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

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.