Payments Innovation

Is the payments industry and innovation diametrically opposed? Banks, payments infrastructure & the business model we use has been the same for at least 30 years if not more.

Are there good reasons for this?



Looking at the payments sector, you have very large slow moving clients who until the past decade have been entrenched in a risk averse position. This has lead to the rise of compliance, propriety standards and data silos.

In effect the industry built walls around itself and then asked the consumer to come to it. The consumer, who had little choice at the time took the best offer on the table.

In a sub prime housing bubble, with strong profits and even stronger bonuses, what motivation was there for change? The collective wisdom of all in the industry was that the security offered by existing infrastructure and Gatekeepers worked well.

We had an evolutionary change when Generation X revealed to the world it's new age. The Internet brought The Information age. Sure enough, 5 years later most banks were thinking about online banking. A typically slow, but measured reaction given the sheer amount of security required.

Now Generation Y has revealed its own masterpiece. We call it Social Media. No doubt like "World Wide Web" and "Netscape" Social Media and 2.0 are terms that will die with the buzz that created them. Yet when the dust settles what will remain is the value.

The Generation Y consumer's core values differ greatly from the Payments Industry. Generation Y wants instant access, 24/7 and to own the interaction. The risk of not granting this wish is that Generation Y are not shy about rubbishing bad service. Or on the flip side praising good service.

How can the payments industry take advantage? This is the challenge of innovation.

Another Twitter Commentary Blog

Blogging about twitter is now so popular it has become a cliché. It's a loop of people talking a funny language about a confusing service to the outsider. Yet there are those who go crazy about it's potential with a kind of zeal usually reserved for religion or sports fanatics.



Why then has the growth become a little sluggish? I can only relate this to my own experience, and those who I have tempted to try twitter and who eventually gave up. See, the whole thing is a bit daunting and weird at first. It's not like spotify, hulu or facebook in that signing up actually feels like you're doing something satisfying or worthwhile.

You sign up with no followers, nobody to follow and the whole thing is very dark.

Simplicity is the key for many of the larger social media mega sites. Despite the message presented by the media, and the best intentions of those willing progress, the vast majority of people are still internet novices.

Lightweight internet use covers your occasional youtube visit, possibly even iplayer and access to online music. The lightweight user also probably uses their PC as a Word Processor, however this user is still not digitally connected in the way many of the social media and technology savvy are.

There are hundreds of services that try to wrap up other services into one simple and easy to use application. Still from the user perspective it's confusing.

Twitter falls into this category of a service with hundreds, if not thousands of apps. Now unless you are following your favourite celebs, how do you get involved? Twitter has an interesting ecosystem and may find the answer. However so far, it seems to require the brilliance of a Mark Zuckerberg to really engage users with a valuable product.

Twitter clearly has value. It's faster than the news for breaking news, an amazing way to check the pulse of humanity and the first service where people come together based on interest rather than social structure.

Does that mean it is useful to your Mum? Probably not. If you're missing the twitter revolution and you want to make a difference in the world. It's wise to get clued up. Otherwise, let the thing happen. It's still very early in its development, and you're not missing much... Yet.

I have been wrong.

The liberation of being wrong, having it pointed out, then being told how to fix it is hard to measure.

Until recently I held a self limiting belief that I was uber talented, and the world refused to recognise it. I felt hard done by. The problem with that mindset is, that yes whilst I had some results and a few things I could point to as being "better than average". There was nothing other people pointed to and went "woah". (With the odd mind blow sentence being the exception)

When something comes along that questions your mindset, the usual response is denial and excuse. The world is very forgiving of denial and excuse, because most people do it too.

Being smarter than the people I grew up with, didn't automatically mean I was smarter than everyone I met. Having a few good ideas, didn't qualify me as unique. Those ideas have no value without action.

The problems in my life are my fault. Destructive behavior like over spending means I don't have spare cash to buy things I want. Not pursuing girls hard enough means, I don't have high quality girls in my life. It's only at work where there are people who see the talent and WANT it to shine, that I get challenged. You know it really bothers me, that I know women who can never meet the right guy. I could be that guy for them, but I am just too lazy or forgetful. Irritating!

I love a challenge. But am fundamentally lazy.

Now I see this. I see it everywhere.

I am two people in one. I can be distant, uninterested and bored even when there are plenty of reasons not to be. Or I can be engaging and the most interesting person you ever met. There is very little rhyme or reason to these flows. It probably has something to do with hormones, mood and the lunar cycle. Learning to manage it, and even it out is a bugger though. Consistency would be nice.

I feel like breaking the cycle with a little adventure.

I woke up at 4am with a dream.

There are no words, only a feeling.

What I needed was the gym, it set me right and made it all ok again.


I woke up at 4am with a dream. A dream that your DNA could be linked to a unique OpenID, and at a stroke, the internets trust issues are solved. What separates us from everyone else in the world is who we are. The quirks, the broken bits and the mistakes.

To be human is to be wrong, broken and fail... then to still have the desire to get back up the next day and do it all again. I'm growing to love humanity for this aspect, in fact all life has it. We just get up and have such desire to survive.

Frustration of aging

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I'm working for a boss who wants to help me improve, and will go the extra mile to help me. In business a rare experience. It feels all shiny and new... like when you get a new phone.

The current job is great, except for the 50 minute commute either side (in good traffic). There are prospects, good people and the company has a pretty strong future. The weird sensation is being right back in the politics of it all though. Having to actually battle to get work done, and not fall into the blame game takes it out of you.

It's a strange company where you have to fight to do a project, you also have to fight to get it delivered, and resourced. Then if it slips because of anything at all, people always try to stick it on you. I'm used to a process world. Where everyone goes to look for the email chain and evidence first. This is insanity. Luckily my boss has the experience to teach me how to fight back, and will do so on my behalf when I'm out.

As a result I WILL work my ass off for that guy... BUT.

The whole thing doesn't feel right. I can't do this forever.

I feel stressed out, and like I never have spare time. My mum just moved house and is getting lonley and I can't go see her more than once a week because I have to work so hard just to keep work and my own life going. I get it, people have harder lives, but this is tough because there is no respite.

I feel bad about not having seen my Dad or Grandmother in nearly 6 months. They're not bad people. I miss them. The plans to control my life, they're in place, but always seem just around the corner.

I am frustrated. I want fun, and to see friends again, see my family and have some spare "ME" time left after all of that. Surely with all that, my contribution is valueable. My ideas useful?

Rant over. If you can relate, tell me how you got out of it! :)

The most helpful Services on the Internet!

Some helpful Resources

Rockstars vs Narcissists is a great piece by @BrettBorders who breaks down the two main schools of thought for twitter user. Be helpful vs Broadcast your life to people whether they like it or not.

ChrisBrogan.com sums up what is right about the Social Media movement, and is basically the poster boy. I have a raging hetro geek crush on him.

It's not just individuals that can be helpful. Kublax a service similar to mint.com will give you stats about where you spend your money based on your bank account details. What's more their blog is lifehacker.com levels of helpful, but in more depth.

Speaking of lifehacker.com I've written far more akward and long winded posts than this one, on how you can pretty much learn anything these days from Google / Wikipedia. Add lifehacker to those tools.

All Problems can be Solved:
Try it yourself. What is bugging you right now? The car needs fixing? Don't have enough spare cash? Need to make more space around the house?

Go type that into Google. The revolution has already happened, now you just gotta learn how to make the best use of it!

If this post is teaching you to suck eggs and lacks that cynical edge I tend to specialise in, good you're already there. You are already able to use the "Web 2.0" to its full potential. There is a lot to be said for admitting when we suck, and the ability to write in a clear and helpful way is something that I had to try.

Now for our regularly scheduled programming. Some random thoughts:

Felicity is a great name.
Mashable rock.
I'm starting to like punk music again.
Double Sailor Jerrys + Cola is a tasty way to a hangover.
My Mum is the sweetest person alive: Fact.
The whole world is one big cadburys cream egg