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.
This December 2020 cover of The New Yorker has been praised for perfectly capturing the zeitgeist of the time. Of the completely bizarre year we didn’t see coming. The illustrator draws on the mundane everyday to create an image that resonates so well with the magazine’s varied readers.
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.
In a recent report EY point out that the big advantage the UK has in “Fintech” is it’s progressive policy from Government and Regulators. This post examines the latest policy the regulatory sandbox; to understand how it might work, what companies entering it need to know, and how other jurisdictions could repeat the trick. Can it help financial services be a bit more awesome?
Recently, Nick Miller, Senior Ventures Strategist at 11:FS, published an article on why ESG investing is broken. If you haven't already, go and give it a read before you dive into this one.
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.
This week on Fintech Insider News David, Jason and Simon were joined by Innovate Finance’s Sophie Winwood and making his Fintech Insider debut, Banking Editior at The Economist, Patrick Lane, to tackle the latest news from the last week. Listen to the episode in full here or play and read below
I think I speak for a lot of people when I say - homework is crap. Evenings after school are for watching Takeshi’s Castle, not studying Pythagoras’ theorem.
As part of the editorial process for Fintech Insider we review a lot of stories and see how media outlets report on challenger banks. Some recent pieces had the distinct feel of unhappy incumbent bankers lobbying hard to change the narrative.
You may have heard of Marcus, it’s been kind of a big deal. But why and how? We recently sat down with Boe Hartman, CTO at Marcus by Goldman Sachs, to get the inside story.
Fintechs regularly provide updates on how many customers they have. Motivations for doing so are varied — garnering headlines, proving naysayers wrong, or right, keeping investors happy and so on. More interestingly, they also have a variety of definitions of “customer” that are not always clear.
I think we can all accept that clear customer insight, the right business drivers, market opportunities, etc. should inform great proposition design.
If there’s one region that’s been bookmarked by every 2024 predictions list in terms of innovation and investment, it’s the Middle East. And as the region emerges as a fintech hotspot, its unique commitment to Islamic finance is drawing attention.
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!

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by some amazing guests to talk through digital transformation in the insurance industry.

Simon Taylor is joined by some great guests to talk about the growth and impact of banking as a service on financial services in the US. This week we're joined by Railsbank, Marqueta and Synapse.

Sarah Kocianski and Jason Bates are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Railsbank in talks to buy Wirecard UK, JPMorgan to [possibly] launch a UK digital challenger bank by 2021 and the UK's 800% surge of open banking payments during lockdown. All this and much more on today's show.

This week we bring you our first-ever, Truly Digital After Dark! In the sound of the times, we have not only turned our fantastic After Dark show Truly Digital, but we also bring you insights as to how digital is currently shaping the financial industries!

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by a panel of guests to talk through the latest news in the insurance and insurtech space!

Simon Taylor and David Brear are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: fintech funding as Robinhood’s valuation grows… again! In the UK Form3 and Habito get funding and BCR Pool E is awarded, and Citi accidentally Paid $900M Paid In Error to Revlon and now they want it back. All this and much more on today's show

Simon Taylor is joined by some great guests from two of the biggest banking as a service providers from both sides of the Atlantic, GPS and Galileo, to lift the lid on this industry niche that's blowing up right now

Simon Taylor is joined by some great guests to talk about the growth and impact of digital banking in the APAC region, with a special focus on Australia.

Simon Taylor and Ross Gallagher are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Robinhood abandons its UK launch amid criticism of their platform; Klarna reins in their lockdown lending and Monzo re-launch their Plus product.

Sarah Kocianski is joined by some great guests to talk about the development of digital payments and the global shift towards cashless payment solutions.

Simon Taylor is joined by some great guests to discuss how the financial landscape of Africa is changing and the ways in which fintechs are playing their part.

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by a panel of guests to talk through LGBT+ and insurance. What is the state of diversity and inclusion in the industry and what specific products is there available for the LGBT+ community? All this and much much more on today's Insurtech Insider!

Simon Taylor and David Brear are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: the Wirecard scandal continues to unfold and UK fintechs get swept up in its wake, and we speak to some of the companies directly affected, Chime launch a credit card, and Galileo offers everyone the chance to launch a credit card.

Sam Maule is joined by some great guests to talk about credit scoring for US immigrants. What are the problems US immigrants might face when trying to build up a credit score once they've arrived in North America?

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.
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.
It's not just a buzzword.

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...

