Everything's a Brand - Everything but a Bank

"What's a brand and why do we want it?" Have you seen Happyish? Critics have murdered it but some parts are absolutely worth watching. There is a scene in the pilot that says it all when it ...

The Demise of Cash is almost upon us.

There is no stopping the evolution to a cashless society. It will be a convergence of the internet, credit and debit cards that have Visa ‘payWave’, MasterCard ‘PayPass’, & American Express cards ...

One year on: how has the FCA Income and Expenditure Process affected service companies and their customers?

The Lending Guidelines introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2014 affect more than just mortgage and loan application processes. They also apply to mobile operators that offer financ...

How Samsung can beat Apple - it's all about the smartwatch now

As usual, Samsung is too late to the (mobile payments) party. Not because of Apple, but because of Google - read this fantastic piece by Tom Noyes whom I greatly respect (although Will, CEO of LoopPay...

Innovation in Financial Services

The Mobile Payments Game - Is the winning move about 'habit' formation?

My late grandmothers (paternal / maternal) never really went to a bank their entire life. Simply because most of their financial needs were taken care of by immediate family. Whenever she needed cash,...

The three key considerations for tackling cyber-attacks in the financial sector

Cybersecurity has become one of the top agenda points for every boardroom in the financial services industry and we're starting to see the appointment of more chief risk officers, along with those app...

When Connected Cars met the Dark Side

Without any doubt, Connected Cars are one of the most exciting and interesting areas right now with focus from almost every sector, motor manufacturers, insurance providers, mobile and networks and so...

Don’t let data risks inhibit innovation

2014 saw some major data stories hit the headlines, with global firms such as Sony, eBay and the European Central Bank suffering very public data breaches. The CEO of Target even lost his job as a res...

From Impossible, to Improbable, to Inevitable in less than 10 years - crowdfunding

When new industries are born they either die quickly, snuffled out by growing pains, or they burst into the scene with furious pace. The more innovative an idea, the harder it can be to find real adop...

Pensions Advice: You Don’t Get What You Pay For

According to a Platforum survey around half of investors expect to pay less than £500 for retirement planning advice. In fact, their survey of 252 active investors, found little appetite to pay for a...

Digital Banking: Where it falls short

According to Wikipedia, modern Banking has been around for a long time (since the days of Renaissance Italy in 14th century) and money even longer (bartering of cattle as early as 9000 BC, laws around...

Clinging to Cash: Latest Data Showing How Cash is Still King

Mark Twain famously said, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” The same could be said, unfortunately, for cash. Although the death of cash has been discussed for many years and