5BOOKS TO GET AHEAD IN FINTECH

By Polly Jean Harrisson

handy footnotes to explain anything that may be unfamiliar to those not in the know, her book reads much like a collection of her #Ledawrites columns. In fact, anyone who has heard Leda give a talk or speak on a panel, or even had the pleasure of chatting with her one on one, you will hear her in this book. Her voice is trapped between the pages, making you want to be part of the elusive ‘us’ even if you’ve never worked for a bank before.

The Human Element

Over 290 pages, the book generally boils down to one core argument. That humans are what’s holding back transformation in banking. But also, that humans are the key to driving it forward. This paradoxical statement comes around many times in the chapters. Leda documents the human element of the history and looks at the situation at hand through that lens. But it is the human element within banking where the problems start. Which kind of makes sense when you think we’re talking about a digital transition. To err is human after all. But when humans get things right, that’s when the magic starts to happen, and this industry would be nothing without human ‘plumbers’ as Leda affectionately calls them, leading the way.

Digital For Good: Stand for Something… or You Will Fall by Chris Skinner Available: Hardback

Embedded Finance: When Payments Become An Experience by Scarlett Sieber and Sophie Guibaud Available: Hardback, and Kindle

BANKERS LIKE US: DISPATCHES FROM AN INDUSTRY IN TRANSITION by Leda Glyptis Available: Kindle and Hardback

As she writes so eloquently, “the industry has evolved”, and anyone who is even remotely involved with it can see that. But this evolution isn’t automatic, some transformation is needed. No longer can banks get away with cries of ‘but that’s how we’ve always done it’. It’s this attitude that has created the situation. Now it’s time for the thinkers, the innovators and the Ledas of the world to step up to the challenge and start something new.

Taking On The Challenge

By all accounts being a banker sounds frustrating. At least in some parts as Leda recounts it. But there’s also the potential, and that potential is what’s always so exciting about this industry. Banker or bank adjacent, read this book, join Leda’s tribe, and get ready to start the revolution.

Bankers Like Us: Dispatches from an Industry in Transition is available now.

Beyond Good: How Technology is Leading a Purpose-driven Business Revolution by Theodora Lau & Bradley Leimer Available: Kindle, Hardback and Paperback

Re-Architecting

Trust: The Curse of History and the Crypto Cure for Money, Markets, and Platforms by Omid Malekan

Available: Kindle, Hardback and Paperback

The Great Transition: The Personalization of Finance is Here by Emmanuel Daniel Available: Kindle, Hardback and Paperback