Fintech Insider By 11:fs

About this episode: Host Laura Watkins (Director of Media and Marketing at 11:FS) is joined by a brilliant panel to unpack these topics before diving into some of the biggest fintech stories of the week. Sunday 8th March marked International Women’s Day, celebrating the social, political and economic achievements of women around the world. This year’s theme, “Give to Gain,” highlights the power of reciprocity and support - the idea that when individuals, organisations and communities give generously, opportunities and support for women grow. In this week’s Fintech Insider News, we dedicate the first half of the show to two important conversations shaping the industry: the fraud gender gap and women in wealth management. This week's guests: Ruth Foxe Blader - Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Citrine Venture Partners Rebecca Owers - UK Head of Wealth and specialists at HSBC  Denise Johansson - Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Enfuce Stories/timestamps: Fraud gender gap: women pay a higher price for fraud

About this episode: In this episode of Fintech Insider, David M. Brear sits down with Emily Turner, the newly appointed CEO of HSBC Innovation Banking UK, for a conversation about leadership, innovation, and the future of fintech in the UK. Emily brings deep experience from across banking and venture. Before stepping into the role in June 2025, she spent more than a decade at Citi where she launched Citi Ventures UK, led the Global Institutional Strategic Investing group, and helped incubate early-stage fintech companies inside the bank. In this episode, Emily reflects on her journey from traditional banking into venture and innovation, the lessons she learned backing and building fintech startups, and what it takes to drive disruptive ideas inside large financial institutions. The conversation also explores her vision for HSBC Innovation Banking, the trends reshaping the UK fintech ecosystem, and how banks, founders, and investors can work together to support the next generation of technology companies.

About this episode: Host David M. Brear, CEO of 11:FS, is joined by some great guests to discuss the biggest stories from the world of financial services over the past week. This week's guests: Joe Colchester, Head of Product, 11:FS Pulse Aditi Subbarao, Financial Services for Snowflake Albert Malikov, Founder and CEO of Stacks Stories/timestamps: Intro - (00:01) Stacks Raises $23 Million to Reinvent Finance Operations With Agentic AI - (08:28) Stripe, PayPal Ventures bet on India’s Xflow to fix cross-border B2B payments - (27:19) Buy now, sell off later. Where did Klarna’s IPO go wrong? - (38:39) Chase to open 160 branches in 2026 - (46:57) Allica Bank hits unicorn status - (58:23) JPMorgan Opened a Bar for Employees. If Only They Could Get In - (59:43) Listen to our interview with Allica Bank CEO Richard Davies Support our sponsors: Use code FINTECHINSIDER at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/fintechinsider -- Grab your EXCLUSI

About this episode: In this episode of Fintech Insider Insights, Kate Moody is joined by an expert panel of product leaders to unpack a question every startup and scale-up eventually faces: how do you build the dream product team? Whether you’re building from scratch, levelling up an existing function, or trying to future-proof your product organisation, this episode is packed with practical insight on how to set your team - and your product - up for success. Looking to build your dream product team? Talk to the team at 11:FS Ventures at 11fs.com/ventures This week’s guests: Melissa Stringer -  Product Lead, 11:FS Ventures Alex Rivas - Director of Product, LHV Nicole Bianchi - Senior VP of Product at Chip Links to check out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠After Dark tickets⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our WhatsApp community, where you can get the inside track on all all things 11:FS, as well as having your say on the things we should be paying attention to. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://chat.whatsapp.com/KpA4gFbbWDlLFm7kx39raf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Suppo

About this episode: Host Ross Gallagher, Head of Ventures at 11:FS, is joined by some great guests to discuss the biggest stories from the world of financial services over the past week. This week's guests: Sophie Condie, CEO of Shieldpay Samantha Emery, FS Executive and NED Breno Oliveira, Chief Product Officer at payabl Timestamps/stories: Intro - (00:01) Business leaders lose a month to fraud each year, according to research from Payabl - (7:35) UK banks seek alternative to Visa and Mastercard amid Trump fears - (19:36) Global fintech investment rebounds in 2025, supported by stronger exit activity - (31:07) Stripe's crypto unit Bridge obtains initial approval to establish a trust bank - (42:44) X to launch crypto and stock trading - (53:03) Score, the dating app for people with good credit, is back - (53:05) Support our sponsors: Use code FINTECHINSIDER at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/fintechinsider -- G

About this episode: In this episode of Fintech Insider, David M. Brear sits down with ClearBank’s UK CEO, Emma Hagan, to explore how the UK’s first new clearing bank in over 250 years is reshaping financial infrastructure from the ground up. What problem was ClearBank originally built to solve - and how does it fit into today’s increasingly complex financial ecosystem of banks, fintechs and payment firms? Emma shares how her background spanning risk and operations informs her leadership approach, and why modern clearing and embedded banking are still widely misunderstood. This week’s guests: Emma Hagan - UK CEO of ClearBank Links to check out: ⁠⁠⁠After Dark tickets⁠⁠⁠ Join our WhatsApp community, where you can get the inside track on all all things 11:FS, as well as having your say on the things we should be paying attention to. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://chat.whatsapp.com/KpA4gFbbWDlLFm7kx39raf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our sponsors: Use code FINTECHINSIDER at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off

About this episode: Host Kate Moody, Customer Strategy Director at 11:FS, is joined by some great guests to discuss the biggest stories from the world of financial services over the past week. This week's guests: Jessica Cath, Managing Partner at Thistle Initiatives Andy Russell - CEO of Project Arnauld at 11:FS Holdings  Sam Maule - Head of Business Development at Moov Timestamps/stories: Intro - (00:01) NatWest to buy wealth manager Evelyn Partners for £2.7bn - (02:53) Monzo wrongly denied refunds to thousands of fraud and scam victims - (16:07) MrBeast’s company buys Gen Z-focused fintech app Step - (28:44) AI personal banking assistant Cleo relaunches in UK - (41:04) Visa launches Visa & Main to champion small businesses - (48:25) South Korean crypto firm accidentally pays out $40bn in bitcoin - (50:02) Support our sponsors: Use code FINTECHINSIDER at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/fintechinsider -- Grab your EXCLUSIVE Nord

About this episode: In this special live edition of Fintech Insider Insights, recorded at the FCA’s Supercharged Sandbox Showcase, David M. Brear is joined by leaders from the regulator, industry and the technology ecosystem to unpack the UK’s first AI-focused regulatory sandbox. The FCA has long been a global pioneer in regulatory sandboxes - but why launch a dedicated AI Supercharged Sandbox now? What problems is it solving? And what does it take to safely test AI in financial services before releasing it into the real world? Tune in to find out! This week’s guests: Oli Platt - Head of Client Solutions at NayaOne Matt Lowe - Innovation Manager at FCA Janet Bastiman - Chief Data Scientist at Napier AI Links to check out: ⁠⁠After Dark tickets⁠⁠ Join our WhatsApp community, where you can get the inside track on all all things 11:FS, as well as having your say on the things we should be paying attention to. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://chat.whatsapp.com/KpA4gFbbWDlLFm7kx39raf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our sponso

About this episode: Host Benjamin Ensor, Director of Research and Strategy at 11:FS, is joined by some great guests to discuss the biggest stories from the world of financial services over the past week. This week's guests: Dave Morris - CEO of FoundryOS  Stephany Kirkpatrick - Founder and CEO of Orum, which joined Stripe in 2025 Chantal Swainston - Founder of The Heard Plus soundbites from: Joe Colchester - Head of Product at 11:FS Pulse Rory O'Neill - CMO at Checkout.com Timestamps/stories: Intro - (00:01) Nubank advances US launch with OCC approval - (03:28) Checkout.com announces strategic partnership with Spotify (15:19) London fintech Teya launches in Spain and Italy amid European expansion (26:19) Robinhood UK rolls out stocks & shares ISA with 2% cash bonus (33:34) Chase Enters UK Insurance Market With Launch of Insurance Bundle (42:23) Starling sets sights on US expansion by licensing its banking platform (45:23) Super Bowl Fintech Quiz (49:08) Support our sponsors: Us

About this episode: What’s next for fintech UX in 2026? Ross Gallagher, Head of Consulting at 11:FS, is joined by some great guests to break down six financial services UX predictions from the latest 11:FS Pulse Report, covering the shifts shaping digital banking, customer experience, onboarding, product design, and user research. This week’s guests: Joe Colchester - Head of Product at 11:FS Pulse  Oliwia Wasik - UX Research Analyst at 11:FS Pulse  Evan Simmonds - Principal Product Designer at Up  Download your copy of the 2026 11:FS Pulse Report Links to check out: ⁠After Dark tickets⁠ Join our WhatsApp community, where you can get the inside track on all all things 11:FS, as well as having your say on the things we should be paying attention to. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://chat.whatsapp.com/KpA4gFbbWDlLFm7kx39raf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our sponsors: Use code FINTECHINSIDER at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/fintechinsider -- Gra

About this episode: Host Benjamin Ensor, Director of Research and Strategy at 11:FS, is joined by some great guests to discuss the biggest stories from the world of financial services over the past week. This week's guests: Ziad Mabsout - Co-founder and CEO of Vennre  Sarah Kocianski - Fintech Consultant & Advisor  Matthew Ford - CEO and Co-founder of Sidekick Stories covered on the podcast this week include: Capital One’s planned acquisition of commercial finance platform Brex in a $5.15bn deal; Vennre, a wealth-creation platform helping HENRYs (High Earners, Not Rich Yet) access private-market opportunities, closing a $9.6m Pre-Series A round; JPMorgan Chase agreeing to acquire UK pensions technology firm WealthOS as it deepens its retirement and personal investing offering; ClearScore acquiring mortgage technology firm Acre Platforms; and Revolut rethinking its US strategy again, dropping plans to buy an American bank. Timestamps/stories: Intro (00:01) Capital One acquires Brex for

About this episode: On this week’s episode, in partnership with Pleo, host Benjamin Ensor is joined by Jeppe Rindom, Co-Founder and CEO of Pleo; Søren Westh Lonning, CFO at Pleo; and Megan Cooper, CEO of Caywood, to explore how the role of finance has evolved over the past decade - and what it will take for finance teams to win the next 10 years. We discuss how expectations on CFOs and finance teams are changing; why decision overload and decision-freeze are becoming more common; and how finance leaders can balance pressure, uncertainty and strategic influence. The panel also looks ahead to what finance teams need to focus on now - from better tools and data to confidence and capability - to drive better decisions and stronger businesses. This week’s guests: Jeppe Rindom - Co-Founder & CEO at Pleo Søren Westh Lonning - CFO at Pleo Megan Cooper - CEO at Caywood Find out more about Pleo at Pleo.io -- Links to check out: After Dark tickets Join our WhatsApp community, where you can get the

This episode was recorded before the news broke that Capital One is buying Brex (thanks for that one, guys!). We’ll be covering it on next week’s pod. About this episode: Host Kate Moody, Customer Strategy Director at 11:FS, is joined by some great guests to discuss the biggest stories from the world of financial services over the past week. This week's guests: Nicolás Di Pace - Managing Partner and Co-founder at adn.vc  Samuel Norman - City Reporter at City A.M.  Peter Briffett - CEO and Co-Founder of Stream  Stories covered on the podcast this week include: Stories covered on the podcast this week include Revolut applying for a full banking licence in Peru, marking its fifth expansion in Latin America. Stream (formerly Wagestream) has raised $90m in Series D funding, taking its total funding to $228m. BNPL provider Affirm is planning to roll out instalment loans for renters in collaboration with Esusu. Wise recorded a 26% surge in cross-border volumes to £47.4bn in its latest quarter as i

About this episode: On this week’s episode, host David Barton-Grimley is joined by Matt Weaver, Head of Solutions Engineering for EMEA at OpenAI, to explore the impact OpenAI is having on the financial services industry - and the meaningful collaborations taking place between the sector and the AI innovation giant. We discuss how AI is becoming the operating system for financial services as institutions move beyond chatbots and experimentation; how OpenAI is helping Europe’s financial sector adopt AI safely and responsibly; and how AI can strengthen Europe’s competitiveness in financial services. This week's guest: Matt Weaver - Head of Solutions Engineering - EMEA at OpenAI Support our sponsors: Use code FINTECHINSIDER at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/fintechinsider -- Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/fintechinsider to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 4 additional months on top! It’s completely

About this episode: Host Laura Watkins, Director of Media & Marketing at 11:FS, is joined by some great guests to discuss the biggest stories from the world of financial services over the past week. This week's guests: Matthew Goldman - Founder of Totavi Shah Ramezani - Founder and CEO of Noah Veronica Glab - Strategic Partnerships Lead at Juice Plus soundbites from: Amina Taher - Chief Marketing Officer at Wio Bank Joe Colchester - Head of Product at 11:FS Pulse Stories covered on the podcast this week include: Trump says he wants a one-year cap of 10% on US credit card interest starting 20 January 2026; Noah and NALA have partnered to use stablecoins for cross-border settlement, initially targeting Africa and Asia; Wio Bank has launched the UAE’s first bank account designed specifically for content creators; new research from Innovate Finance shows that global fintech investment began growing again in 2025, rising 21%; and Nationwide Building Society has launched a scam-checki

About this episode: On this week's episode, David M. Brear is joined by some great guests to tack a question on every bank and fintech leader’s mind: is AI redefining consumer-focused banking in 2026? Using our Digital R.I.C.H.E.S framework, we explore how AI is changing the way financial services meet customers at their point of need, from real-time insights and smarter personalisation to context-aware experiences. This is what truly digital banking looks like now, what’s hype versus reality, and what consumers should actually feel and benefit from as AI becomes embedded in everyday money management. This week's guests: Ross Gallagher - Head of Consulting at 11:FS  Fernanda Dobal - Product Director at Cleo Megan Caywood - CEO and founder of Caywood.io Support our sponsors: Use code FINTECHINSIDER at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/fintechinsider -- Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/fintechinsider t

About this episode: It's our first news pod of 2026! Host Ross Gallagher, Head of Consulting at 11:FS, is joined by some great guests to discuss the biggest stories from the world of financial services over the past week. This week's guests: Sarah Kocianski, Fintech Consultant & Advisor Benjamin Dada - Fintech operator & Founder, Condia Miguel Armaza - General Partner at Gilgamesh Ventures  Stories covered on the podcast this week include: In a fresh wave of fintech consolidation and strategic moves, Flutterwave has acquired Mono. JPMorgan has launched its Special Advisory Services initiative to give key clients access to consulting services drawn from the bank’s own practices. PicPay has filed for a U.S. IPO, and Mercury has applied to the OCC for a national bank charter. Timestamps/stories: Intro - (00:01) Flutterwave buys Nigeria’s Mono in rare African fintech exit - (05:10) JP Morgan forms “special advisory group” to share its “secret sauce” with clients - (18:45) Brazi

About this episode: Ever wondered what goes into making a blockbuster payments system? In this episode, David M. Brear, Group CEO at 11:FS, sits down with two heavyweights in the payments world: Tracy Birdsall, Managing Director and Head of EMEA & APAC, Merchant Services Sales, at J.P. Morgan Payments, and Kristen Morrow-Greven, Vice President and Head of Global Payments at Netflix. They dive into the systems that most people don’t notice until they break: reliability, scalability, resiliency, infrastructure, and jaw-dropping transactions-per-second numbers that keep payments seamless at scale. Drawing on J.P. Morgan’s Payments Unbound, Volume 3, the conversation reveals how Netflix processes millions of payments globally without missing a beat keeping subscribers happy and systems running flawlessly. Grab your popcorn and tune in, this behind-the-scenes look at payments is nothing short of epic. Learn more at⁠⁠: ⁠https://www.jpmorgan.com/payments/payments-global⁠ This week's guests:  Tracy Birdsa

About this episode: Happy New Year and welcome to the first episode of Fintech Insider of 2026! In this episode, the team are kicking things off with bold predictions for the year ahead, some you might have seen coming and some that might surprise you. They stake their reputations, embrace a bit of friendly ribbing, and share their most daring forecasts for the future of fintech. To uncover these insights, Laura Watkins, Director of Media and Marketing at 11:FS, brings together a SWAT team of fellow Elevens and Fintech Insiders, experts who have spent the past year closely analysing the signals shaping the fintech landscape. Join them as they explore what is ahead for 2026 and the trends that could define the industry. This week's guests:  David M. Brear - Group CEO at 11:FS Kate Moody - Customer Strategy Director at 11:FS Ross Gallagher - Head of Consulting at 11:FS -- Links to check out:  Join our WhatsApp community, where you can get the inside track on all all things 11:FS, as

About this episode: Host Benjamin Ensor, Director of Research and Strategy at 11:FS, is joined by a fantastic panel of guests as we dive into some of the biggest stories from the worlds of fintech, banking, and wider financial services this week. Stories covered on the podcast this week include: On this week’s final news show of the year, we hear from GoCardless about their exciting acquisition by Mollie. It’s been a big week for Monzo, which has secured an Irish banking licence and acquired UK mortgage brand Habito. We also take a look at Orange Payments and Visa’s new partnership, aimed at accelerating online payments across the African market. Finally, as a festive finisher, we examine the latest Gen Z Christmas spending habits which sparks a wider conversation about our panel’s worst Christmas gifts. This week's guests: Hiroki Takeuchi, CEO at GoCardless Jas Shah,Fintech Product Expert & Author @Fintech: Under the Hood Timestamps/stories Intro - (00:00)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ GoCardless acquir