Fintech Insider Podcast by 11:FS
00:39:54 · Matthew Goldman
[00:39:54] S3: Yeah. I think creators, as as kind of Dan touched on, there's there's some challenges that we see in the past with underwriting them and helping them build, you know, a regular financial life and plan. And and I think between both AI driven tooling and the most successful creator perhaps in all, you know, all of the world, giving them advice. There's opportunity here. There are some really interesting startups that I've seen. Like, an example would be Beep right here in The US that does underwriting of kind of cash loans for, like, Spotify artists, right, based on streams and what they know Spotify will pay. And and so how can we bring in some, you know, nontraditional underwriting to a space that suffers from that without a classic traditional, you know, paycheck from an employer to really expand access? Right? That would be much more interesting than just, it's a credit card with a MrBeast logo on it. It's like not really that interesting. I call that the slap a logo on it and call it a day approach. And, like, I think what we want to see as a product that, you know, uniquely speaks to the needs of the creators and also if there is a consumer card product to the particular users there, like Step has in terms of trying to help educate teens. And just to put a a extra point on on Dan's mention of they get... They have to do it right, and I think there's been a lot of concerns. We've seen politicians in The US kind of be very concerned about STEP and this acquisition and, you know, making sure that we're not just driving folks into bad behaviors because we need to set up good good habits up front. But I think there's opportunity to really make a positive difference here because whether they should or not, people are actually more likely to listen to someone on on YouTube about financial advice than perhaps someone who has formal training. That's just the world we live in.
00:41:38 · Kate Moody, S5
[00:41:38] S0: Too too true. Okay. Well, as you... As we've all said, we'll need to watch and and see how this unfolds, but a really, really intriguing one to keep your eye on. Okay. On that note, we're gonna take a quick pause here. We'll be back shortly. [00:41:52] S5: Launching innovative payment products is only the beginning. Real progress comes from what happens next. Paymentology fuels continuous compounding momentum as a cloud native issuer processor, helping banks and fintechs grow beyond go live with global reach, local know how, and the power of its Loom platform. Powered by more than 500 paymentologists across 68 countries, they make card programs work naturally across markets. Want to keep the momentum going? Head to paymentology.com.
00:42:28 · Kate Moody
[00:42:28] S0: Okay. Now for a quick look at the story that we didn't have time to cover in full but still deserves a shout out. We took this one from Reuters, and that is Revolut launches personal loans in The UK as Bank of England orders review. Revolut has launched unsecured personal loans in The UK, taking on major lenders, including Lloyd's, Barclays, NatWest, and HSBC. Loans will range from £2,000 to £25,000 with interest rates between 6.929.3%. Initial rollout will target selected customers before expanding more widely. Revolut UK CEO Francesca Carlesi says the ambition is to move beyond being an everyday spending app and become customers' primary bank. The fintech is also planning to introduce credit cards and eventually mortgages as it looks to increase revenue per customer and expand its lending business. Unlike traditional banks, Revolut has less historical lending data and is supplementing its credit assessments with information from external providers. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday that the Bank of England's prudential regulation authority has ordered an independent review of Revolut's product approval processes, examining whether its internal controls can keep pace with its rapid expansion. Feels like not a week goes by without some sort of Revolut story and this is two coming out at the same time. So I think lots to break down here that I can't possibly do justice to. I think probably not a surprise to anyone that you lend lending has has come to the table. It was obviously kind of the main thing that Revolut were chasing that that UK banking licence for. Definitely going to be keen to sort of see, you know, do you have do you have a Revolut account? So we'll be keen to kind of see if I kind of get nudges or things like that within the within the interface. I think the main difference will be in terms of how these loans are actually introduced to customers and then if people choose to take them on, how those are managed, of what the options are for customers to stay on top of payments, make repayments early and how that's done. So yeah it'll be really interesting to see how that plays out and also kind of what the result of the, of the PRA's investigation is. Obviously lots of people are, are very keen for people to pick holes and Revolut's product approval process because they do move at such pace.
00:44:34 · Kate Moody
Think there's probably a lot of a lot of people wanting there to be an issue there, so I guess it'd be interesting to see if the regulator finds finds something that needs more scrutiny. Okay. And finally, story. Halloween bigger than Christmas, say businesses. This one was taken from the beloved BBC. Halloween has become such a major commercial event in The UK that some businesses are now generating more revenue from the spooky season than Christmas. At Avon Valley Adventure Park near Bath, Halloween activities generate around a third of annual revenue, wow, with £2,000,000 in turnover from October events. A Bristol fancy dress shop says half its annual turnover comes in October, with a third generated during Halloween week alone. Customers spend an average of £40 on costumes and accessories. According to research by IGD, 36% of UK shoppers plan to celebrate Halloween this year, up from 27% in 2025. Pumpkin patches, haunted mazes, and immersive scare experiences have become big business, with some farms transforming Halloween into a major source of income. Matthew, Brad, I'm conscious given you've got two US people on the panel, this is probably like, I mean catch up guys, we've been here for ages. Mean, to us in The UK this feels like quite a big cultural change. Is is is... How does it how does it how does it work? What's going on?
00:45:47 · Matthew Goldman, Kate Moody, Brad Wiskirchen
[00:45:47] S3: I've been fascinated by the global expansion of Halloween. I really thought for a long time it was very American, but it is it is everywhere, and it continues to grow here. I think there is so much more intensity around it than there was when I was growing up certainly. So it's kind of wild to see, but I guess people love a good scare. [00:46:05] S0: I mean, far does it go? What... What's the end game here? Like, what should I be anticipating? I mean, we're at pumpkin patches at the moment. What what hap... What's the next step of Halloween mania? [00:46:15] S3: Do you have any haunted haunted hay rides? That's really good here. And all the amusement parks kind of transform themselves in The US, Disneyland. Knott's Berry Farm originated. This was... It's called Knott's Scary Farm for the month of October. And you go and they have people who creep up behind you and try to scare you and they redecorate. So there's there's quite a ways to go, Kate. Prepare yourself. [00:46:43] S4: Oh, yeah. There's there's old prisons that are converted, and they turn them over to people for haunted houses that you go through. And there's an old old hospital that I've been through that was the scariest thing ever where they've turned it into a haunted house, like people people taking over large buildings and with an eye just to scaring the living heck out of you. So
00:46:43 · Brad Wiskirchen, Kate Moody
[00:46:43] S4: Oh, yeah. There's there's old prisons that are converted, and they turn them over to people for haunted houses that you go through. And there's an old old hospital that I've been through that was the scariest thing ever where they've turned it into a haunted house, like people people taking over large buildings and with an eye just to scaring the living heck out of you. So [00:47:09] S0: I'm really I'm really confused, Brad, because across the rest of this recording, you've said many intelligent things. You've exuded a lot of just authority and gravitas. But like, so why did you choose to go to a hospital, a deserted hospital that was designed to scare the crap out of you? What what what's going on? Why is this a thing? [00:47:27] S4: I I was in college and it was the thought of going through with a date produced the highest likelihood of getting to hold hands and hug. So Okay. Was the logic behind it. [00:47:42] S0: Okay. It makes it makes more sense. I mean, so Dan, from a from a fellow Brit perspective, are you are you a hal... Have you got on board the Halloween train or where's yours, what's your stance?