David Birch

Keynote Speaker

David Birch's Biography

David G.W Birch is an author, advisor and commentator on digital financial services. Principal at 15Mb, his advisory company, he is Global Ambassador for secure electronic transactions consultancy Consult Hyperion, Technology Fellow at London-based think tank the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI) and a Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey Business School. Before helping to found Consult Hyperion in 1986, he spent several years working as a consultant in Europe, the Far East and North America. He graduated from the University of Southampton with a B.Sc (Hons.) in Physics. Dave was named one of the global top 15 favourite sources of business information (Wired magazine) and one of the top ten most influential voices in banking (Financial Brand); was found to be one of the top ten Twitter accounts followed by innovators, along with Bill Gates and Richard Branson (PR Daily); was ranked in the top three most influential people in London’s FinTech community (City A.M.); was ranked as a top 15 risk and regtech influencer (Thomson Reuters); was rated Europe’s most influential commentator on emerging payments (Total Payments) and has just been voted the Emerging Payments Association’s Contributor of the Year. Described at the Oxford Internet Institute as “one of Britain’s most acute observers of the internet and social networks”, in The Telegraph as “one of the world’s leading experts on digital money”, in The Independent as a "grade-A geek", and by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation as "one of the most user-friendly of the UK's uber-techies" and in Financial World as "mad", he has lectured to MBA level on the impact of new information and communications technologies. A member of the editorial board for Payments & Fintech Lawyer and a columnist for Financial World, he has contributed to publications ranging from the Parliamentary IT Review to The Financial Times and wrote a column in The Guardian for many years. A media commentator on electronic business issues, he has appeared on BBC television and radio, Sky and other channels around the world.  His new book, The Coming Currency Cold War, which will be published in May 2020. His last book Before Babylon, Beyond Bitcoin was chosen by American Banker as one of their “12 books for bankers”, and Prospect said of it that when a book comes along with glowing praise on its sleeve from Kenneth Rogoff and an introduction by Andrew Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England, you know you’ve got something hot on your hands. This analysis of money by one of the world’s leading experts on the subject does not disappoint. 

Keynote Details:

Star Trek - The Sci-Fi Future of Money

The advent of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, at a time when cash is beginning to vanish from many economies, means that we to think seriously about the future of money in a way that we have not before. Will we have one world currency? A galatic credit as in Star Wars or no money at all as in Star Trek? This talk explains, for the general audience, how the technology of money is changing and explores the “5Cs” who might create money in the future: commercial banks, central banks, cryptographers, companies and communities. The talk ends with some surprising but well-founded predictions about the coming era of digital money.  

Digital Identity, not Digitsed Identity: On the internet, no-one knows if you are a dog, or a bot pretending to be a fridge masquerading as a dog.

We don’t seem to be making much progress on identity. If anything, we’re going backwards. Identity theft and fraud are out of control. As the noted internet security expert Bruce Schneier has said, anything connected to the internet can be hacked, and everything is connected to the internet, therefore everything can be hacked.  We need digital identities not only for people and companies but for things too: cars and bots and pacemakers and buildings and… everything. David sets out a model for digital identity that will help managers, technologists and others come together with a real understanding what digital identity is and how it can be used to deliver new ways of working, new lines of business and new opportunities for stakeholders.   

Open Banking and its Discontents: Competitive Strategies and AsymmetryOpen banking is big, big news this year. With the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) coming into force in September 2019, consumers will be able to grant companies direct access to their bank accounts. In this environment, banks need effective competitive strategies that include immediate tactical actions to prepare to survive. This talk explores three key strategic responses available to banks and other financial institutions and looks at the competitive landscape that they will find themselves in. (Optional) Has Europe made a big mistake here though? Forcing banks to open up creates a far from level playing field in which the internet giants will gain access to banks’ “Crown Jewels” with no reciprocal requirement to share their data. This has only one outcome: banks as heavily regulated, low margin pipes. Is that actually the best outcome for consumers or society in general?

Biometrics, Blockchains & Bolts: What will Tech really do to Finance?Even well-informed people do not understand what it is, how it works or what it is for. This talk explains, using a tried-and-tested model for management and decision-makers, just what a “shared ledger” is, why blockchain is only one way to build it, why “smart” “contracts” are neither and why most applications of the blockchain that are discussed endlessly by consultants at conferences are stupid. It then goes on to explain why one particular use of shared ledgers - tokens - means the evolution of new, liquid markets for assets that will change the financial sector for good. 

Testimonials:

Dave is a great speaker and has profound insight, sometimes dressed as jokes. Then remain profound" - Clara Durodie -“#1 Storyeller in Fintech today” - Breaking Banks