Stanley’s Musings - Fintech, Banking & Payments News #2

Thoughts on fintech, banking, payments, risk management, AI, going green, economics, business and much more…

The latest edition is now available - HERE 

SET Training is a member of the Citadel Advantage Group

SET Training (Stanley Epstein Training) is member of the Citadel Advantage Group. 

Check this space for my regular weekly news posts on "Stanley's Musings" - click HERE for instant access. 

Current news on Banking, Fintech, Blockchain, Crypto, Financial Services and Technology issues as well as Training Courses may now be found on Stanley Epstein Training - Banking and Fintech News

Crypto: The World’s Greatest Scam

Bitcoin to Blockchains, to NFTs, to Web 3.0... it's time to find out if it's really all the hype or just part of one of the greatest scams in human history.

Tokenization - whats new this time?

Tokenization adoption was poised for success six years ago, but progress was limited. Renewed interest might feel like déjà vu, but stronger business fundamentals and structural changes suggest the path could be different this time.

Check this out HERE.

What's the future of crypto?

The financial revolution once promised by cryptocurrencies has been knocked off course by regulators and allegations of fraud. So what does the future hold for crypto?

Citadel Advantage News Digest - Issue #157

Read / Subscribe to the “Citadel Advantage News Digest” In this edition -

• Can Blockchain Technology Change Plagiarism Detection in Academia?
• Bernie Madoff's Lawyer to #FTX's Bankman-Fried: 'Shut Up!
• ChatGPT Explained in 5 Minutes
• The ‘Twitter Files,’ and other news from the bird app
• BIS warns of $80 trillion of hidden FX swap debt

NEWS about World Affairs, Banking, Fintech, Payments, Business, Blockchain, Crypto, Money and more…

Check it out

HERE

Crypto's vaporware problem

Vaporware refers to products not underpinned by realistic assumptions or a solution looking for a non-existent or overstated problem. The Blockchain has it too.

"Humans are fundamentally irrational beings: we have the tendency to overvalue far-fetched stories and undervalue practical reality, especially in times of abundance. It is during these times when narratives take precedence over fundamentals, that ‘vaporware’ projects will spawn en-masse." 

 

Read more HERE.

Read the latest Edition (#131) of the Citadel Advantage News Digest

NEWS about Banking, Fintech, Payments, Business, Blockchain, Crypto, Money and more…

Read the newsletter HERE (with links to all the below mentioned articles).

Contents of this edition;

• Is it time to unbundle ESG?
• Et Tu, Muske?
• 6 Keys to Data Center Planning
• How banks can personalize financial wellness
• Consumers Expect Personalization at Every Banking Touchpoint
• Creating a Secure Mobile App: Main Vulnerabilities and Security Practices
• 4 Ways Citizens Bank Keeps 'Human' in Its Digital Banking Experience
• Your Complete Guide to Getting A Job On Blockchain
• Why Banks Need to Fix Their Poor Digital Onboarding Experience
• Artificial Intelligence in AP Automation – A Look at What Really Works, and What Doesn't
• High Rates & Tight Housing Spells Bleak Outlook for Mortgage Lending
• Making the branch relevant by design
• Electric Vehicle Lending: How Green Loans Can Accelerate Growth
• Nigerian Commercial Banks ‘Apathetic’ Over CBDCs, says Governor
• A Lifetime's Consumption of Fossil Fuels: Visualized
• What Happened to Terra Luna?
• Are We Having 1929 Again? - Warren Buffett
• What happens to investors money when a cryptocurrency exchange goes bankrupt
• How Blockchain Technology Is Revolutionizing Fintech in 2022
• How Payment Businesses Deal with Fraud and Data leaks
• The Importance of IoT Security
• Organization and metaverse privacy concerns

You can read/subscribe/get all the back issues HERE

Read the latest Edition (#130) of the Citadel Advantage News Digest

NEWS about Banking, Fintech, Payments, Business, Blockchain, Crypto, Money and more…

Read the newsletter HERE

In this edition;

• After $2 trillion crypto crash, what happens next?
• Are big corporate profits to blame for inflation?
• Massive Wall Street layoffs feared as banking profits tank
• Top 100 Banks on Twitter Ranked by Most Followers
• Should You Buy The Dip in Crypto Crash?
• Inside the Digital Marketing Strategies of Top Neobanks Revolut & Monzo
• DeFi in the Metaverse: Possibilities, Pitfalls, and Promises
• 62 Digital Marketing Statistics Every Financial Marketer Should Know
• Phishing 101: A Beginner's Guide on Phishing Attacks
• Embedded finance: a double-edged sword for traditional financial institutions
• The 6 Pillars of Digital Marketing for Banks & Credit Unions
• 4 Reasons for Cyber Intelligence Failure
• Data Science and AI Predictions for 2022
• Digital Transformation in Lending Keys to Success
• The New Community Bank Model: Digital-First With a National Footprint
• Crypto crash, crypto investing and your taxes: A look at impact on investors’ taxes
• How Big Banks' Tech Advantage Hinders Innovation and Hurts Competition
• How Financial Institutions Can Stop Chasing Their Digital Tails
• 12 Must-Have Mobile Banking Features Consumers Expect Now

You can read/subscribe to the newsletter HERE

Read the latest Edition (#129) of the Citadel Advantage News Digest

NEWS about Banking, Fintech, Payments, Business, Blockchain, Crypto, Money and more…

Read the newsletter HERE

In this edition;

• With or without Elon Musk, Twitter is overdue a shake-up
• Crypto market crash: Layoffs, bankruptcies and frozen accounts
• What to do now about tomorrow’s code-cracking computers
• Credit Suisse: what next for the crisis-hit bank?
• Battle for Credit Cards Waged With Innovation and Sheer Marketing Muscle
• How Can Password-Free Identity Verification Safeguard User Privacy?
• Major Card-Issuing Bank Takes on Fintechs with Its Own BNPL Plan
• The real value in relationship-focused pricing decisions
• 5 Ways Community Banks & Credit Unions Can Compete in Credit Cards
• Visualized: How Bonds Help Reduce Bear Market Risk
• The Gap Between Products Banks Offer & What Consumers Really Need
• WaaS for Finance: How Banks and Retailers Can Leverage Wallet-as-a-Service?
• Banks Struggle to Provide Personalized Engagement: Here's Why

You can read/subscribe to the newsletter HERE

Crypto: a beginner’s guide

Cryptocurrencies, decentralised finance and blockchain technology—what do these terms really mean? The Economist’s finance correspondents guide us through the key concepts of crypto.

How Blockchain Technology Is Being Used In Clearance & Associated Services

The financial sector has shown an increasing interest in blockchain technology. The technology sprang to prominence when it was used to trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which are produced and authenticated by a peer-to-peer network of users rather than a central authority.

Blockchain technology has already seen adoption by big players in traditional finance. 

Want to know who they are and what they are using the Blockchain for? Click HERE. 

Top Blockchain trends

2022 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the blockchain industry. 

There are a number of developments in the use of the blockchain such as the growth of blockchain gaming, central bank digital currencies (CBDC's), the mataverse and entertainment, and NFTs. 

All of these point to transformation for the blockchain landscape, which should boost the use of this technological concept across the board. There is a lot that inventors and others should consider as the blockchain continues to be more involved in daily life.

Find out more HERE.

Will Banks Mint Their Own Stablecoins?

The USDF Consortium has set out to build a system for bank-minted stablecoins that would blend the attractions of digital currency, blockchain administration and faster payments. In time this could improve payments and other experiences for both companies and consumers.

To date, many of the uses for stablecoins — digital currencies denominated and tied to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar — have been to facilitate other digital currency transactions. But the banking industry has fresh designs on the stablecoin. Beyond business payments, early intentions are to use the technology for consumer payments, as well. Also envisioned are financial marketplaces and crypto and securities lending.

Want to find out more? Check out the details form THE FINANCIAL BRAND HERE. 

'The Sky Is the Limit' - How NFTs Are Revolutionizing the Art Market

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have gone in the last year from a relatively obscure blockchain technology to a market valued at around $44 billion. WSJ explores how NFTs are transforming the art market and tells the story of who is behind the buzz.

NFTs: are they worth the hype?

In the past year a new trend in the crypto world has boomed: NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. They started as a way for digital artists to have ownership over their work but have transformed into a dizzying new multi-billion-dollar marketplace. Are they worth the hype?

Warren Buffett: Why You Should NEVER Invest In Bitcoin

Warren Buffett is the greatest investor of all time. In this video you will hear his opinion on Bitcoin, including the new 2021 comments! Very important to watch this regardless of your attitude to cryptocurrencies (and absolutely necessary if you own any of them!) As Charlie Munger says, “If you disagree with somebody, you want to be able to state their case better than they can.” And at that point you've earned the right to disagree with them. 

Warren E. Buffett is an American long-term investor, philanthropist, business tycoon, and the chairman & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is considered one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net worth over 100 billion dollars. Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He developed an interest in business and investing in his youth and made truly incredible stock market returns over his career.

Battle of the blockchains

To believers, open, public blockchains provide a second chance at building a digital economy. The fact that the applications built on top of such blockchains all work with each other, and that the information they store is visible to all, harks back to the idealism of the internet’s early architects, before most users embraced the walled gardens offered by the tech giants. The idea that a new kind of “decentralised” digital economy might be possible has been bolstered over the past year as the numerous applications being built on top of various blockchains have boomed in size and functionality.

Read the full article from The Economist HERE.

On the Brink of Disaster or Start of a Golden Age?

From Bitcoin to DeFi (in 12 Short Years)...

Even if you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably familiar with Bitcoin. Now, just as crypto disrupted the concept of value, decentralized finance is poised to disrupt finance itself. The populist movement promises huge returns for daring investors. But with DeFi’s promise of inclusion comes risk and uncertainty.

Is there something in this or are people that gullible or just plain stupid?

So the question is - is this the start of a new Golden Age or are we on the edge of Disaster? You be the judge.

Ways to Start Using NFTs in Your Business

NFTs may have been floating around since 2015, but they only gained massive popularity in 2021. Some NFTs sold for millions of dollars!

Although an emerging technology, NFTs in business have become a hot topic. 

This article explains how to use NFTs for your business and what to know before delving into these digital assets.

Want to know more? Click HERE.