America innovates, China replicates and Europe regulates I often find the maze of European regulations hard to follow and track. It’s ok if you’re tracking one – like the Payment Service Directives and Regulations – but when you’re trying to track many, it’s an ever changing cauldron. Right now, I’m trying to work out with... The post European regulation strangulation, part 2 appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog ..read more

Thinking about the Big Tech firms, most of them are enabling commerce. Amazon and Apple are building specific structures to make buying and selling easy. But one company is enabling fraud, scams and criminal activities. Meta. Meta runs Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as many other ventures from augmented reality to their X-like idea... The post Is 2025 Meta’s nemesis year? appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog ..read more

I had a chat with a friend the other day about Open Banking and they asked if I’d heard about 1033. 1033? Is that a PIN code for their cash? No. As it turns out, 1033 is the section of the USA’s Consumer Financial Protection Act that will introduce Open Banking to our American friends.... The post When will everything, everywhere be open? Oh, around 10:33 appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog ..read more

We need global regulation of all technology … but can we? Building on yesterday’s piece, there is a call in many circles for the global regulation of Big Tech. In fact it goes far further than Big Tech. It’s a call for regulating everything online. From cryptocurrencies to social media to artificial intelligence … it... The post Can you close the gate after the horse has bolted? appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog ..read more

I’ve had a lot of thoughts recently about how much automation can go. In most banks, one or two people look over the shoulder of those doing the work to make sure they comply. If we could get rid of all those people checking the checkers, there would huge savings which made me beg the... The post Can we delegate compliance to technology? appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog ..read more

In a land known as Fed, there are two superheroes: AML and KYC. They fly around the world looking for villains attacking the financial markets and aim to zap them. It is a difficult task, and getting more and more difficult every day, but they try … and they fail. In 2009, the estimated annual... The post The superhero adventures of AML and KYC appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog ..read more

In June, the EU put forward proposals for a new Payment Services Directive, PSD3. Having been involved in these developments since their inception in the 2000s, I was intrigued to read the text of PSD3, particularly as the main point bankers made about PSD2 is that they were forced to open up to Third Party... The post A new Payment Services Directive, PSD3: what’s in it? appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog ..read more

For twenty years, I’ve been very close to the harmonisation strategies in Europe for a single financial centre structure. From UCITS to MiFID to SEPA and the PSD, it’s all very close to my heart … as it is with David Doyle, a good friend and an EU Financial Services Regulatory Expert (speaking at the... The post The EU Digitalisation Strategy for the Financial Services Sector is put to the test appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog ..read more

There is an important thing happening that many may have missed imho. We talk all the time about Open Banking and how that’s developing. Why don’t we talk about Open Regulation? Open Regulation uses APIs (Application Program Interfaces) to tap into banks systems and see if they’re doing things right or wrong. It’s a concept... The post Let’s talk about Open Regulation appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog ..read more

Since records began, humans have tried to find a way around the rules. Drive slow, drink less, don’t fight, avoid drugs … there are always a few who want to get around the rules. I grew up in an era of massive football hooliganism. I saw someone stabbed with a knife at a match. My... The post What happens if bankers use WhatsApp for insider dealing? appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog ..read more