
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.

Digital Banking is only 1% Finished. That’s our motto at 11:FS. You can see it plastered across everything we do, we talk about it at events, and it’s in all of our client work. Taking a paper statement to the telephone, to a website and then a mobile app isn’t where digital banking ends; it’s where it begins. Digital Banking having 99% to go is a statement of optimism, of opportunity and its how you differentiate, as consumer expectations will only grow in the coming years.

On 1st August at approximately 12:20 UTC, the cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin formally began a process to fork – or split into two- creating Bitcoin Cash, a new currency. It is unclear exactly what the implications of this will be in the long term but here’s a summary of what we know so far:

It’s about trust. Why do banks insist on having everything? Because they think if they only insist on some, they’ll never get the rest.

Fintech is technology used in the financial services industry, insurtech is technology used in a subset of that industry, insurance. And yet while one is typically considered fascinating, worthy of pages of mainstream media coverage, mention of the other is often greeted with eye-rolling outside of specialist circles.

Sarah Kocianski and Ross Gallagher are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Vivid Money launches digital banking services in Germany; the pandemic savings surge forces Goldman to shut Marcus to new UK clients; and Islamic finance startup Wahed closes $25M funding round to grow their Saudi Arabia hub.

Sarah Kocianski is joined by some great guests from Equinix, Mastercard and RTGS to discuss the long-term business transformation and the need for agile infrastructure in financial services organisations in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Leda Glyptis and Simon Taylor are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: Financial services community take a stand in support of Black Lives Matter; Starling and Marqeta’s new raises; and TrueLayer team up with the UK Government on Open Banking.

Adam Davis and Sarah Kocianski are joined by some great guests to discuss open finance - what it is, how is could work and what learnings it could take from open banking, with an expert panel of guests from Plaid, RBS and the OBIE.

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by a panel of guests to talk through the latest news in the insurtech and insurance world including drones for the NHS and some big funding rounds despite COVID-19!

Sam Maule and David Brear are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting US news stories of the last 7 days, including: Shopify’s many new announcements and move into fintech; Bank of America leak exposes business details of PPP relief applicants as applications across the board decline; and Animal Crossing offers new ways for people to make money in lockdown.

Sam Maule is joined by Arlan Hamilton, founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital to talk VC funding, underrepresented founders and her new book It's About Damn Time.

David Brear and Simon Taylor are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: The challenges facing challenger banks in the current climate, Freetrade’s record-breaking raise and PayPal sees a rise in 'silver tech' as older generations test digital payments for the first time. All this and much more on today's episode!

Jason Bates and Simon Taylor are joined by 3 great guests to talk about digital identity. What do we mean by digital identity, and how does it differ around the world? Listen on to find out!

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by a panel of guests to talk about customer loyalty in insurance and how companies can work to build a lasting relationship with their client base. All this and much much more on today's Insurtech Insider!

Sarah Kocianski and Adam Davis are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: A round up of the pandemic and financial aid stories on both sides of the pond; Sofi and Samsung Pay team up for a debit card; and Mastercard's massive new pledge for financial inclusion.

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you: a fantastic interview is Yuval Rooz, CEO of Digital Asset and an announcement from host Simon Taylor.

Simon Taylor 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 closes Bó, big banks book $50bn against bad loans in the wake of corona, and a round-up of the more international stories of the week.

Sarah Kocianski and Nigel Walsh are joined by a panel of guests to talk through the latest and greatest news in the insurance space which are heavily focussed on Covid-19 and the insurance industry this week!

Simon Taylor and Adam Davis are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the last 7 days, including: 100% backed business loans; big banks results are in and corona is hitting their profit margins hard and even Animal Crossing's Bank of Nook is slashing its interest rates in an unwelcome reflection of the real world.

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?
It's not just a buzzword.
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.

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...

