How are banks and fintechs planning for a digital future.

One of the phrases you often encounter when reading things about mental health is "It's OK to not be OK." Whilst I get the sentiment, as someone who has been there, it really isn't OK. It sucks.

We all employ a user-centred design (UCD) approach to inform what products we build and how they should work, but all that customer insight gives us one oft-overlooked learning: the actual language customers use to speak about their problems.

Did you know that when they’re not dishing up masterly analysis, everyone’s favourite web3 wizards - 11:FS Global Strategy Director, Crypto Mauricio Magaldi and Visa Head of Crypto Cuy Sheffield - like to dabble in a spot of divination? I know, right?!

As I sit here trying to write something strictly about fintech, there’s only one thing on my mind: how important it is to have an employer that truly values pregnant employees.

Tottenham Hotspur are completely cashless (and trophyless) at their new stadium. Lionel Messi has launched the ‘Messiverse’ in partnership with blockchain platform Ethernity. Manchester City and Laybuy have teamed up to offer a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) service to fans. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Despite the global economic climate, a lot of banks and fintechs have dipped their toes into the crypto waters in recent months.

You don’t have to spend much time in retail banking before you come across legacy systems - a catch-all term often used to explain why banks are so slow and unresponsive.

I recently heard someone suggest that ‘insurance is just like gambling.’ Bit of a stretch, but I could see their point. Both are fundamentally risk-based, and it raised an interesting question - do you ever really ‘win’ in insurance?

Tucked away in a small corner of the WeWork offices in Aldgate Tower, I sat down with Ross Gallagher. Financial inclusion is the touchstone on financial products for Ross. Regular host of the Fintech Insider podcast with a history in financial services consulting and research. Ross is known around the office as a tupperware fiend and always up for a laugh but as with many people who work for 11:FS he has a real passion for finance and financial inclusion in particular.

When launching a new product or improving an existing one, it's tempting for product teams to look at competitors as a starting point. But if the goal is to launch a proposition that truly solves your customers' problems, do you even need to look at your competitors in the first place?

This is the second article in a three-part series on how fintech for good (FFG) is helping people and the planet. The first touched on consumer behaviour. If you missed it, check it out here.

As the saying goes, “success breeds success”. And one of the things that’s interesting in our industry is the alumni of fintechs going on to do great things. It’s no coincidence - there’s a bit of a pattern emerging: The founders of some of the most successful startups of today cut their teeth at the biggest fintechs of yesterday.

It’s happening. After months of ‘will they, won’t they’, Monzo is heading Stateside.

At this point we can all agree that the financial market as a whole has gone through a period of lows. Paired with increased inflation (even in developed countries), and the US confirming a recession, things seem to have really taken a turn for the worse - the so-called bear market.

They say time is money, right? Well, what about time to money – how long it takes for money to be available for you to use.