Is Starbucks a Secret Bank?

Starbucks is known for their coffee but many don't know about their secretive finance operations. 

In a clever scheme, the company uses the deposits of customer rewards card as a massive interest free loan to fund business operations. 

Is this simply a smart business move? or are customers getting ripped off?

Could digital currencies put banks out of business?

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have been billed as a major disruptor to finance. But digital currencies issued by governments might be even more radical—they may even threaten the future of traditional banking.

Online Mini-Courses

For almost 19 years Citadel Advantage has been producing high quality training courses aimed at the Governance, Risk Management and Compliance space.

We have and continue to offer a wide & comprehensive range of professional courses and training programs in the core areas of governance, compliance, operational risk management, payment & treasury systems, fintech, blockchain and operations/back office management. Our programs are mostly 2-day units with some 1-day units for shorter topics. Some programs are more involved and can run for 3, 4 or even 5-full days.

In recent times and especially since the COVID-19 crisis emerged some 6 months ago, there has been a growing demand for online programs that are much shorter and that get to heart of these issues, providing all the information you need in much shorter sessions of between 60 and 90 minutes.

With this in mind, Citadel Advantage is happy to introduce our Online Mini-Courses - short, to the point sessions that get to the nub of the issue, giving you all the information that you need at your office or home at a fraction of the cost of the typical two-day program. 

MANAGING OPERATIONAL RISK IN A SMALL BUSINESS - Click  HERE

THE A TO Z GUIDE TO MANAGING OPERATIONAL RISK - Click HERE

Designing a Sustainable Digital Bank

Banks need to leverage big data and analytics to better understand a customer’s behavior and needs. Watch the video to learn more on designing a sustainable digital bank.

Grasping the Big Picture of the HSBC Outage

From PYMNTS.com

“Getting back to the grind after a few weeks of holiday fun and relaxation is tough for anyone. But for thousands of HSBC customers, the start of the new year was especially brutal as the bank’s online personal banking service was knocked offline amid technological glitches — a fiasco that lasted for two days and marked the second time in as many years that Europe’s largest bank found itself apologizing to customers for technological issues.”

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The World's First Bluetooth Digital Piggybank for Kids

From The Financial Brand -

“Meet Clever Kash, an innovative device in the shape of an adorable toy elephant that uses Bluetooth technology, WiFi and online banking to bring the piggybank into the 21st century.

Let’s face it… Trying to teaching kids the value of money has always been a tough task. Money already seems like an abstraction to them, but in a cashless society the concept becomes even more ethereal. Gone are the days when parents tossed loose pocket change at their kids, and teenagers might just as soon prefer getting Bitcoins instead of the traditional birthday check from their grandparents.

Cash and coins are simply a lot less common these days, and this absence of tangible currency has made the future for piggybanks look pretty bleak.

That is until now.

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A Bank for People Who Hate Banks

From Bloomberg Business –

“On a sweltering afternoon in July, Tom Blomfield emerges from Bank of England offices in the heart of the City of London and promptly sheds his suit jacket. Blomfield, the 29-year-old, bearded CEO of Mondo, a startup smartphone bank that’s applying to operate in the U.K., isn’t the suit-wearing type. He’s eager to get back to his Clerkenwell workspace for a beer to celebrate Mondo’s surmounting a big hurdle in its quest for a banking license.

Blomfield and his team have just spent two hours getting grilled by eight regulators from the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its October issue. The officials quizzed them on how Mondo will attract customers and remain financially viable. After poring over Mondo’s 250-page submission, which included details of its capital and liquidity plans, the group pressed Blomfield on why he wanted to run a bank. “They said he didn’t look like a typical banker,” recalls Mondo Chairman Denise Kingsmill, who, as a member of the House of Lords and a former deputy chairman of the U.K.’s Competition Commission, added a touch of gravitas to the presentation.”

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