Customer research, user testing and feedback loops for FS products.

Blockchain is a growing space that everyone wants to get into, and not just companies, potential employees too. So how do you get a job in blockchain? Simon Taylor interviewed specialist recruiter for the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, Zeth Couceiro for Blockchain Insider Episode 6.

I wrote about the underbanked phenomenon in Eastern Europe a few weeks ago. Mainly I talked about which basic services are used, not used, and why.

While chatting with my grandma on my annual trip to Romania this year, I had an epiphany. She is underbanked! So is my mom, uncle, cousin, and neighbour - you get the gist.

I recently sat down with Rhian Lewis, co-founder of Count My Crypto and Sara Walker from IG to discuss which cryptocurrencies could come close to bitcoin. Take a look at some of the points we covered below, or head over to IG to watch the full interview.

The AI revolution is reshaping financial services with the force of a category-five hurricane. The seismic shifts it’s creating are palpable, with generative AI standing at the forefront of this transformation.

Once upon a time, social media and finance apps might’ve seemed like strange bedfellows.

COP 27 came and went last month. It’s now time to look back at what happened and what still needs to happen. What can the climate fintech industry in particular reflect and iterate on as we head into 2023?

Around the globe, millions are feeling the pinch as the cost-of-living crisis continues. The biggest fall in living standards since records began is forecast in the UK, while inflation rates are starting to cool after a tumultuous year across the pond.

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.

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.

A couple of weeks ago I went into an overpriced London salad shop for lunch. Before I could part with my hard-earned money for some wilted spinach and avocado, the connection on the iPad I was ordering on went down.