Fintech Uncut

Holidays are all about taking a break and it seems Goldman Sachs is thinking about taking a break from their relationship with Apple. Will this be the end of their foray into consumer finance after losing more than $3 BILLION since 2020 on their experiment? Check out our merch on  https://fintechuncut.com/merchandise/ You can find links to all the articles we discussed in the show notes here:- htt...

CBDCs were in the headlines again this week as the European Commission unveiled their legislative proposal for a digital euro, but does anyone actually want it? There were elements of the announcement that caught our attention that the team thought could kill the business case (if there even is one to begin with). Britcoin, physical Bitcoins and bad Belgian jokes all featured in the show that once...

A major bank points to a $15 trillion potential wave crashing through financial services - will this be a bigger disaster than climate change or the opportunity of a lifetime for financial services? Will the IPO of a 183 year old bank on the London Stock exchange give a much needed boost to investor confidence? It seems like Chris is trying to take the mic from Rik as he regails us with a song ......

One of the world's biggest VC firms announced its opening its first office outside the USA and expanding to the UK.WHY?? is the question on the team's minds! The real reason might not be the same as the official line ........ Guest Judge Conny Dorrestijn brought some much needed "RI" (REAL INTELLIGENCE) to the show, adding great insights and provocative points to the conversation...

Will Fintechs kill banks? Will AI kill us? Did Money2020 Europe kill the half of the team that attended? The short answers are no, no and no and for the longer answers we're afraid you'll just have to watch / listen to the show! Oh ... and both Rik and Chris broke out in song this time (but not together - we still await the first duet). You can find links to all the articles we discussed i...

A major Global Bank registered a trademark this week for a "ChatGPT like" service to help clients with investment advice although global finfluencer Paolo Sironi thinks they aren't taking "FU" into account in their algorithms. It seems our quizmaster Rik might have been spending a bit too much time with ChatGPT this week as he busts out the Fintech poetry in an episode that...

RIP Tina Turner - she might not have been the first to sing "Simply The Best" but she certainly was one of the greatest artists of all time in our books. Another great lady to hit the headlines this week was "The Darling of Starling" - Anne Boden, who announced she will be stepping down as CEO after achieving record profits. In other news, Klarna made a surprising change this w...

Will the USA default on its debt or just raise the ceiling? Another horror story from the ranks of Revolut and more excuses from bank execs who never seem to shoulder the blame for anything! AND - that's now the second episode in a row where the team didn't mention Elon Musk - yes, we couldn't believe it either!! You can find links to all the articles we discussed in the show notes her...

OK - technically the BoE director of Fintech, Tom Hutton, said that cryptocurrency doesn't "fulfil any of the functions of money" - but isn't that the same thing? Maybe he had a hidden agenda? Who knows - but what we do know is that it seems to pay to take over failing banks as yet another record profit is declared! OH - and HOW LONG has it been since we had a whole episode witho...

This week we've seen three different headlines about 3 different banks, all with a familiar thread running through the stories. Are they all following the same playbook and will more of the same unfold as the year progresses? You can find links to all the articles we discussed in the show notes here:- https://fintechuncut.com/ep021-jpm-ubs-hsbc-playbook/ ====================  Intro voiceover c...

We welcomed guest judge Barb MacLean of Fintech Playlist fame to preside over proceedings this week during which, the European Payments Initiative (EPI) made a big announcement, taking them one step closer to breaking the Visa / Mastercard duopoly in the region. You can find links to all the articles we discussed in the show notes here:- https://fintechuncut.com/ep020-epi-ideal-blow-visa-mastercar...

Apple is making a dent in the balance sheets of a few big banks while the US regulator thinks that open banking might increase liquidity risk for banks. In other news, will the UK's Financial Services and Markets Bill help to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology and investment? You can find links to all the articles we discussed in the show notes here:- https://fintechuncut.com/...

This week, Visa announced something for the USA that really is a non-issue in Europe - it shouldn't be news, but it was - for Americans at least! Plus -  there were Zombies, (Swedish House) Mafia and a 78 year old bank robber along with big news about our favourite (non) sponsor Elon Musk and a whole lot more chaos as the team returned after their 2 week Easter break. You can find links to all...

Analysts, investors, industry commentators, finfluencers and pretty much anyone with a social media account has had something to say about the global financial system and the events of the last few weeks - but as far as we know, our quizmaster is the only one that SANG about it - but now he may be wanted, dead or alive 🤪 You can find links to all the articles we discussed in the show notes here:-...

Bank of America were not the only winners this week as First Republic Bank were thrown a last minute lifeline by the banking industry this week in an unusual show of solidarity - or maybe they were just desperately trying to prevent the contagion from spreading?  Pornhub, Stripe and Credit Suisse also came up in conversation which included the normal blend of chaos mixed with insights that yo...

**UPDATE regarding Silicon Valley Bank** The news that the US regulators shut down SVB broke within hours AFTER we recorded the show. It is having an impact on the markets globally, not to mention the impact it will have on the startup ecosystem across the world.  This is devastating news and we in no way intended to trivialise the issue. It's frightening how fast the situation changed. ** EN...

Klarna posts its biggest loss to date, Western Union announces a twist to BNPL and Visa eyes FIS. Meanwhile, Quizmaster Rik continues his singing streak and adds in a theme to the questions. What in the fluffy bunny was going on in Fintech this week? You can find links to all the articles we discussed in the show notes here:-   https://fintechuncut.com/ep014-klarna-loss-western-union-what-vis...

Zelle might be big (in America at least) but could our Quizmaster Rik become an even bigger sensation as his singing streak continues with Japanese Whiskey lubricated lungs?   We also got a brief lesson on how to assess the future success of any new technology from The Other Guy and The Wise Guy shared his thoughts on how bunq could get even bigger.   You can find links to all the articl...

Valentine's Day often results in a few breakups and this week saw the 2019 marriage between FIS and Worldpay come to an end as FIS announced they will be spinning off Worldpay Merchant Services. Our quizmaster was back on vocals again but rising prices turned our stomachs more than his singing did! You can find links to all the articles we discussed in the show notes here:-   https://fintechu...

Quite a few people have asked us why we started FU. So we asked the team of Financial Services Industry Insiders why they decided to do a show full of Fintech Fun and Banking Banter! Inspired by British TV classics like “Mock the Week”, “Have I Got News For You” and many more, this show is NOT your normal video / vlog / podcast format!  Each week, the quizmaster questions the contestants on t...

A singing quizmaster, naked customers, another UK exit on the horizon, silver foxes in the hen house plus more fintech fun and banking banter about the biggest news stories of the week.  You can find links to all the articles we discussed in the show notes here:-   https://fintechuncut.com/episode011-the-quizmaster-brings-news-from-down-under/    Find out more about the team, s...

This week's Guest Judge (and numbers nerd) Wasim Mushtaq , former Transformation Lead, Financial Markets at Standard Chartered Bank, provided full transparency of his bespoke scoring system he applied - find out how our participants fared while they spoke about Amazon, Swift, Stripe, The White Stripes, Monzo, Musk, Karaoke, Iran, Russia, Zopa and lots more between the A-Z of Banking and Fintech ne...

We welcomed our favourite Goddess (Ghela Boskovich) as guest judge this week and she did NOT disappoint, her deep insights and philosophical views meant that we ran over our scheduled time but we think you'll agree it was worth it! How would you have done with the questions posed by the quizmaster? An Apple a day keeps the doctor away… in some cases also investors. What happened? Commerzbank forgo...

There was a lot of angst this week due to toxic culture, relationships and losses - sadly just another week in Fintech and Financial Services ....... How would you have done with the questions posed by the Quizmaster? The word genesis suddenly got a different meaning this week. What happened? It’s not all doom and gloom in the neobank landscape. What’s the secret sauce for success? A wise guy once...

Yes, we're back - we hope you missed us?  How would you have done with the questions posed by the Quizmaster?   Anne Boden has a tendency to sail against the current. What did she do this time?  The Chinese authorities are softening their tone towards Fintech, amid efforts to bolster the Chinese economy. Not everyone will enjoy this. What happened? The ECB released a study on paymen...