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@JorisLochy:

I agree. Re. this article, I'd commented that we've been waiting for Digital ID like the protagonist of the famous Samuel Beckett's play was "Waiting for Godot". But another commenter seemed to suggest that Digital ID was already a thing. I've seen a couple more comments along these lines by anonymous commenters on other articles. So, I've become a bit unsure now.

I've often wondered why every bank website tells me to log in - which means I need to be its customer - when it provides a lot of products and services (e.g. forex, payments) that needn't be restricted to its customers. Most payment fintechs (e.g. UPI apps like PhonePe, Google Pay in India) work off of banking rails and I've always wondered what stopped banks from capturing this market with their own apps. I could think of two reasons: (1) Fintech apps are early to market with superior UX (2) Fintechs are in the valuation game, can afford to spend huge amount of money on customer acquisition, give away their services for free, eat their costs (e.g. MDR), and sustain losses for a long time via VC funding.

Interesting move by KBC. If the bank can match the UX and marketing budgets of fintechs, this can lead to interesting outcomes.

Hopefully, Smart Contracts won't require Stamp Duty to be enforceable under English Law, unlike Malta Law!

Flight Delay Insurance - Why Blockchain?

Open Banking hasn't set anything on fire itself, to put it mildly. Expecting it to stimulate SME financing is like tying two rocks together and expecting it to float. If 99% of UK private sector has been excluded from financing for so long and still manages to remain 99% of UK private sector, either SMEs don't need financing or there's something drastically wrong with these numbers.    

Great stuff. Will solve a huge, long standing pain area. Will make Dr. Michael Burry of all investment bankers! 

To continue with the seafaring metaphor, the value proposition ship for Open Banking has sailed long ago. Only blockchain can revive Open Banking now. 

Open Banking Needs A Blockchain Boost

@RussellBell:

TY for sharing the details of the USAA-Mitek settlement, which makes it easier to understand this lawsuit / settlement.

I'm no lawyer but just as Google has made everybody an expert, binge watching SUITS has made me bold enough to predict the next episode in this legal thriller:

If Wells Fargo's lawyers were smart enough to insert an indemnity clause in their agreement with Mitek, WF will simply pass on the $200M bill to Mitek to pay (and Mitek will likely file Chapter 11). If not, WF will cough up the $200M fine on its own and treat it as a rounding error on the billions of fines it has already paid up for other legal infractions!

@SakibSheikh:

Maybe I've drunk too much Fintech Kool Aid or whatever but by 2025, even the very notion of money, cross border and transfer might get dismantled by Bitcoin, et al. I've a great regard for what SWIFT has accomplished in the past but, in this era of agile, sprint, iterate, disruption, move fast and break everything etc., I find it very hard to take any project beyond one year deadline too seriously.

@BobLyddon: 

:) 2030s is almost sci fi!

Yes, trust woes will indeed undermine Open Banking, which is why I said Open Banking Needs A Blockchain Boost.