I recently heard someone suggest that ‘insurance is just like gambling.’ Bit of a stretch, but I could see their point. Both are fundamentally risk-based, and it raised an interesting question - do you ever really ‘win’ in insurance?
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.
This is the second article in a three-part series on how fintech for good (FFG) is helping people and the planet. The first touched on consumer behaviour. If you missed it, check it out here.
This December 2020 cover of The New Yorker has been praised for perfectly capturing the zeitgeist of the time. Of the completely bizarre year we didn’t see coming. The illustrator draws on the mundane everyday to create an image that resonates so well with the magazine’s varied readers.
As the saying goes, “success breeds success”. And one of the things that’s interesting in our industry is the alumni of fintechs going on to do great things. It’s no coincidence - there’s a bit of a pattern emerging: The founders of some of the most successful startups of today cut their teeth at the biggest fintechs of yesterday.
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?
Four years ago, policymakers in the UK and EU took the first steps to enshrine open banking into law, but now we’re at a turning point for digital adoption and the old ways of working aren’t working anymore.
At this point we can all agree that the financial market as a whole has gone through a period of lows. Paired with increased inflation (even in developed countries), and the US confirming a recession, things seem to have really taken a turn for the worse - the so-called bear market.
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.
This week on Fintech Insider News David, Jason and Simon were joined by Innovate Finance’s Sophie Winwood and making his Fintech Insider debut, Banking Editior at The Economist, Patrick Lane, to tackle the latest news from the last week. Listen to the episode in full here or play and read below
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.
You may have heard of Marcus, it’s been kind of a big deal. But why and how? We recently sat down with Boe Hartman, CTO at Marcus by Goldman Sachs, to get the inside story.
Everyone’s got a bike these days, right? How many bikes would you admit to owning? Is your ‘multi-bike’ strategy paying off? Now ask yourself the same questions about your use of cloud.

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!

Mastercard takes minority stake in MTN, rental platform Fronted closes down, and Bank Of Ireland customers go crazy for ATM glitch – Benjamin Ensor is joined by some great guests, from Anthemis, Cornerstone Advisors, and Ebanx, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

Kate Moody is joined by some great guests, from 11:FS, ClearEstate, and PensionBee, to look at the financial services aimed at customers over 60.

PayPal launches stablecoin, Apple announces $10 billion in deposits, and Drake launches Shopify mansion – Kate Moody and Ross Gallagher are joined by some great guests, from Fiat Republic and Knot API, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

EL. EF. GEE. Today we bring you: a recap of our 2023 predictions for the crypto space. what did we predict correctly? What did we get completely wrong? What still has potential to materialise in the next few months leading up to 2024? All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

Shopify launches credit card, HSBC and Tradeshift launch joint embedded finance venture, and Snoop gets acquired – Ross Gallagher 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.

David M. Brear is joined by Standard Chartered CEO, Bill Winters, in this interview deep-diving into innovation in the banking space!

David M. Brear is joined by some great guests from Visa, Chipper Cash, and DJAMO, to discuss the evolution and further potential of mobile money in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Fed launches long-awaited instant payments service, NatWest boss Alison Rose resigns, and McDonalds launches McNuggets Land in the metaverse – Kate Moody and Benjamin Ensor are joined by some great guests, from Founders Factory and Chamber of Progress, 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 Digital Cat Consultancy, Mortgage Advice Bureau, and Sprive, to look at the current crisis facing the UK mortgage market and homeowners.

EL. EF. GEE. Today we bring you: a case study on all things smart tokens. What are they? How do they work? What do they mean for web3? All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

Buy Now Pay Later regulation shelved in UK, Thunes pockets $72M, and Farage accuses Coutts of closing account over ‘values’ – Ross Gallagher and Nas Ahmad are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

Benjamin Ensor is joined by some great guests, from 11:FS, Innovate Finance, and TwentyOne to talk about the biggest lessons for financial services in the first half of 2023.

In this second episode on our monthly topic, David Barton-Grimley is joined by a fantastic guest, from QED Investors, to look at the roles and responsibilities of US VCs in the current market.

Investment platform Public launches in the UK, Solaris raises to focus on core values, and Martin Lewis 'sickened' by deepfake investment scam – Kate Moody is joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days!

What does the future hold for lending? Live from Lendit USA 2022.
Will banks exist in 100 years?

In this episode of 11:FS Explores, Adam Davis picks apart Open Finance, and what we have to look forward to if this technology became a reality.
Inclusive design is a mindset and a process that suggests that you should bring as many people as possible - and the most diverse of voices that you can - into your product design product process, so that you're being truly inclusive. It's designing with people rather that just at them. Charlotte Fereday, Product Director, Ventures, explains what inclusive design is, why it's important, how you can design more inclusively, and answers - how possible is truly inclusive design?
On this episode of Spotlight, 11:FS Crypto Global Strategy Director, Mauricio Magaldi is joined by Ramp Network Co-Founder and CEO, Szymon Sypniewicz. In today's chat, the pair discuss Szymon's career, the current regulatory landscape in crypto, and what the future might hold when it comes to widespread crypto adoption.

In this 11:FS Explores: Lightboard Edition, Vaughan Shaman takes us through how asynchronous systems work, their advantages, and how they can remove potential bottlenecks.

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...

