337. After Dark: FINinTheSun

• 52min listen

337. After Dark: FINinTheSun

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On our latest and greatest instalment of After Dark, Simon, Leda and Jason are joined by some great guests to talk about some of the most interesting stories of the past week. Including: Why can't big banks and fintech get along? Jaja pays £530M cash to acquire the Bank of Ireland's UK credit card business, Zuckerberg and Libra's world domination looms larger and much more!

We hope all of you who could make it enjoyed some #FINInTheSun as much as we all did!

For episode 8 of After Dark some of London's finances' finest visited our home turf in Devonshire Square for our fintech street party. The show was buzzing after selling out in just 24 hours, with all of the guests who could get their hands on it, rocking our 'Swag to end all Swag!'

For this After Dark show, Simon, Leda and Jason were joined by some great guests:

  • Lianna Brinded - Head of Yahoo Finance UK
  • Luke Griffiths - Head of UK at Klarna
  • Sophie Guibaud - MD Europe at Fidor

We kick off the show by taking a look at an article from The Times stating that big banks have been accused of giving fintech start-ups a raw deal! This comes about after the takeover talks of two start-ups collapsed, forcing one to shut down. Additionally, Senior fintech executives have complained that large financial institutions want to take information from them without offering adequate capital or other benefits in return. In reaction to this article Leda explains that after several years of sounding like a broken record, there's no pretence of hiding the fact that big banks have been trying to learn from new start-ups, and that she's still surprised that journalists are surprised by this. (3:11)

Next up, we talk about UK fintech Jaja's acquisition of the Bank of Ireland’s UK credit card business for £530M! Jaja Card is a digital credit card managed entirely through the Jaja mobile app, designed to make credit simpler, fairer and easier to manage. The acquisition “forms part of Jaja’s strategy to scale its UK credit card business by working in partnership with other financial institutions and consumer brands.” Luke goes on to explain that this industry is ripe for disruption and that there's been very little innovation at all in credit cards, especially the post-purchase experience. (10:09)

Other stories include:

  • Singapore to issue digital retail and wholesale bank licenses (17:50)
  • New Lifetime ISA best buy for younger savers keen to get on the property ladder (23:26)
  • Libra: Mark Zuckerbeg’s world domination plans edge closer! (30:35)
  • RBS Remedies Fund pool D winners announced (37:13)
  • Possibly the worst bank scam of all time? (47:00)

All this and so much more on today's show.

As it is Pride Month, there is no better charity for us to be supporting through this event than Stonewall. For those that don’t know Stonewall was founded in 1989 to help advance the rights of the LBGTQ community by campaigning for equal rights, supporting and empowering individuals, and transforming institutions to create inclusive and accepting cultures. Text PRIDE to 70003 to donate £3.

Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode, leave a review on iTunes and let us know your thoughts on the stories @FintechInsiders on Twitter where you can also ask the hosts questions, or email podcasts@11fs.com

This week's episode was produced by Laura Watkins and edited by Alex Woodhouse.

Special Guests: Deniz Guven, Lianna Brinded, Luke Griffiths, Ryan Edwards-Pritchard, Sophie Guibaud, and Valentina Kristensen.

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