David Birch

David G. W. Birch is an established author, advisor, and commentator specializing in digital financial services, with a career rooted in both technological innovation and financial strategy. He serves as Principal at 15Mb Ltd, his own advisory practice, and as Global Ambassador for Consult Hyperion, a respected secure electronic transactions consultancy. His expertise extends to various board-level advisory positions for companies across Europe and the USA, including Digiseq Ltd, Tillo, PaymentWorks, Au10tix, and YourSafe. Before co-founding Consult Hyperion in 1986, Birch gained extensive experience as a consultant in Europe, the Far East, and North America, building a strong foundation in international business and technology.

Birch has made significant contributions as an Honorary President of EEMA, the European e-ID Association. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at King’s Business School in London and a Digital Fellow at the University of Exeter Business School’s DIGIT Lab. His influence in the financial technology sector is widely recognized; he has been named among the global top 15 favorite sources of business information by Wired magazine and one of the top ten most influential voices in banking by Financial Brand. His blog has been listed among the top 25 “must-read” financial IT blogs, and he has been identified as one of the top ten Twitter accounts followed by innovators, alongside figures like Bill Gates and Richard Branson. In 2022, he was ranked among the global top 30 fintech influencers, and is considered one of the top three most influential people in London’s FinTech community by City A.M., as well as Europe’s most influential commentator on emerging payments by Total Payments.

His published works include “Money in the Metaverse” (forthcoming Spring 2024), co-authored with Victoria Richardson, which
will explore the convergence of metaverses and financial services. His previous book, “The Currency Cold War,” analyzed the economic and political implications of digital money. His 2017 book, “Before Babylon, Beyond Bitcoin: From money we understand to money that understands us,” received acclaim from the London School of Economics Review of Books. His first book, “Identity is the New Money” (2014), was praised by the London Review of Books for its original insights into new forms of money. Birch is also a regular contributor to Forbes and Financial World magazine, and has written for numerous other publications, including Parliamentary IT Review, The Financial Times, and The Guardian. He frequently appears as a media commentator on electronic business issues for BBC television and radio, Sky, and other international channels. He holds a BSc (Hons.) in Physics from the University of Southampton.