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.

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?

Sam Maule is joined by some great guests to talk about PPP lending during the COVID-19 pandemic. On today's show we are taking a look at the process from the lenders perspective!

Sam Maule is joined by some great guests to discuss the state of the underbanked in the US and how COVID-19 is affecting this group of underserved people.

Sarah Kocianski and Ross Gallagher are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Vivid Money launches digital banking services in Germany; the pandemic savings surge forces Goldman to shut Marcus to new UK clients; and Islamic finance startup Wahed closes $25M funding round to grow their Saudi Arabia hub.

Sarah Kocianski is joined by some great guests from Equinix, Mastercard and RTGS to discuss the long-term business transformation and the need for agile infrastructure in financial services organisations in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Adam Davis and Sarah Kocianski are joined by some great guests to discuss open finance - what it is, how is could work and what learnings it could take from open banking, with an expert panel of guests from Plaid, RBS and the OBIE.

Sam Maule and David Brear are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting US news stories of the last 7 days, including: Shopify’s many new announcements and move into fintech; Bank of America leak exposes business details of PPP relief applicants as applications across the board decline; and Animal Crossing offers new ways for people to make money in lockdown.

Jason Bates and Simon Taylor are joined by 3 great guests to talk about digital identity. What do we mean by digital identity, and how does it differ around the world? Listen on to find out!

Sarah Kocianski and Adam Davis are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: A round up of the pandemic and financial aid stories on both sides of the pond; Sofi and Samsung Pay team up for a debit card; and Mastercard's massive new pledge for financial inclusion.

Sam Maule is joined by some great guests to talk about US SMBs - not specifically about their fight for funding in the wake of Covid-19 this time - but their options when it comes to banking more broadly, and how to design digital financial services that work for them.

Simon Taylor and Sarah Kocianski are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: RBS closes Bó, big banks book $50bn against bad loans in the wake of corona, and a round-up of the more international stories of the week.

Sam Maule is joined by John Pitts, Policy Lead, and Niko Karvounis Product Lead at Plaid to talk all things data, customer driven innovation, their European expansion and much more.
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...

