
Last week I spoke to friends of 11:FS to discover the 11 stupidest things banks do. It was more popular than any of us expected. It even compelled 11:FS Co-Founder, Simon Taylor to write a love letter to the big banks telling them how they can do better. Here at 11:FS we felt like maybe we’d been a little harsh on our incumbent friends. So, I decided to write another list, reaching out to both the wider fintech community and all our followers to find out the 11 stupidest things fintechs say and do.

Here at 11:FS we talk a lot about how Digital Banking is only 1% Finished, jobs to be done, and many other topics on how big banks get things wrong. But sometimes just hearing the theory isn’t enough. So I spoke to bankers, insiders, fintechers, associates, customers, and researchers – all anonymously – who have given me swathes of real world examples of the stupid shit banks do. Here’s the 11 best…or worst, depending on how you want to see it. This list took a fair while to compile so if you’ve got something you want to add send me a message and maybe we’ll do a part two.

The wait was finally over. Game day arrived. The Big One. 11:FS vs Monzo, in 11:FC’s first professional 11-a-side fixture. Nerves were jangling in 11:FC HQ in the lead up the game. Captain Petrit Berisha led his men in extensive warm ups, team talks, tactics and formations all day, to get the team both mentally and physically ready for the challenge that awaited them.

There’s a sweltering heat wave hitting the city and I’ve never been so thankful for the office air conditioning. We’ve just entered July, everyone’s moving onto their Q3 targets and writing reports on Q2. So what happened in Q2 for the fintech world? And where are we about to go for Q3? I take a look at the 11 biggest stories that happened in fintech over the last three months.

Sam Frampton has had an incredibly successful experience during his time as an 11:FS intern. He created and project managed our Beginner’s Guide to Open Banking that you can find here. In addition to this he’s helped provide strong insightful data into our Fintech Insiders website, a forum for fintech you can find here. Using that data he also created a daily newsletter that recaps the latest in fintech news, sign up and you’ll get an insight into just some of the work our 11:FS interns do. Our interns get to create and effect meaningful change in the company. If you can prove value and show why something needs to be done differently, we’ll do it. That’s part of what it means to be at 11:FS.

11:FS is pleased to announce that today we are launching the beginner’s guide to Open Banking! It’s a hot topic in the fintech space at the moment and users need to know what they’re getting themselves into.

When the World Bank launched a focus on financial inclusion in 2011, about 2.5-3 billion people lacked access to even the most basic financial services. Since then, dramatic progress has been made. Between 2011 and 2014 an astonishing 700 million people gained bank accounts (twice the population of the US). In the latest World Bank Findex report, it was stated that a further 8% of the world opened an account.

The 11:FS Pulse analysts spend all their time immersed in the world of fintech. Over the past year, we’ve seen hundreds of different products, features, and brands pass through our screens. With the fintech space moving so fast, there’s been a lot to love (and hate). For anyone working in the space that doesn’t currently have a Pulse license, we wanted to share the 2017 roundup we hashed out over a couple of beers in the Aldgate WeWork. Without further ado, here are the 11 brands that deserve recognition for 2017…

David Brear and Jason Bates were put through their paces when they met Gary Vaynerchuk who gave them one of his famous $100,000 sessions.

In the second quarter of 2017 VC-backed fintechs raised $5.2bn via 251 deals.That brings us to $8bn for the between Q2 2016 and Q2 2017, meaning the industry is well on track to a record breaking year (2015 saw a peak of $14.1bn). If you’ve got a killer idea or you’ve made it to MVP stage, now might be the time to familiarise yourself with the biggest fintech players in the VC world.

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.

I’ve blogged on some of the themes I’m going to cover below, but the story gets clearer and clearer in my head the more I blog about and talk about it, so this version may be a little clearer than some that have gone before.

I used to hate when my parents came into high school for the annual speech from my teachers that I should be trying a lot harder. Unlike my report cards at school, I think the 11:FS end of year report would read pretty damn well as every single person that has worked for 11:FS couldn’t have done more to make it a success over the last year.

The arrival of a new year is often a time for reflection and an opportunity to look ahead. In design it’s no different.

Ross Gallagher is joined by some great guests to talk about recruitment in financial services, how today's applicants can stand out, and also what institutions can do to support diversity, equality & inclusion and create a culture for success.

11:FS CEO David M. Brear and Visa's Sophie Schulman are joined by some great guests to look at how fintech can support and shape the US creator economy.

David Brear and Ross Gallagher are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Monzo's new investment platform, India hit their financial inclusion targets 41 years early, and cash payments are on the rise.

Laura Watkins is joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Adyen get a UK banking licence, Perfios eye UK & US expansion, and a new campaign tackles the gender investment gap.

What is the best metric for measuring the success for fintech? In this rewind show from the archives, Benjamin Ensor is discussing the answer to that question, joined by some great guests, from Allica Bank, Anthemis, and This Week In Fintech.

In this second episode on our deep dive into embedded finance in APAC, David Barton-Grimley and is joined by a fantastic guest, from GoPay, to talk about how embedded finance is opening up access for the unbanked in Indonesia and beyond.

Klarna rebuts misconceptions about their business model as losses narrow, more than one in eight bank branches are expected to close this year, Airwallex and Public team up for a new investment platform, and Switzerland want to impose the highest ALM standards in Europe. Kate Moody is joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including Alia Mahmud from ComplyAdvantage, The Financial Times' Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, and Dann Bibas from Public.com.

David Brear is joined by a panel of experts from Cleo, Feedzai and Starling Bank to look at how financial services need to adapt to the changes brought by AI, where it can have the most influence and where the human touch is still needed.

L.F.G. Today we bring you: a super interesting discussion on the current status of stablecoins in the US and beyond and with the launch of PYUSD from PayPal what might the wider impact be? Are stablecoins going mainstream? All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

JP Morgan increases its investment in Brazilian neobank C6, as Goldman Sachs sells its PFM unit, African fintech investment surpasses $2 billion, as M-Pesa enter Ethiopia for the first time. Benjamin Ensor and David Barton-Grimley are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including Sarah Kocianski and Samee Zahid from Chipper Cash.

Benjamin Ensor is joined by some great guests from Orum and Consult Hyperion to talk about the recent launch of FedNow in the US and what the impact will be in the US and globally.

David M. Brear is joined by some great guests from Visa, BigPay and Wise to discuss the evolution and growth opportunities of embedded finance in Asia-Pacific!

Ramp raises $300M (and that's a down round!), Goldman Sachs plans sale to concentrate on the ultra-wealthy and Monzo is named best bank - Kate Moody and Benjamin Ensor are joined by some great guests from CCG and Lightyear to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

David Brear is joined by some great guests from Fireblocks, DigitalX and Moniflo to talk about how financial services are actually using blockchain technology and how they choose an option that works best for them.

L.F.G. Today we bring you: a super interesting discussion on the impact AI software and AI generated content can have on the world of social media, and where the overlaps with the crypto space live, and how to make this safe for consumers. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

Fintech Marketing Podcast Season 2: Coming soon

After Dark - Open Finance: fact or fantasy?

Banks are facing a lot of challenges compared to their fintech rivals.
Welcome to episode 5 of our new video series, Decoding: Banking as a Service!

11:FS CEO David M. Brear takes to the lightboard to give us the full run-down, with examples of companies that are leading the way.
Welcome to episode 4 of our new video series, Decoding: Banking as a Service!
Welcome to episode 3 of our new video series, Decoding: Banking as a Service!
Welcome to episode 2 of our new video series, Decoding: Banking as a Service!

Welcome to episode 1 of our new video series, Decoding: Banking as a Service!

In this episode of Spotlight on LinkedIn Live, we're speaking to Paul Riseborough and Rachael Sinclair, Mission Leaders from Nationwide, about how they're switching up their business structure to ensure they are aligned to their customers and creating the most effective teams in the industry along the way.

When people discuss 'banking being broken', they often refer to the technology itself. However, that isn't necessarily the case.

Minimum Lovable Brand | 11:FS Explores

In this video, our Head of Research, Sarah Kocianski, unpacks exactly how banks make money - with the handy edition of a super cool lightboard!

Fintech is only 1% finished. But what do we mean by that? Simon Taylor, Head of Ventures at 11:FS takes us through the landscape of financial technology in this Lightboard edition of 11:FS Explores.
Just what is going on with Buy Now, Pay Later right now?

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...

