Financial wellbeing

Tottenham Hotspur are completely cashless (and trophyless) at their new stadium. Lionel Messi has launched the ‘Messiverse’ in partnership with blockchain platform Ethernity. Manchester City and Laybuy have teamed up to offer a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) service to fans. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

We’ve recently made an amazing hire at 11:FS to be our new Chief of Staff, in the digital era that’s huge news and here’s why.

Despite the global economic climate, a lot of banks and fintechs have dipped their toes into the crypto waters in recent months.

Tucked away in a small corner of the WeWork offices in Aldgate Tower, I sat down with Ross Gallagher. Financial inclusion is the touchstone on financial products for Ross. Regular host of the Fintech Insider podcast with a history in financial services consulting and research. Ross is known around the office as a tupperware fiend and always up for a laugh but as with many people who work for 11:FS he has a real passion for finance and financial inclusion in particular.

A couple of weeks ago I went into an overpriced London salad shop for lunch. Before I could part with my hard-earned money for some wilted spinach and avocado, the connection on the iPad I was ordering on went down.

It’s happening. After months of ‘will they, won’t they’, Monzo is heading Stateside.

In a recent report EY point out that the big advantage the UK has in “Fintech” is it’s progressive policy from Government and Regulators. This post examines the latest policy the regulatory sandbox; to understand how it might work, what companies entering it need to know, and how other jurisdictions could repeat the trick. Can it help financial services be a bit more awesome?

Recently, Nick Miller, Senior Ventures Strategist at 11:FS, published an article on why ESG investing is broken. If you haven't already, go and give it a read before you dive into this one.

They say time is money, right? Well, what about time to money – how long it takes for money to be available for you to use.

As part of the editorial process for Fintech Insider we review a lot of stories and see how media outlets report on challenger banks. Some recent pieces had the distinct feel of unhappy incumbent bankers lobbying hard to change the narrative.

This article was originally published in February 2021. In light of a looming cost-of-living crisis, soaring inflation and spiralling interest rates, we feel it’s more relevant now than ever. So, after a bit of tinkering, we’ve republished it. Enjoy.

2020 has seen plenty of fintech M&A - LendingClub buying Radius Bank, Intuit acquiring Credit Karma and of course with Visa buying Plaid. You might think the current crisis would reduce activity but it could create more opportunities.

If I’d told you six months ago that you could guarantee an affordable electricity supply for your home, you wouldn’t have cared.

The digital banking scene in Southeast Asia is hot right now. Over the past two years, it’s experienced some rapid changes. Changing regulations have triggered a mass of new players entering the market.