As the Saudi fintech market matures, a new challenge is emerging. Most fintech interactions, whether payments, BNPL, or other services, remain fundamentally transactional.

Loyalty is defined as “a strong feeling of support or allegiance”. However, in the context of financial services, it is more accurately defined as engineered persistence: a series of subconscious cues that steer customers toward familiar choices.

As our financial lives become more complex, there is a growing expectation for banks to offer more support, be more relevant, and generate greater everyday value. One of the clearest places this shift is starting to show up is in subscription banking.

Most AI deployments so far have focused on AI that “talks”, which can search, summarise, and draft content to support employees. The next wave is different: AI agents that “do” are starting to take bounded actions inside workflows, moving cases forward and coordinating steps end-to-end, with humans kept in control where it matters.

While consumer-focused fintech has seen waves of innovation since the early 2000s, the small and medium-sized business (SMB) sector has remained comparatively underserved.

Unlocking agentic AI’s upside demands rethinking how humans and systems share control, rebuilding data and API foundations, and scaling autonomy in measured steps with rigorous human-style QA

In the highly competitive insurance sector, customer experience is a critical differentiator. While insurers focus on policy features and premiums, the claims payout process is often overlooked, creating a significant point of friction.
At one of our Truly Digital After Dark events, Anne Boden said “if you call yourself digital, you’re not digital”.
The fintech scene in Asia is booming. In recent years, the region has developed rapidly, with a diverse array of startups and established banks transforming how financial services are delivered and consumed.
Payments in the Middle East are evolving. The payments landscape in the Middle East has stood at an important tipping point for some time.

The U.S. Treasury and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) both hit the headlines with fintech-related announcements. Treasury released a 222-page report on the subject of Nonbank Financials, Fintech, and Innovation, while the OCC almost immediately followed with the news that it would finally begin accepting National Bank Charter applications from fintechs, in line with Treasury recommendations.
How do I create the 5 year plan for 8 software releases a day? This is one of my favourite lines from an old school bank executive. It happened live on stage in front of 500 people when I made the point that challenger banks are now operating at 8 releases per day. It might seem nerdy, but why does it matter how often banks release new software?
Looking to crypto and seeing it simply as a speculative asset class is a common mistake for financial institutions and even regulators. But if you start to look beyond the headlines, you can see there’s untapped potential for banks to better serve the SMB market.

Benjamin Ensor and Sim Rai are joined by some great guests, from Tranch and Anthemis, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Klarna lays off 10% of its workforce via video message, Chase marks 500,000 UK customers, and our panel answers your questions!

Gwera Kiwana and Benjamin Ensor are joined by some great guests, from Griffin, Indebted and Redpoint Ventures, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Griffin applies for UK banking licence, Digital debt collection agency InDebted looks to shake up the UK market, and Goldman Sachs offers senior staff unlimited holiday!

Kate Moody is joined by some great guests, from Lucky and Global Ventures, to talk about the rise of fintech in Egypt!

Sarah Kocianski and Kate Moody joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Santander buys Wirecard’s core European business for €100m, PNC buys BBVA USA and the FCA says no, as Lanister launches its new polymorphic payment card.

David Brear is joined by some great guests to discuss the fintech path to profitability.

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by a panel of guests to talk about travel insurance, and how Covid-19 has changed the face of the industry. All this and much much more on today's Insurtech Insider!

Ross Gallagher and Simon Taylor are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Ant Group and the biggest IPO of all time, cryptocurrency initiatives amongst industry giants PayPal and JP Morgan, and raccoons break into California bank.

Simon Taylor and Mel Stringer are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Stripe acquires Nigeria’s Paystack, Marqeta’s research discovers Covid-19 has forced three-quarters of banks to change their future strategy, and ESG funds forecast to outnumber conventional funds by 2025.

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by a panel of guests to talk through the most interesting news from the insurance and insurtech sphere!

Ross Gallagher is joined by some great guests to discuss how fintech and digital transformation is shaking up the financial landscape of the Middle East.

For World Mental Health Day, David Brear is joined by some great guests to discuss money and mental health during the coronavirus pandemic.

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by a panel of guests to talk about health insurance post COVID-19!

Sarah Kocianski and Ross Gallagher are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Open Banking doubles its user base in 2020, Amazon's new payment method in the palm of your hand, and can Ping An rescue HSBC?

Simon Taylor is joined by some great guests to talk about the growth of ESG and sustainable finance
David Brear is joined by Lotanna Ezeike, Co-Founder and CEO at XPO, in this bonus episode to bust some myths about social media influencers, and challenge David's opinions from a few episodes back. Tune in to find out more!

Hey, banks! This might sting a bit. You’re getting loyalty all wrong - and it’s costing you customers. But all is not lost!
The entire world is buzzing about AI, and that ain't changing anytime soon. But as AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives, what impact will it have on financial services and how people interact with them?
Regulation is essential. It stops banks from going bust or behaving badly.
Lending has been around for thousands of years and is one of the cornerstones of banking.
Mastercard and Visa are the two biggest credit card networks in the world.
We kick off our Decoding: Banks series with a look at the banking landscape today and how we got here.

David M. Brear, our 11:FS CEO, takes us through legacy technology within banks - but of course, with a really cool Lightboard.

There are one billion people globally who can't prove their identity. That's a big problem for accessing financial services.
Inclusive design is a mindset and a process that suggests that you should bring as many people as possible - and the most diverse of voices that you can - into your product design product process, so that you're being truly inclusive. It's designing with people rather that just at them. Charlotte Fereday, Product Director, Ventures, explains what inclusive design is, why it's important, how you can design more inclusively, and answers - how possible is truly inclusive design?
On this episode of Spotlight, 11:FS Crypto Global Strategy Director, Mauricio Magaldi is joined by Ramp Network Co-Founder and CEO, Szymon Sypniewicz. In today's chat, the pair discuss Szymon's career, the current regulatory landscape in crypto, and what the future might hold when it comes to widespread crypto adoption.

The UK banking battlefield has never been more competitive. Customers expectfinancial apps that are personalised, seamless, and that genuinely make a differenc...


The UK banking battlefield has never been more competitive. Customers expectfinancial apps that are personalised, seamless, and that genuinely make a differenc...

