Europe

Lesley-Anne Vaughan, Director of MiLA Consulting and Co-Creator of M-PESA, Vodafone’s famed mobile money transfer service, has been dedicated to mobile money and mobile financial services in emerging markets since 2005. Here, she shares how M-PESA transformed from a microfinance product to a revolutionary service that’s changed Kenya’s infrastructure, increased financial inclusion, and earned the majority of the market for mobile money transfers.

The UK banking battlefield has never been more competitive. Customers expect financial apps that are personalised, seamless, and that genuinely make a difference — and they compare them not just to other banks, but to the best digital experiences in any industry. The margin for mediocrity is gone.

With so much noise about new market entrants in the SMB banking space, it’s easy to think your bank’s missed the boat and has to play catch-up. But that’s not necessarily the case.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has robo-advice on his mind. For him to be speaking about a nascent industry, he must believe that firms using technology to help manage people’s money will grow to become a significant part of the market. However, in his recent speech, he appears concerned about robo-advisors becoming a risk to our financial system, arguing they may lead to excess volatility or increase pro-cyclicality as a result of herding. Guest blogger Adam French, CEO of Scalable Capital, says this attack on robo-advice is misinformed for several reasons.

I was recently asked by a client: ‘how do I hire a design team?’

In the race to add as much functionality to mobile banking apps as possible, few banks are stepping back and thinking about the “little things” that will enhance the customer experience, such as re-vamped journeys and navigation. The newly released banking app from Nationwide Building Society, which automatically adapts to suit mobile and tablet screens, demonstrates that paying attention to the little things makes a big difference

Yesterday we saw Nationwide launch a new Savings Goal feature within its mobile banking app. It takes a different approach to savings, prompting customers to set a goal of the total amount of their savings account at a particular date.

Sarah Kocianski should be familiar to all of you now, she has hosted our three podcasts: Fintech Insider, Blockchain Insider, and Insurtech Insider, as well as penned many of our blog posts and reactions to major news in the fintech space. I had a chance to sit down with Sarah and talk to her about what makes her most passionate about fintech and what she believes needs to happen most in business.

I hope I am not about to shatter anyone’s egos here but this is something that has puzzled me for a long time; Why are most innovative banks outside the UK? So what’s the deal? The UK is the center of the FinTech world, on most people’s listings. We have the regulator who supports innovation and we have a blossoming design and technology pool to pluck talent from. So why I ask are UK banks the “also rans” of European banking innovation fronts? How can this be the case?

Do you remember where you were when you first spotted that hot coral card in the queue at a coffee shop? For me, it was early 2016. A short while after they’d changed their name from ‘Mondo’ but still early enough to feel like I was an ‘early adopter’. This is taken from our Unfiltered newsletter. Subscribe now for a no BS, uncensored analysis of fintech news and hot topics delivered to your inbox each fortnight.

11:FS CEO David M. Brear reached out to his followers on LinkedIn to ask for their thoughts on the following conundrum: what do you think the future operating model looks like for financial services and why?

Death. It's inevitable. It's also a financial nightmare most don't see coming. But what if you could save tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars during this grim process?

Our CEO, David Brear, talks everything PSD 2 for HotTopics. Legislation is usually brought in to reduce stupidity amongst individuals, or groups exhibiting behaviors that may cause harm. PSD 2 is no different in terms of its purpose and overall need to exist. The European Commission has tried to foster innovation and filter banks toward more inclusive ways of working. PSD, miData and a number of other “carrots” meant to foster innovation have been used with limited success. Banks have treated all of these as purely compliance driven; tick box exercises, and tend to deliver the bare minimum to meet legislation. With regulators and governments now losing patience with banks, we now have the “go to your room” moment; PSD 2.

It’s all very quiet. Almost too quiet for my liking. The UK banking system is under more stresses and strains than it has ever faced, but yet it is seemingly business as usual for many. The time is now upon us. Fundamentally, the decisions banks make in the next 24 months and the changes they implement in the next five years will define the industry’s winners and losers—period.