st March – 6th...

I was talking to a wealth management startup the other day, and they showed me an aggregation service that can harvest all of your physical, digital and emotional assets, combined with a death management service that alerts your key people to all the things they need to know to find those assets when you die.... The post Why does no one deal with emotional...

Things we’re reading today include … 70% of bank IT budgets go to maintaining legacy tech European banks exposed to risk of US dollar shortfall, says EU watchdog Pizza brand Papa Johns partners with TrueLayer to offer Pay by Bank | Open Banking Expo Central banks keep gold in focus in February | Post by... The post Things worth reading: 4th April 2025 appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … OnlyFans founder, crypto foundation submit late-stage bid to buy TikTok | Reuters European Fintech in 2025: Can It Overcome Market Fragmentation? Open Banking fintech Yavrio connects with five major US banks | Open Banking Expo US banks predict climate goals will fail – but air conditioning firms will thrive... The post Things worth reading: 3rd April 2025 appeared...

In a reflection of the times we live in, Hasbro announced a new version of Monopoly the other day with no cash and no banker, but a focus upon a digital wallet. It should be available from most major retailers in August 2025. Spotting the announcement my friend (1) Post | LinkedIn says that the... The post Today’s Monopoly: no cash, no banker and...

On my LinkedIn stream, I’ve been getting more and more alerts about malpractices at Stripe. That surprises me as they are the poster child of fintech, so I investigated and found that most of my feed was being filled by one Brad Harrington, a young self-employed entrepreneur who graduated from the University of Michigan in... The post #Stripe’s policy: by raising risk, you become...

Things we’re reading today include: Crypto scams cost Britons nearly £200m in the past year Metro ex-CEO claims watchdog ‘too busy’ to supervise London can lure Brexit-fleeing banks back to UK – but the City must move quickly Political support leading to increasing fallout for crypto Trump Family Turns to Bitcoin Mining How Trump’s family... The post Things worth reading: 2nd April 2025 appeared...

Things we’re reading today include … Bank Issues April Fool’s Day Fraud Warning Meet the UK and Ireland’s fastest-growing fintechs by revenue | Sifted The Prudential Regulation Authority proposes raising FSCS deposit protection limit to £110,000 | Bank of England Former Barclays chief Jenkins weighs sale of fintech 10X How to use Russia’s central bank... The post Things worth reading: 1st April 2025 appeared...

Building on my recent blogs about Don Tramp’s love of crypto, he has now allegedly launched a joint meme coin with Vlamadir Punit, a Ruskian. The meme coin is called Pump, a reference to Punit and Tramp. Little was known about the background to the coin until it was launched this morning but, in a... The post The rise and fall of the meme...