Welcome to The Finanser by Chris Skinner. The Finanser discusses all things FinTech, finance, banking, technology and, most importantly, the future. To make an enquiry about having Chris write or speak for you, here’s an illustration of his presentations … … Chris Skinner has regularly forecast the changes in finance driven by technology. He is…
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We’ve all seen the massive discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) lately. Can we regulate it? What does it mean? Will we all lose our jobs? How can it be used in way that helps humans and does not destroy them? It is a debate we had in financial markets for years. Back in the last…
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I was asked to contribute a Golden Nugget. Golden Nuggets is a theme created by Joe Foster, the founder of Reebok. Golden Nuggets is a platform to help “raise the consciousness of humanity by sharing wisdom, truth, vulnerability, positivity and kindness”. Here’s mine: The worst things that have happened to me are often the…
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I asked ChatGPT to write an article in my style. Here’s what it came up with: Introduction In the fast-paced world of finance, few have embraced the power of technology and innovation as passionately as the fintech industry. Over the past decade, fintech has revolutionized the way we think about banking, disrupting traditional financial institutions…
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Financial companies rely on streams of data and complex IT infrastructures, and operate in a constantly evolving regulatory environment, making them prime candidates for AI data-driven innovation. However, risks associated will need to be managed. Here are ten ideas as to where these developments will make a difference: Hyper-personalized marketing and customer experiences:By leveraging alternative…
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Things we’re reading today include: Bitcoin (BTC), Coinbase (COIN) Soar as XRP Ruling Bolsters Crypto Optimism (coindesk.com) Whales Aggressively Accumulating One Crypto Asset Class As Bitcoin Ranges, Says Santiment – Here’s What It Means – The Daily Hodl RBA: Australia names first woman to lead its central bank – BBC News Barclays succeeds in major…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … London fintech Monzo preparing merger deal with Nordic rival Lunar Nutmeg co-founder and fintech pioneer Nick Hungerford dies aged 43 Visa launches Africa Fintech Accelerator programme Bank of London hires 300 staff as it applies for EU banking licence Nigel Farage furious and ‘seeking legal advice’ after Coutts bank…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … Tech Investors Bet on AI, Leave Crypto Behind Bank of America fined for junk fees and fake accounts ANZ boss’s astonishing confession about why branches close is the customers’ fault Fintech firms voice frustration as regulatory approvals plunge to fresh lows Berlin-based fintech Solaris closes €38 million Series F…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … UK fintech funding tumbles as interest rates dampen investors’ appetite Big US banks to post largest rise in loan losses since pandemic China’s $77 Billion Bank Rout Shows Who Pays Price for Rescues China wraps up fintech crackdown with big fines on Tencent, Alibaba Social media discussions play a…
Read MoreThings we’re reading today include … NFL Quarterback Tom Brady lost $30M in collapse of crypto giant FTX F.B.I. Searched the Home of Crypto Exchange Founder Crypto exchange Binance hit by executive exodus Challenger bank N26 finally adds French IBANs Jeremy Hunt reveals he was refused Monzo bank account Meet the members of Monzo’s board…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … How AI will impact your business Some people may think McKinsey are a dark force, but their research is pretty good. In the latest white paper, they summarise what is happening with AI and GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) and, with all the buzz around ChatGPT and BankGPT, the…
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This week’s main blog discussions include … How AI will impact your business Some people may think McKinsey are a dark force, but their research is pretty good. In the latest white paper, they summarise what is happening with AI and GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) and, with all the buzz around ChatGPT and BankGPT, the…
Read MoreThe main blog discussions this week include … The relationship between banking, fintech and the Titanic I hesitate to write this, as it is controversial. But then I am not afraid to confront controversy. After the tragic implosion of Titan, the OceanGate submersible submarine that was doing the deep dive to the Titanic … ……
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This week’s main blog discussions include … Dame Alison Rose on creating a purpose-driven bank (NatWest) I stumbled upon a podcast the other day. It intrigued me as it’s all about building a blueprint for a better business and, in episode 2, the host – Charles Wookey (nothing to do with Star Wars) – had managed…
Read MoreThis week’s major blog discussions include … AI will save us, not kill us Marc Andreesson of Andreesson Horowitz fame, the leading investor in fintech start-ups, published a long piece on how AI will save us the other day. It is well worth a read, but it is a long read (about 30 minutes) so,…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … Make my money matter … an interview with Richard Curtis I spotted an interview with Richard Curtis the other day about his campaign to change how pensions funds invest. The campaign is called Make my money matter and asks institutional investors, pension funds and banks to ensure that…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … How to regulate AI? European Union and United States diplomats are meeting today, for the fourth time, to work out how to regulate artificial intelligence (AI). The EU Commission expects agreement in the European Union this year on the first AI law, in what some see as a…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … Some challenger banks are challenged I’ve written quite a lot about Revolut and Monzo, as well as many other challenger banks. Now, as we hit hard times with rising inflation, interest rates and a recession looming in so many markets what’s the state of the fintech nation? Well, it’s challenging…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … Decentralised versus centralised On the one hand we want order and control; on the other, we don’t want to be ordered or controlled. We want governance, but we don’t want to be governed. We appreciate structure, but we don’t want to have that structure tell us what to…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … Who’s afraid of big bad AI? I am getting more and more blown away by AI these days. Not only is ChatGPT able to write my blogs, but relationships are now run by deep fake robots. In a recent experiment, the US medical council did a blind test…
Read MoreThis week’s main blog discussions include … The issue with DeFi I’ve had this thing about decentralised finance for some time. The reason? Libertarians say that we can now have money without government. From my side, I argue that’s wrong. You can’t have money without government. The question is: who is the government? You cannot…
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We’ve all seen the massive discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) lately. Can we regulate it? What does it mean? Will we all lose our jobs? How can it be used in way that helps humans and does not destroy them? It is a debate we had in financial markets for years. Back in the last…
Read MoreMarc Andreesson of Andreesson Horowitz fame, the leading investor in fintech start-ups, published a long piece on how AI will save us the other day. It is well worth a read, but it is a long read (about 30 minutes) so, if you don’t have the time, here is a short summation of what he…
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I recently presented at the DIFC’s first Dubai Fintech Summit on the past, present and future of banking, finance and technology. It was fun, but with only twenty minutes, it was fast. So, here is that presentation and transcript if you are interested … Slides: Video: Transcript: Some of you may know me but,…
Read MoreAfter yesterday’s post, I felt inspired to write a poem about AI. Here goes: Have we invented the technology to replace us? Have we thrown humanity under a bus? If technology can talk, what does it have to say? If technology can walk, how will it play? We have AI and robots today…
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European Union and United States diplomats are meeting today, for the fourth time, to work out how to regulate artificial intelligence (AI). The EU Commission expects agreement in the European Union this year on the first AI law, in what some see as a global race to manage these new technologies. The key is how to…
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2023 is proving to be a really weird year. On the back of a pandemic, we have a world where interest rates are rising, business is contracting, tax is going up and confidence is going down. I cannot see anywhere in the world that is stable or normal. We have war in Europe; China has…
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I just shared a speech by Christopher J. Waller, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, that started with this comment: “Climate change is real, but I do not believe it poses a serious risk to the safety and soundness of large banks or the financial stability of the United States.”…
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I’ve had this thing about decentralised finance for some time. The reason? Libertarians say that we can now have money without government. From my side, I argue that’s wrong. You can’t have money without government. The question is: who is the government? You cannot have money without government, but the government can just as easily…
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I recently had a chat with the folks of Machine Lab. Here’s what happened … An acclaimed author and independent commentator whose insights on financial markets and fintech are second to none, Chris Skinner was one of the founding minds behind the world’s first mobile bank and has advised some of the most prominent CEOs and leaders…
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I spotted an interview with Richard Curtis the other day about his campaign to change how pensions funds invest. The campaign is called Make my money matter and asks institutional investors, pension funds and banks to ensure that they invest in a sustainable way. Discussing this in an interview with Akshat Rathi in the podcast…
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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she expected former Mastercard chief executive Ajay Banga to be elected president of the World Bank as nominations drew to a close. It is not surprising as, when nominations closed at 6pm in Washington yesterday, there were no other publicly declared candidates. Who is Mr. Banga? According to Wikipedia, Ajay…
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I’ve been subscribed to Make My Money Matter for a while. It’s a movement started by Comic Relief co-founder Richard Curtis – he of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame – and is trying to put pressure on pension funds to influence financial institutions to only invest in things that protect our future, as in…
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Last year I invited Gail Bradbrook, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, to write a monthly column explaining her motivations and methods. You can read those, and other climate and ESG related blogs, here. One specific column she contributed was asking how they could justify breaking bank windows. Extinction Rebellion lobbied HSBC and Barclays Bank specifically in…
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I was surprised to be voted one of the leading thinkers on Climate Change by Thinkers360 … Delighted to find myself as one of the top thinkers about #ClimateChange 2022 from @thinkers360https://t.co/gKj0JwICSZ — Chris Skinner (@Chris_Skinner) January 3, 2023 It’s probably based on my last book, and I don’t think of myself as a climate…
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I haven’t written about Green Finance for a while, but then saw this over on Bloomberg and couldn’t resist sharing. The need for a global greenwashing framework by Tim Quinson, Bloomberg Greenwashing may be the biggest risk to the future of ESG investing, but there’s no firm agreement on what it means in a legal…
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I’ve been talking a lot about DeFi, CeFi and HyFi, and someone said: what about ReFi? ReFi? What’s that? Well, ReFi is all about Regenerative Finance, a system to rebuild Earth. Therefore, I’m pleased to share a second post by Letty Prados. Last month, I shared her introduction about ReFi. Here is Part II! Exploring Regenerative Tokenomics. If you…
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The biggest banks in the world are regularly advertising their green credentials, whilst killing the world. They claim to invest in green projects, which are trivial to the amounts they are lending to companies creating emissions and destruction. It’s kind of like a family where you say aren’t we good and then spending the evenings…
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For those who follow my thinking, you will know that the latest theme is how can we use technology to make the world a better place (if you don’t, read Digital for Good). The themes are about ESG, climate change, purpose and more, but it came home to me when thinking about children. Children are…
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I spend a lot of time thinking about the way the network is impacting finance. The network is the network of citizens, enabled by mobile smartphones, the internet and cloud computing. The result is that everything can be developed and delivered on a peer-to-peer decentralised basis. The knock-on effect is that governments and centralised institutions…
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Those who read my blog often know that I see FinTech as the partnership between old bankers and young technology visionaries or, in context, a parent-child relationship. The parent wants stability and to maintain the status quo; the child wants to break down barriers and change the world. That’s a tough alignment, especially if you…
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I stumbled over this phrase the other day – The Office of the CFO – and thought it was interesting. It’s interesting because, as a Chief Financial Officer, CFO, you need to show knowledge and depth about money. That’s your job. So, as a CFO, what would you do today? Place money in a bank…
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I caused quite a debate on twitter over the weekend when sharing the supposed fact that one bitcoin transaction uses the same amount of energy as a US household uses over a month. ONE Bitcoin transaction uses the same amount of energy as a US household uses over a monthhttps://t.co/1z5HgzRLRo — Chris Skinner (@Chris_Skinner) June…
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FedNow is launching in July, as mentioned in March. Interestingly, there has been a huge debate about this as Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Junior tweeted: The Fed just announced it will introduce its “FedNow” Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in July. CBDCs grease the slippery slope to financial slavery and political tyranny. While cash transactions are…
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In this discussion of centralised versus decentralised, the delineation of physical versus digital assets becomes interesting. For example, is it better to have a Picasso painting on your wall at home or an NFT (non-fungible token) of a Picasso picture? It’s an interesting discussion as, when you have the physical asset, you know that you…
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A month ago, I discussed the American Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) case against Ripple, who are accused of trading securities with the question: are cryptocurrencies securities? Since then, the SEC has issued warrants against Binance and Coinbase, and seem to be in full flow to stand up against the crypto trading industry and bring…
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I often quote Bob Diamond, the former CEO of Barclays Bank, who states: “I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t believe that in the future a digital version of the dollar for institutional and corporate use isn’t going to happen and be far more efficient.” Bob is now a founder of Atlas Capital, and also…
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There is a huge debate around whether cryptocurrencies are securities or not. Should they be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or not? This has come to a head recently, as the SEC decided to tackle Ripple and Coinbase as deviants. Ripple Effects From SEC Suit Could Strengthen Coinbase Litigation Ripple v. SEC:…
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I asked ChatGPT to write an article in my style. Here’s what it came up with: Introduction In the fast-paced world of finance, few have embraced the power of technology and innovation as passionately as the fintech industry. Over the past decade, fintech has revolutionized the way we think about banking, disrupting traditional financial institutions…
Read More
2023 is proving to be a punishing year for banks, finance, technology and fintech. Firms have seen massive downgrades of their market cap, and we have seen the demise of major companies ranging from Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic and Credit Suisse. Some say that this is a crisis. However, it seems more like a…
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I hesitate to write this, as it is controversial. But then I am not afraid to confront controversy. After the tragic implosion of Titan, the OceanGate submersible submarine that was doing the deep dive to the Titanic … … emails came to light where the founder of OceanGate, Stockton Rush, flagrantly disregarded warnings that the…
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I recently hosted a meeting of C-suite bankers to talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in banking. It was a great discussion and my summary would be: it’s scary and exciting. As I blogged about the other day, AI may be our future or our doom. Which way do we look? The meeting had a theme…
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Technology is making catfishing a new art form that is getting better every single day. What is catfishing? Catfishing refers to when a person takes information and images, typically from other people, and uses them to create a new identity for themselves. Therefore, I was struck by this when a tweet by my friend Dave Birch noted…
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On the one hand we want order and control; on the other, we don’t want to be ordered or controlled. We want governance, but we don’t want to be governed. We appreciate structure, but we don’t want to have that structure tell us what to do. The issue is a basic one: how far can…
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I did a search of “Jamie Dimon” the other day, and was intrigued by the results. It reached everything from how cryptocurrencies are dangerous to Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender connected to everyone from Prince Andrew to Jes Staley, formerly with JP Morgan and CEO of Barclays. The search made me realise how much…
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After Brexit, I hear and read a lot of negative things about doing business with Britain these days. The latest is Revolut complaining that Britain doesn’t like them. That’s not true. It’s more to do with Revolut cannot deliver their accounts on time (they blame the regulator for this) and cannot get the banking licence…
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Some predict that, in the near future, the world will be run by AI robots, even Liverpool football team! The thing about AI is that it is only as good as the input it is given. For example, ChatGPT couldn’t give answers to any questions you ask it, without those answers being previously written by…
Read MoreWe’ve all seen the massive discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) lately. Can we regulate it? What does it mean? Will we all lose our jobs? How can it be used in way that helps humans and does not destroy them? It is a debate we had in financial markets for years. Back in the last…
Read MoreFinancial companies rely on streams of data and complex IT infrastructures, and operate in a constantly evolving regulatory environment, making them prime candidates for AI data-driven innovation. However, risks associated will need to be managed. Here are ten ideas as to where these developments will make a difference: Hyper-personalized marketing and customer experiences:By leveraging alternative…
Read More
In most presentations, I use this quote from Charles Darwin: It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself. Although he…
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A new Pew Research report documents that, in 2021, 68% of 25-year-olds were living outside their parents’ home, 22% were married and 17% had a child, according to a Pew Research Centre analysis of the most recently available Census Bureau data. In 1980, 84% were living on their own, 63% were married and 39% had a child, the report said….
Read More2023 is proving to be a punishing year for banks, finance, technology and fintech. Firms have seen massive downgrades of their market cap, and we have seen the demise of major companies ranging from Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic and Credit Suisse. Some say that this is a crisis. However, it seems more like a…
Read More
Some people may think McKinsey are a dark force, but their research is pretty good. In the latest white paper, they summarise what is happening with AI and GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) and, with all the buzz around ChatGPT and BankGPT, the paper is worth sharing here. These are the key take-aways: Generative AI’s impact…
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I’ve realised that my thoughts these days seem to focus mainly on artificial intelligence (AI), cryptocurrencies, the metaverse and space travel. That’s not surprising as that’s where Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg are focused. These are the future technologies and capabilities that are inspiring our next generation. The question is: what if we…
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We treat our world very simplistically, and yet we have made our world incredibly complex. When you think we can land a spacecraft on a meteor hurtling through space, it’s amazing what we have achieved. What makes this interesting is the way in which humans have created incredible infrastructures, supply chains and logistics on Earth…
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I’ve always expected a PSD3 (the third European Payment Services Directive), as PSD2 had flaws. For example, banks were complaining that an OpenAPI for Trusted Third Parties is fine, but what about a reciprocal agreement or, if you prefer, why should we give them our data if they won’t give us theirs? Or maybe you…
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Thinkers360 Thought Leader
Chris Skinner - Financial Markets Advisor of the Year - The Finanser - UK 2023
Best CEO of the Year UK 2022
Best Digital Finance Provider of the Year UK 2022
Best Financial Markets Adviser of the Year UK 2022
Portal to the Knowledge Base of the Financial Services Club UK 2022
Financial Markets Advisor of the Year UK 2022
Best Financial Markets Adviser of the Year UK 2022
Portal to the Knowledge Base of the Financial Services Club UK 2022
Financial Markets Advisor of the Year UK 2022
