
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.

With the move to remote recordings we've had some technical difficulties and, unfortunately, there won't be a Blockchain Insider episode this week. We return next week with more of the latest and greatest in blockchain, crypto and DLT news.

Sarah Kocianski and Leda Glyptis are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Interest rates plummet in the UK and US; contactless limits raised to combat COVID-19; and Bunq goes green all across Europe.

David Brear and Geoff Whitehouse are joined by some great guests to talk about the changing narratives around fintech in the media. Guests on today's show are Emily Nicolle, Tech Editor at City AM and Daniel Lanyon, Managing Editor at Altfi.

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by Aman Kohli and 11:FS' Simon Taylor to explore blockchain in the world of insurance. All this and much much more on today's Insurtech Insider!

David Brear and Jason Bates are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: the financial world responds to coronavirus; UK regulators delay non-critical activity because of coronavirus; and Nationwide opens early to serve the vulnerable.

In a very special edition of Fintech Insider, we bring you the 11th instalment of After Dark, recorded live in London! Returning to our roots, the original 11:FS crew take the stage to talk about some of the most interesting fintech stories of late and have a little rant about the latest fintech trends and topics.

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you: Cash is king once again, the Bank of England releases CBDC white paper, and MakerDAO faces an emergency shutdown. Simon Taylor hosts and is joined by Vinay Gupta, founder and CEO of Mattereum and Obi Nwosu, CEO of Coinfloor. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

Ross Gallagher 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 preps for coronavirus impacts, Standard Chartered detail virtual bank, and Starling joins Team GB!

Sarah Kocianski hosts today and is joined by some wonderful women in fintech to talk about gender, diversity and inclusivity in financial services. Guests on today's show are: Charlotte Crosswell - CEO at Innovate Finance, Wincie Wong - Head of Rose Review Implementation at Natwest, and Evelina Vrabie - CTO at Toucan.

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you: The US’ first regulated crypto bank, Shopify joins Libra and Sweden tests its e-krona. Simon Taylor hosts and is joined by Matthew Pollard, founder of Archax and Helen Disney, founder of Unblocked. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

Host Will White is stateside this week and he's joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Intuit to purchase Credit Karma in landmark deal, JPMorgan wants to build a digital bank in the UK, A hole in the wall is now a tourist hotspot!

Simon Taylor and Adam Davis are joined by some great guests to talk about big banks' earnings. Guests on today's show are Sharon Kimathi, Editor at Fintech Futures and Lianna Brinded, Head of Yahoo Finance UK.

David Brear and Sam Maule are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: JPMorgan sets data deadline for fintechs, Marcus proves popular in new poll, and celebs invest in immigrant credit company.

Jason Bates is joined by TransferWise CEO, Taavet Hinrikus and GoCardless CEO, Hiroki Takeuchi to talk about their new partnership and the future of cross-border payments.

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you: DeFi protocol hit by hackers, JP Morgan’s Quorum looks to merge with ConsenSys, and multiples M&A moves in the crypto world. Today's guests include: Ed Cooper - Revolut, Michael Coletta - London Stock Exchange Group, Rhain Lewis - London Womon in Bitcoin, and Aman Kohli - DXC. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

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...

