
At some point for every product, you’ll have gone through an initial period of exciting discovery. 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.

By Michael Douglas, Vice President, Strategy, Galileo

TL;DR None of the challenger banks use blockchain, the guy who’s leading the most popular smart contract platform (Ethereum) say’s it’s a bad idea. So, I mean read on…but. No, don’t use a blockchain or smart contracts for the love of god.

I’d like to start this by stating that Africa is not a monolith and for the purpose of this post, I’ll be zeroing in on the East and West African markets. 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.

It’s been an incredible year for fintech, but one thing’s for sure. 2019 is going to be an even wilder ride.

So about 350 days ago I made some predictions about how 2019 would shape up. Here I’ll break down how accurate, or not, I was. TL:DR - pretty damn accurate.

Niall Cameron joined David Brear on Fintech Insider to discuss HSBC, innovation and partnering with fintechs. We found out his views of how incumbents can best work alongside and partner with fintechs in the changing digital space:

As a uni student, it drove Ollie Purdue crazy that his bank couldn’t provide him with basic info to help manage his financial life. How much money was he likely to have at the end of the month? Could he cut back on work and have more fun – or did he need to increase his hours to pay the bills? At age 20, he founded Loot to create a better banking experience that used data in a smarter way. In episode 232 of FinTech Insider, Ollie, CEO of Loot, shares the story behind his company, including how he got bank execs to talk to him when he was still in school.

The 11:FS research team is in the midst of building out an internal platform that has some elements of gamification (and because we see a lot of products coming through our benchmarking tool 11:FS Pulse which make use of it), I’ve been spending a bit of time considering the topic.

Every Thursday, Leda Glyptis, 11:FS Chief of Staff creates #LedaWrites. This week she turns her attention to careers, indecision and the Venn diagram of doom.

I was recently asked whether digital transformations meant partnerships will become obsolete. In fact, I think quite the opposite - banks who don’t use partnerships will become obsolete.

If you’ve been listening to the news at all in the last few months, you’ve likely run across the term Open Banking – a lot. The internet is awash with articles, thought pieces, blogs, books and podcasts on Open Banking. It’s a full-time job keeping up with the latest trends and following the right people. That’s why at 11: FS we’ve put together the authoritative resource on Open Banking. Whether you’re new to Open Banking or a bonafide guru, we’ve cut through the noise to bring you the go-to guide.

Every Thursday, Leda Glyptis, 11:FS Chief of Staff creates #LedaWrites. This week she turns her attention to Wonder Woman, technology without heart and why love is key to innovation.

If you’re a banker, particularly a retail banker, last year was like the longest pre-fight build up we’ve ever seen. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will know that this year four new challenger banks will finally come to the UK market in the form of Monzo, Atom, Starling, and Tandem. They were the constant drum beat in the background while you were making your roadmaps and planning your transformations; the constant understanding that winter was coming.

Much has been written about how Open Banking has announced itself with more of a whimper than a bang, since going live at the beginning of 2018.

Sarah Kocianski and Adam Davis are joined by some returning guests to predict all the things that could happen in the fintech world in 2020!

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you predictions! Host Simon Taylor is joined by Mike Dudas and the pair are predicting all the things that could happen in the world of blockchain in 2020.

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you: a live panel from this year's Money20/20! We also have some incredible interviews with Asaf Meir, CEO at Solidus Labs and Max Boonen, CEO at B2C2.

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by some returning guests to predict all the things that could happen in the insurtech world in 2020!

David Brear and Simon Taylor are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: RBS to pay £40 million for foreign exchange rigging, WeLab raises $156 million ahead of virtual bank launch, and MasterCard launches mobile gift card ahead of Christmas. All this and much more on today's Fintech Insider News!

On this week's insights show, David Brear and Simon Taylor sit down to reminisce about the past 12 months of fintech. As always, they are joined by an incredible panel of guests and together they take a look back at 2019's most notable fintech stories.

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you: Bitfinex security drama, SEC slams fraudsters for Christmas, and yet another crypto Ponzi scheme. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

David Brear is in New York and is joined by Will White to host a stateside episode of the news show. They're joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Chime quadruples its valuation, Robinhood tops 10 million accounts and a man loses £193,000 to a one-digit sort code error. All this and much more on today's Fintech Insider News!

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you: Brave blasts past 10m active users, German banks banking on crypto in 2020, and what will Jack Dorsey find whilst living in Africa? All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you: Brave blasts past 10m active users, German banks banking on crypto in 2020, and what will Jack Dorsey find whilst living in Africa? All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

On the latest instalment of Insurtech Insider, hosts Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by a panel of insightful guests to talk through the intersection of wealth management and the insurance industry. All this and much much more on today's Insurtech Insider!

Simon Taylor and Adam Davis are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Natwest and RBS problems on Black Friday, Goldman puts the brakes on Marcus’ UK expansion and Roger Federer breaks the Swiss mint.

In this very special edition of Fintech Insider, David Brear, Simon Taylor, Sarah Kocianski and Jason Bates are joined by some great guests at the Revolut HQ for the latest instalment of After Dark. In the spirit of Christmas, join us as we journey through the past, present and future landscape of financial services!

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you an interview with Jamie Bartlett, co-writer and co-host of The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast.

Simon Taylor and David Brear are joined by a trio of terrific guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Plaid's European expansion, Westpac chief quits amid money laundering scandal and RBS' Bo moo-ves into the market. All this and much more on today's Fintech Insider News!

Banks are facing a lot of challenges compared to their fintech rivals.

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.

What does the future hold for lending? Live from Lendit USA 2022.
Will banks exist in 100 years?

In this episode of 11:FS Explores, Adam Davis picks apart Open Finance, and what we have to look forward to if this technology became a reality.
It's not just a buzzword.
On this episode of Spotlight, 11:FS Crypto Global Strategy Director, Mauricio Magaldi is joined by Ramp Network Co-Founder and CEO, Szymon Sypniewicz. In today's chat, the pair discuss Szymon's career, the current regulatory landscape in crypto, and what the future might hold when it comes to widespread crypto adoption.

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...

