In Europe the banks are being forced to open up APIs for third-party access to bank accounts. Obviously, this will cost money and entails risks. But from the work that Consult Hyperion has already done for banks in this area, I think I can see at … [Continue reading]
It’s still worth stealing credit cards, but not for much longer
Technologically speaking, the credit card as we know it should have vanished long ago. It’s surely not got much longer . … [Continue reading]
For the Chancellor’s cheque-list today
Why are people who use debit cards, PingIt and other modern contrivances required to pay for people who want to mess around posting pieces of paper to each other? It’s time to either draw a line under cheques or shift to full cost recovery pricing on … [Continue reading]
ID is in a complete mess
Identity infrastructure in the UK is a complete mess. Why don't we think again about what we actually want identity to do in a digital age and then start designing a system to do it. Maybe some kind of digital passport would be a start. … [Continue reading]
Blockchain blockhead
I gave a talk on the blockchain to the Vendorcom Cryptocurrency SIG, putting forward a couple of fairly radical ideas about Bitcoin, the blockchain and the future. Or so I thought. … [Continue reading]
“Fast” is so last year
The era of “faster payments” is over, even before it’s begun in the US. We’re now into the era of “instant payments” and that’s great, because we’re also in an era of “instant commerce" … [Continue reading]
Well, yes, withdrawing cash is suspicious
If people want cash, it's pretty reasonable to ask them what it's for, since we all have to suffer the externalities. … [Continue reading]
In-app and on-message in Barcelona
Wandering around #MWC15 in Barcelona this year I got involved in a bunch of conversations about Apple Pay, Loop, NFC and so on. But I thought that focus on the physical, in-store interface, could be diverting people away from the central strategic … [Continue reading]
Small merchants, big data
You often hear people at conferences say that it is the data around payments that is the basis for adding value as the payments themselves become commoditised. As Gary Munro from Consult Hyperion points out, this is true for the smallest businesses … [Continue reading]
The Fintech Fortean Times starts here
I wonder if there is room for a blog that brings together payments and the paranormal? A Fintech Fortean Times, if you will? In an age where the Tory chairman of the Parliamentary Group on Integrated Healthcare is recommending that the National … [Continue reading]
