
It is the nature of finance that, at its core, is risk.

Here at 11:FS we’re big on transparency and letting you know what’s going on in our company. We’ve recently made a huge hire to be our COO and we couldn’t be more excited about it.

I was at a big bank’s conference the other day and was intrigued at how often the subject of cryptocurrencies and bitcoin came up.

Of course, these are our top 3 blogs of 2018. We took a look at the data, talked amongst ourselves about which ones we liked best and came up with the best blogs we’ve put out this year.

Disclaimer: Yes the piece is entirely structured around the lyrics of a Pulp song. Yes, we take requests.

I do not profess to be, as way too many in the tech industry do today, a blockchain guru or subject matter expert. I leave that designation to 11:FS co-founder Simon Taylor. Simon is the MacGyver of the blockchain community. Give him a stapler, a can of Bud Lite, Duct Tape, and a flashlight, and he will somehow concoct a DLT smart contract solution for a client. A solution that can actually be delivered and that addresses a real business case.

Simon Taylor interviewed block.one CEO and CTO Brendan Blumer and Daniel Larimer at Blockchain Live, to find out more about what block.one does and their new project, EOS that achieved $50omillion in fundraising.

One of the biggest challenges when building new digital financial services is creating a winning feature set. Spending categorisation, budgeting tools, carbon footprint-tracking — these features are everywhere in the financial services apps that we use every day.

Sarah Kocianski sits down with the CEO of Oakam, Frederic Nze to talk about financial inclusion, tackling financial exclusion, the alternative to doorstep lending, and the underbanked.Listen to the full interview here or click play below, otherwise read on for a quick take on what was said.

In a beautiful flat on the edge of San Francisco’s sun-kissed Inner Sunset neighbourhood, the inimitable Sam Maule invited a plethora of fintech experts over for dinner. Across two evenings in the run up to our After Dark San Francisco show, Sam serves up chilli, tacos, and foodie fintech insights. You can listen to them here and here. Disclaimer: The food was actually cooked by Ollie Judge, Head of Media at 11:FS.

At 11:FS, we spend a lot of time looking at next-generation mobile trends and technology. Every now and again we come across a product or feature that just blows us away. It can be as simple as a smart integration with another product or as complicated as a whole app that’s powered by bleeding edge technology.

“Thank you to the Academy…” Sure. Classic Oscar speech energy.But do you know what hits harder than a polite golf clap from a panel of judges? Winning when your actual customers vote. And that’s what happened at the 2025 British Bank Awards, where 11:FS was named Consultancy of the Year. Again! 2019. 2020. 2021. 2023. And now 2025.

In her latest column for Forbes, 11:FS Head of Research Sarah Kocianski examines the new set of authentication procedures and how they are being implemented by UK banks.

11:FS are pleased to announce that Lisa Gansky joined us as a Non-Executive Director, on 3rd July 2017.

As a designer, it’s an all too familiar scenario: you’re about to undertake work on an exciting new digital product or service. It has the potential to have it all, only for you to be handed what all product designers dread - the existing constraints of a rigid and outdated brand playbook. It can certainly feel like a crushing blow. But approached in the correct manner, these constraints can be transformed into an opportunity to take both the product and the brand to the next level.

Apple launches savings account, JROC lays out Open Banking roadmap, and Game of Thrones stars challenge big banks over fossil fuel links – Ross Gallagher and Benjamin Ensor are joined by some great guests, from Yonder and Open Finance Association, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

Benjamin Ensor and Kate Moody are joined by some great guests, Bridge built by Citi and Seattle Bank, to look at the challenges and opportunities for community banks in America.

Love Island's Sharon Gaffka teams up with FCA in clampdown on influencers, Visa partners PayPal for interoperable P2P payments, and Verto picks up a quarter of Silicon Valley Bank customers in Africa – Ross Gallagher and Benjamin Ensor are joined by some great guests, from Verto and CCG Catalyst, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

Ross Gallagher is joined by some great guests, from the Aspen Institute, GoCardless, and Lowell, to discuss how innovations can improve the reputation of the industry of debt.

EL. EF. GEE. Today we bring you: First zkEVM goes live on Ethereum, a recap on USDC/SVB, and Coinbase’s SEC Wells notice. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

Crowdcube and Octopus Investments opening up retail investments, Apple Pay Later is finally launching, and Twitter changes logo to Dogecoin cryptocurrency image – Ross Gallagher is joined by some great guests, from Crowdcube, Fintech Business Weekly, and The Fintech Times, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

Benjamin Ensor is joined by some great guests, from Global Ventures, Novo, OakNorth Bank, and Spiralem, to look at the business banking options and challenges for small and medium-sized businesses across the world.

Silicon Valley Bank bought by rival, Klarna plugs ChatGPT into its platform, and Latitude Financial records stolen in cyber attack – David M. Brear and Kate Moody are joined by some great guests, from CFIT and first direct, live on stage in London to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services.

David M. Brear is joined by some great guests, from Stonehaven LLC, National Bank of Canada, and Anthemis, to discuss the various funding options for fintechs and startups.

UBS is buying Credit Suisse in bid to halt banking crisis, FCA warns payment firms over ‘unacceptable risk of harm to customers’, and Stripe now valued at $50B following $6.5B raise – Ross Gallagher and Kate Moody are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

David M. Brear is joined by some great guests, from 11:FS, Google, and Weavr, to discuss how cloud services and FinOps as a practice can help financial services in these economically difficult times.

EL. EF. GEE. Today we bring you: a closer look at the global state of crypto, exploring how the past few years have shaped this sector, what developments are currently fostering adoption, and as always - what we hope to see in the near future!. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

Silicon Valley Bank closed by regulators, HSBC buys Silicon Valley Bank's UK unit for £1, and Succession's Logan Roy comes to the London Stock Exchange – Kate Moody and Benjamin Ensor are joined by some great guests, from Innovate Finance and Fintech Takes, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

EL. EF. GEE. Today, Mauricio Magaldi joins David M. Brear and some great guests, from Chamber of Progress and the House of Lords, for this Fintech insider and Blockchain Insider crossover episode!

Hey, banks! This might sting a bit. You’re getting loyalty all wrong - and it’s costing you customers. But all is not lost!
The entire world is buzzing about AI, and that ain't changing anytime soon. But as AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives, what impact will it have on financial services and how people interact with them?
Ever wanted to know what’s going on behind the scenes every time we make a payment?
Regulation is essential. It stops banks from going bust or behaving badly.
The invention of the computer revolutionised banking in the 1950s.
Lending has been around for thousands of years and is one of the cornerstones of banking.
They're down, but they're not certainly not out.
Mastercard and Visa are the two biggest credit card networks in the world.
We kick off our Decoding: Banks series with a look at the banking landscape today and how we got here.

David M. Brear, our 11:FS CEO, takes us through legacy technology within banks - but of course, with a really cool Lightboard.

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...

