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.
As we wrap up another rollercoaster year in fintech, 11:FS CEO David M. Brear is joined by some a panel of colleagues to talk about the biggest, best, and most outrageous happenings of 2023.
Benjamin Ensor and Rachel Pandyan are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: CaixaBank investing in 100-person team to work exclusively on GenAI, TikTok acquire Tokopedia following new social media laws, and Canapi launch a $750m VC fund to support fintechs.
L.F.G. Mauricio and Catherine bring you a deep dive into tokenised deposits on the blockchain. What they are, how they work and how they differ from CBDCs and stablecoins and the different ways to utilise each one. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!
David Barton-Grimley is joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Robinhood are coming to the UK... no, seriously this time, and Wise partner with Allica Bank to make cross-border payments easier for SMEs. Plus, if you're looking for a new family board game this year, head to your local Natwest branch.
David M. Brear is joined by financial services veteran, Ashok Vaswani, to discuss how he draws on his experience going forward and why he continues to put learning first.
Kate Moody is joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Chase announce the launch of new payroll tools, J.P. Morgan upgrade their licence in Abu Dhabi, and BNPL fuels a record-breaking Cyber Monday.
David M. Brear is joined by some great guests to take a closer look at that tricky balance between managing regulation without compromising innovation in financial services.
L.F.G. Today we bring you a deep dive into identity on the blockchain - how it differs in web3 from web2, the benefits and challenges and how you can own your own identity online. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!
Ross Gallagher and Rachel Pandyan are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Alphabet could be investing in Monzo, Revolut open bond trading to millions of customers, and The Rock has launched a debit card.
David M. Brear joined by some great guests to talk about the one year anniversary of ChatGPT, how banks is utilising AI in its products and services, and how fintech can support the continued innovation of AI in finance.
David M. Brear and Rachel Pandyan, are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: HSBC pulls out of new markets in a bid to double down in Asia; Chip reach first monthly profit, and is Klarna taking on Shopify as it changes up its business model.
L.F.G. Today we bring you our 200th episode!! For this very special landmark we will be taking a look at the future of bitcoin; the developments on the Lightning Network; and the impact building on the bitcoin infrastructure will have for the future of cryptocurrency and how we interact with it. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!
Ross Gallagher is joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Crowdcube acquires Semper, Adyen and Plaid team up in the US, OakNorth move into business banking, and N26 pulls out of Brazil.
Kate Moody is joined by some great guests to talk about how climate change is impacting fintechs, and how fintechs are supporting other businesses to achieve their climate goals.
David Barton-Grimley and Kate Moody are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: A joint venture from the biggest US banks launch digital wallet Paze, Atom Bank raise £100m in equity funding, Railsr are making a comeback, and Deutsche are closing nearly half of their branches.
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...