
If you listened to the headlines, you'd think the competitive race in financial services is about one thing: building the smartest AI. We think that's the wrong way to look at it.
Barclays is acquiring the UK arm of GoHenry, a money app for 6 to 18-year olds. With a reported price tag of £180 million for around 500,000 active accounts, £360 per head is a chunky investment.

Financial services should be designing products and services that help buyers understand all of the costs involved in their end-to-end financial journey before committing.

For the past decade, the banking industry has been focused on developing frictionless interfaces. Financial institutions have prioritised seamless transactions, instant gratification, and engaging gamified features in a bid to build the ultimate digital financial experience.

The need for better, tailored support through the customer experience is clear, but few are accounting for the fundamental shift that financial services has experienced with the introduction of AI.
As the Saudi fintech market matures, a new challenge is emerging. Most fintech interactions, whether payments, BNPL, or other services, remain fundamentally transactional.

When a customer reaches checkout today, they may get a choice to pay now, split the cost, or move it into credit. That is a very different starting point from the old model of applying for credit in advance.

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.

The people using business banking tools don’t necessarily have financial backgrounds. Many smaller businesses can't afford a dedicated finance team. Yet banks keep building products that assume expertise their customers don't have, leaving them to figure things out on their own.

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.

Around the world, people have instant, around-the-clock access to banking apps and their own financial data. So why do so many people still feel uncertain about their financial future?

As the industry adjusts to a new digital landscape, players across the spectrum are fighting to muscle their way into the financial epicentre and ‘win’ the salary battle to become the payday home of their customers.

Saving money and paying bills might not sound exciting - but today’s finance apps are borrowing tricks from video games to change that.

David Brear is joined by a panel of experts from Cleo, Feedzai and Starling Bank to look at how financial services need to adapt to the changes brought by AI, where it can have the most influence and where the human touch is still needed.

Kate Moody is joined by some great guests, from 11:FS, ClearEstate, and PensionBee, to look at the financial services aimed at customers over 60.

PayPal launches stablecoin, Apple announces $10 billion in deposits, and Drake launches Shopify mansion – Kate Moody and Ross Gallagher are joined by some great guests, from Fiat Republic and Knot API, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

David M. Brear is joined by some great guests from Visa, Chipper Cash, and DJAMO, to discuss the evolution and further potential of mobile money in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Benjamin Ensor is joined by some great guests, from 11:FS, Innovate Finance, and TwentyOne to talk about the biggest lessons for financial services in the first half of 2023.

Kate Moody is joined by some great guests, from 11:FS, Nationwide, and Plum, to discuss how banks and fintechs can shape how customers manager their finances.

Benjamin Ensor is joined by some great guests, from Atom Bank, Coastal Community Bank, and Vexi to talk about the value of trust to financial services.

Kate Moody joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Super.com’s $85M raise for a super app for savings; Could First Republic be the next SVB as the US scrambles to save it; and Klarna roll out a suite of AI-enabled personalisation tools for shoppers and merchants.

Benjamin Ensor is joined by some great guests, from Branch, Iwoca, and Treyd, to look at the opportunities and challenges of opportunities of specialised offerings for small and medium-sized businesses.

Our expert host, David Barton-Grimley, is joined by a fantastic guest from Airwallex to continue exploring the connected nature of travel and financial services in APAC.

Benjamin Ensor and Kate Moody are joined by some great guests, Bridge built by Citi and Seattle Bank, to look at the challenges and opportunities for community banks in America.

Love Island's Sharon Gaffka teams up with FCA in clampdown on influencers, Visa partners PayPal for interoperable P2P payments, and Verto picks up a quarter of Silicon Valley Bank customers in Africa – Ross Gallagher and Benjamin Ensor are joined by some great guests, from Verto and CCG Catalyst, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

Ross Gallagher is joined by some great guests, from the Aspen Institute, GoCardless, and Lowell, to discuss how innovations can improve the reputation of the industry of debt.

David M. Brear is joined by some great guests, from Visa, YouTrip, and Revolut, to focus the connected nature of travel and financial services in APAC.

Benjamin Ensor is joined by some great guests, from Global Ventures, Novo, OakNorth Bank, and Spiralem, to look at the business banking options and challenges for small and medium-sized businesses across the world.
It's not just a buzzword.
11:FS CEO David M. Brear takes to the lightboard to give us the full run-down, with examples of companies that are leading the way.

There’s no one-size-fits-all design proposition for the Middle-East. While emergent markets such as Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain are all seeking to diversify their economies...
Just what is going on with Buy Now, Pay Later right now?

There are one billion people globally who can't prove their identity. That's a big problem for accessing financial services.

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...

