
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.

David Barton-Grimley is joined by some great guests, from Ampla, Fiat Republic, and HSBC, to give examples of how embedded finance can find scale and make a profit.

Vexi raises to offer young Mexicans lower interest rate credit cards, gig workers denied equal opportunity to financial services, and BMO bank no longer has a den for Hubert the Harris Lion – Kate Moody and Benjamin Ensor are joined by some great guests, from Vexi and Rollee, 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, Ramp, and Citi's DX10, to talk about how crucial customer centric design is to building better financial services.

EL. EF. GEE. Today we bring you: a deep dive into web2.5 and our very first case study! On this show, we're taking a closer look at the current state of web 2.5, and the history and impact of WalletConnect on web2.5 and web3 advancements. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

US fintech unicorn Alloy launches in the UK, Britain sets out legislation to regulate buy-now-pay-later credit, and CIBC encourages couples to talk about their finances this Valentine's Day – Benjamin Ensor and Amy Gavin are joined by some great guests, from Alloy, Klarna, and BetaKit, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last seven days.

David Barton-Grimley is joined by some great guests, from Pine, Proportunity, and Digital Cat Consultancy, to discuss the current struggles for first-time homebuyers and whether a Super App could ease the whole experience.

David M. Brear is joined by some great guests, from Visa, PaySky, and Careem, to really dig into the question: "What is stopping Super Apps from succeeding outside Asia?”

Ross Gallagher and Kate Moody are joined by some great guests, from Atom Bank and Fintech Finance, to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Tech Nation’s shutdown sparks fears for UK fintech, Stripe tells employees it will decide on an IPO within the next year, and 6-year-old boy spends $1k on Grubhub.

David M. Brear is joined by Visa's Dan Roesbery - as well as guests from Wise and MX - for the inaugural episode of Fintech Insider Focus!

Ross Gallagher is joined by some great guests, from 11:FS, Zopa, and Lightyear, to talk about the impact of design in making a fintech product stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

L.F.G. Mauricio and Catherine bring you a fantastic conversation looking at what it means to be a digital creator today and the global community it creates, with two amazing digital creators taking part in the global Visa Creator Program. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

We. Are. Here. Today we bring you: in this Insights show, we are going to be taking a look at the world of Decentralised Exchanges, aka DEXs. All this and much more on today's Blockchain Insider!

Ross Gallagher and Nicole Perry are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: Debite launches direct to bank payments for early-stage companies, Klarna brings its price comparison tool to Europe, and 11:FS hosts its inaugural awards.

Benjamin Ensor is joined by some great guests, from Innovative Finance, Chamber of Progress, and Spiralem, to discuss how governments across the world impact the success of fintech.

Kate Moody and Benjamin Ensor are joined by some great guests to talk about the most interesting stories in financial services over the last 7 days, including: PayPal and Apple call a truce, Stripe and others make tough layoffs, and Glastonbury festival ticket issues. All this and more on today's show!
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?
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...

