
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.

Yesterday (1st February) was Time to Talk Day, a day dedicated to mental health awareness, and opening up the conversation around it in the aim of removing the stigma. In conjunction with this, Simon Taylor chaired a panel discussing Financial Services and Mental Health with James Routledge form Mental Health foundation Sanctus, and finance experts, Jo Ann Barefoot, Nick Cook and Ghela Boskovitch.

Sam Maule is joined by Kabbage co-founder Kathryn Petralia, payments guru Ginger Schmeltzer and Worldplay's VC of innovation Joe Kleinwaechter to discuss Atlanta's Fintech scene and payments!

Simon Taylor, David M. Brear and Jason Bates are joined by The Economist banking editor Patrick Lane & Innovate Finance's very own Sophie Winwood to discuss the war for talent between the Fintech and Banking worlds.

Founded 15 years ago, Avoka offer banks and financial companies customer-centric digital transformation through various acquisition products. Derek talks us through the business, his unique job title and how Avoka are working with legacy core banking systems to transform customer experience.

After the fallout from the crypto bloodbath last week, Simon and Colin discuss how regulators continue to monitor these monumental price spikes and subsequent dumps. We also bring you interviews with bitFlyer's CEO and founder Yuzo Kano and COO Andy Bryant

Simon Taylor was joined by a superstar panel including 11:FS Asset Management lead Pete Townsend, Scalable Capital CEO Adam French, Nutmeg CIO Shaun Port and Calastone CCO Jon Willis as they discussed investment for future generations.

Today our wonderful guest host Sarah Kocianski leads us into a great discussion all about autonomous vehicles and changing insurance models.

Simon Taylor and Colin G Platt discuss the crypto bloodbath we're currently witnessing, Kraken returning as well as bringing you interviews with two Ryan's, Blockstack founder Ryan Shea and the Two Bit Idiot & international man of mystery himself Ryan Selkis.

Simon Taylor is joined by Pete Townsend, Chris Mills and Zeynep Meric-Smith to discuss where asset management is heading for in 2018.

In this episode David and Jason were joined by colleagues Pete Townsend and Ross Gallagher (making his Fintech Insider debut), from our Pulse and Research Team, to tackle the latest news from the last week, alongside regular guests Sarah Kocianski and Charlie Wood. Regulatory based news unsurprisingly steals the limelight, however we also bring you that outrageous Kodak stock rise as well as and an interview with Claudia Bate- Author of "The Fads, The Fears and The Future" where overhyped trends and technologies are discussed.

Simon Taylor and Colin G Platt discuss Ripple's monumental rise, Bitconnect and an interview with Ville Sointu from Nordea.

Simon Taylor heads up an insights show focusing on wealth management, what it is and how it differs from asset management. He is joined by special guests Joe Parkin, Gemma Godfrey, Phil Smith, Olivia Vinden & Gareth Johnson.

We kick off 2018 with an all 11:FS cast as Simon Taylor, David M. Brear, Andra Sonea & Benedict Shegog discuss this weeks top news including upcoming regulation and the impact of open banking.

In the first show of 2018 Simon Taylor and Colin G Platt bring you the week's news, plus an interview with Coindesk's Peter Rizzo.

As it's the Christmas break we are not here this week, so instead of the usual news overview we're giving you an interview-only special show, featuring Tim Swanson and Somil Goya from new smart contracts start up Adjoint.

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...

