
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.

Today, Coinbase has got them self in some trouble after allegations that their staff may or may not have 'taken advantage' of Bitcoin Cash being launched on their platform, Mark Carney warns that crypto-assets must face similar regulatory scrutiny as financial markets and UK Shadow Home Secretary Dianne Abbott calls Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme? We also bring you a great interview with non other than Ethereum and Consesys founder Joe Lubin!

On today's episode we were joined by a plethora of insurance wizards to discuss Connected homes. Zurich head of market management Arslan Hannani, Cocoon co-founder Colin Richardson, PolicyCastle co-founder Kristian Feldborg and Fing head of business development Patrizia Cozzoli. How are IOT and data going to change a fragmented retail market with regards to insurance?

In this week's news show we had representation from both sides of the Atlantic as Nina Mohanty, Doug Bobenhouse and Valentina Kristensen joined new host Ross Gallagher in his first rodeo in the hosting seat, and Simon Taylor to discuss the week's biggest stories.

Today we bring you an interview with CEO of BrainTribe Stefan Ebner. BrainTribe aim to create the open source operating system for data, enabling a world of data democracy and mass innovation.

This week we had great news from both sides of the Atlantic, lots of team ups and partnerships plus some of the sillier crypto stories we've seen Taking on all of this along side host Simon Taylor were Megan Caywood, Chief Platform Officer at Starling; Edward Berks - Director of Banking, Fintech & Ecosystem at Xero, and our very own Ross Gallagher, Principal Consultant in our 11:FS Research Team.

In this episode Simon Taylor chairs a round table discussion on financial inclusion, based around Tech City UK's Fintech For All competition, and he's joined by the winner, event sponsors and event organisers.

Simon and Colin discuss the Whitehouse holding off on Bitcoin regulation, Ellen Degeneres explaining Bitcoin, Telegram's ICO money and much, much more. We also bring you an interview with Patrick Berarducci and Matt Corva from Consensys about Brooklyn Project.

In this very special show, we let our sister podcast Blockchain Insider takeover the mics, as Simon Taylor leads a roundtable focusing on blockchain and insurance and the different opportunities and ways of thinking that can be tapped into using smart contracts and DLT, while co-host Colin G Platt interviews Stephan Karpischek, Co-founder of Etherisc, who are building decentralized insurance applications.

In this episode, we bring you our fourth After Dark special, recorded in front of a live audience as Jason and Simon are joined by Niall Cameron, Ross Gallagher, Sarah Kocianski and Valentina Kristensen to discuss the week's biggest and silliest stories.

In this episode Simon is joined by Sara Feenan in place of Colin this week to cover the week's top stories and we have a fantastic interview from Blythe Masters, CEO of Digital Asset.

In this episode, Simon and Jason are joined by Chris Skinner, Tanya Andreasyan, Kristian Luoma and Cliff Evans, to take on the week’s top stories.

In this episode, Simon, Colin and guest Sara Feenan dissect the week's news and we have a fantastic interview from Jameson Lopp!

In this week's episode we focus on the Sharing and Gig Economies and changing insurance models as a result. We also chat to co-founders Mike Rudoy & Luke Cohler from New York based start-up, Jetty.

In this episode, Simon Taylor speaks to Scott O'Malia, CEO of ISDA, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association

In this week's episode, Jason, Simon and David are joined by 11:FS Research team's Ross Gallagher, Capco's Charlie Wood and Fluidly CEO Caroline Plumb.

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...

