UK Lords Committee says no case for CBDC

A Committee of peers in the House of Lords has concluded that there is no convincing case for the creation of a central bank digital currency in the UK.

The Economic Affairs Committee found that while a CBDC may provide some advantages, it could present significant challenges for financial stability and the protection of privacy.

Read the full story HERE. 

Fixing Banking’s Pain Points

"Years ago in a TV commercial for Wittnauer fine watches, a young woman approaches a jewelry counter and says, “I want a Wittnauer.” A dimwitted sales rep insists on showing her other items. She continues murmuring, “I want a Wittnauer.” He doesn’t catch on. Finally she shouts her request: “I want a Wittnauer!” Finally it sinks in, and the sales rep gets the sale… despite doing everything possible to undermine the experience by ignoring even the most obvious buying cues.

Are financial institutions listening any better to the voice of the consumer? Not really.

In a BAI webinar, “Trends In Marketing & Customer Acquisition,” serious questions were raised about banking providers’ ability to give consumers what they want, how they want it, when they want it."

Read the full article on The Financial Brand HERE

How Starbucks Operates Like a Bank While Serving Coffee - WSJ

Starbucks, a $124.4 billion company, trails only McDonald’s as the largest restaurant chain by market capitalization. In this video, WSJ’s Heather Haddon explains how Starbucks used technology to garner its loyal customer base and why mobile orders are shifting the chain’s business priorities.

How Companies Are Overhauling Supply Chains to Ease Bottlenecks

The Covid pandemic has strained global supply chains, causing freight backlogs that have driven up costs. Now, some companies are looking for longer-term solutions to prepare for future supply-chain crises, even if those strategies come at a high cost.

ATM usage is headed the way of the payphone

The availability of ATMs may have peaked at 470,000 units scattered across the U.S. in 2019, with a fall-off since then to 462,000 in 2020 and an estimated 456,000 last year, a spokesperson for research firm Euromonitor International said in updating its report on financial cards and payments in the U.S. 

Kendrick Sands, Euromonitor’s head of Consumer Finance Research, expects that downward trend to continue.

The automated tellers are disappearing in tandem with banks closing local branches. The banking strategy pivot comes as digital banking and payment alternatives become more widespread.

Get the full story HERE. 

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. 

How to Solve Product Design Questions -The Great PM Interview

Product design (also known as Product sense) is the most common question asked during PM interviews. It should not be confused with the UI-UX or system design challenges. Here, product design is a journey where you explore diverse questions and challenges pertaining to product discovery & development. The journey begins with the search for answers to Why, Who, What, Where, When and How. However, all of these need to be investigated in a limited time frame of 30-45 mins during an interview. Product design problems can be either case studies or open ended questions on technology or physical products.

Discover the ten steps needed to crack the Product Design/ Sense Interview - HERE.