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.

David M. Brear is joined by some great guests, from Plaid, Payments Solved, and The Payments Association EU, to look at the potential impact of Payment Services Directive 3 on Open Banking.

EL. EF. GEE. Today we bring you: A rewind look into an episode focused on ownership. Ownership is web3’s ability to prove that digital assets are owned by users. But how exactly does it work? How is it different from the world of web2? And what changes can we expect to see in the world now that assets are on-chain? All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

Goldman looking for a way of Apple partnership, Visa $1 billion buyout of Brazil's Pismo, and UK banks warned against closing accounts – Kate Moody and David Barton-Grimley are joined by some great guests, from Fintech Business Weekly and Spiralem, 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, Nationwide, and Plum, to discuss how banks and fintechs can shape how customers manager their finances.

David M. Brear is joined by some great guests from Visa, Mana Tech, and Commerce Ventures, to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the fintech market in the United States of America.

The European Union unveils new open banking rules, Wise announces bumper profits, and Robinhood buys X1 – Ross Gallagher and Benjamin Ensor are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

EL. EF. GEE. Today we bring you: A look into the growing prevalence of chatbots in the crypto industry and how that could look in the future. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

European banks are putting "AI" in 30% of their job ads, Majority bank opens community meeting space for new migrants, and Gen Z need lessons on how to behave in the corporate world – Benjamin Ensor and Ross Gallagher 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 Clearbank, Mastercard, and Thredd, to discuss the relationship between Silicon Valley giants and the payments space.

In this second episode on our monthly topic, Benjamin Ensor is joined by a fantastic guest, from Agrotoken, to talk about how financial services and agriculture collide in Latin America.

a16z to open first international office in London, HSBC builds innovation division from the bones of SVB UK, and Snoop Dogg launches NFT tour pass – Ross Gallagher and Benjamin Ensor 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 Anne Boden, CEO of Starling, in this interview from the archives!

Bank of England plans to reject Revolut's bid for banking licence, Brite Payments launches instant payments network, and Daylight calls it quits – Kate Moody and Ross are joined by some great guests, from Brite Payments and Fifth Third Bank, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days.

Ross Gallagher is joined an all-star panel of Elevens for the first part of a two episode deep-dive into the battle scars picked up when building banks across the globe.

David Barton-Grimley is joined by a fantastic guest, from Wise, to continue exploring the importance of UX to the fintech revolution in Europe.
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...

