Fintech Insider Podcast by 11:FS
00:25:21 · Sarah Kocianski, Valentina Kristensen
[00:25:21] S1: ask a quick question about that, actually? I just wondered how much of that is driven by customer demand and how much of that is driven by... Or or customer... You know, on both sides, customers, or how much of it is just driven by the ethos of the company itself? [00:25:31] S3: So I think, I mean, if you look at a business like Leon, obviously, a really great example of a business that's very socially minded. You know, they're very much the sort of forefront of the vegan movement, you know, no plastic packaging. So it is something that, know, we are very conscious of, you know, the businesses that we lend to. We don't lend to businesses that are doing, you know, oil and gas or leather tanning or gambling, anything like that. So that's that's one piece of it. But then also... But you [00:25:55] S1: do do alcohol. Right? Get back to our pub point. Bars.
00:25:55 · Sarah Kocianski, Valentina Kristensen, Ross Gallagher
[00:25:55] S1: do do alcohol. Right? Get back to our pub point. Bars. [00:25:59] S3: Sure. Bars bars and restaurants, places that serve alcohol. But, know, I mean, if you think about, like, a Leon, you know, that's a that's a business that's very socially minded. So I think if we were being seen to be, you know, creating a huge detriment to the environment, then that would probably make businesses like Leon question whether we're really the right funding partner for them. But it is also because, as I say, I mean, it's... We're all very mindful of the the, damage that's been done to the environment. You know, if we don't... We... You know, we all have, well, a lot of people obviously at Open North have children or want children, or just, you know, don't want... You know, want to ensure that the planet is still here in in fifty years, a hundred years, two hundred years, etcetera. So, yeah, just making sure that we're we're doing... You know, we're being sustainable and being a good business. Yeah. Both economically, but also, environmentally. [00:26:43] S0: And this is the thing, isn't it? Because you... You're almost sort of proving the model. Right? You're showing that you can be socially aware and that, you can be sustainable, but at the same time, you can be ranked in the top 1% of banks globally in terms of performance, you know, named by the Feet as Europe's fastest growing company. So, yeah, you guys are booking some serious trends.
00:26:43 · Ross Gallagher, Sarah Kocianski
[00:26:43] S0: And this is the thing, isn't it? Because you... You're almost sort of proving the model. Right? You're showing that you can be socially aware and that, you can be sustainable, but at the same time, you can be ranked in the top 1% of banks globally in terms of performance, you know, named by the Feet as Europe's fastest growing company. So, yeah, you guys are booking some serious trends. [00:27:04] S1: Sorry. Was just gonna say going back to the wider point as well, I know that Oat North does a certain amount of work with investing money back into women entrepreneur... Female entrepreneurs and and helping women out through the chain. And going back to a podcast I recorded earlier this week for International Women's Day, you can make money doing the right things. And I think we need more companies coming out and saying, look, we are profitable. It does make good business sense. It really works. And to being held up as that example because a lot of companies will take the easy way out and say, can't make any money doing that, the business will fold, you know, whether that's green credentials with that supporting female entrepreneurs, whatever it is. So I think, you know, the the more we see, the better and the more examples that are out there, the better.
00:27:43 · Ross Gallagher
[00:27:43] S0: No. I think at a time when we're being bombarded with negative news, I think it's nice to go to break on a positive story. We will be back very shortly. This podcast is brought to you by Stake, the digital brokerage app bringing you unrivaled access to The US market. Invest in over 3,500 US stocks and ETFs, including game changing companies like Google, Amazon, and Tesla. Trading is instant, direct, and commission free. And with a fully digitized sign up, you'll be in the market in minutes. So visit hellostake.com or search stake trade to seize The US market's $31,000,000,000,000 worth of opportunity today. Here at ElevenFS, we deliver work all over the globe. From North America and throughout Europe to The Middle East, South Africa, and across APAC, we've helped clients deliver truly digital propositions. With that in mind, we've added an exciting new page to our website. If you head over to 11fs.com, you'll see a new page in our top nav called work. We've got some brand new case studies for you to look at. They feature some of the companies and propositions that ElevenFS have worked for. There's interesting stuff up there with RBS, Virgin Money, Grab, and Atom Bank. Head over to the ElevenFS website and have a look. And if you think we can help you build truly digital propositions, then drop us an email via hello@11fs.com. Now on to the international news. Our next story comes from Finextra and concerns Zynga barring new customers after interest rates drop. The Australian neobank is no longer letting customers sign up for its 2.25% savings account. This comes after the RBA and has a 0.25 percentage rate cut and has left Zingja weighing up the cost of servicing an account that has already attracted what's really quite a staggering 350,000,000 Australian dollars in deposit inflows since its launch in January. So while Zynga can hold deposits, it hasn't launched its credit or loan offerings yet, and the account is thought to cost the bank 7,500,000 Australian dollars per year just to keep afloat. So I've got a couple of quotes here from Zynga CEO Eric Wilson that I just wanted to throw out there. So I think he was trying hard here to put a positive spin on things. He said, as always, Zynga wants to break the traditional banking model. When faced with higher than expect...
00:30:04 · Ross Gallagher
Expected deposit flows and an RBA rate cut, most banks would just drop deposit interest rates, hurting existing customers while chasing new ones, and that's not what Xinji is about. He said managing these costs as a new bank in a way that cares about existing customers means pushing the pause button on opening new accounts for a while. So I guess I'm most interested in sort of getting people's thoughts on that little bit of spin in the first instance.
00:30:32 · Sarah Kocianski
[00:30:32] S1: So we we know how I feel about the Australians. You know? They... I'm I'm very, very fond. I think... I I actually think that it is spin, but I also actually think it's the right decision. Because the reason that, you know, Zynga has has this rate out there, and I should point out as well that most of the neobanks in Australia have similar rates. So 80 6,400 and up both have the same 2.25% rate. That's the rate when you add up the base rates. The base rates are about point 4.5%, and then you have like a bonus rate, which you get depending on whether you adhere to certain rules. So 86,400, you have to deposit $1,000 a month. Up, you have to make five deposits per month into the linked payment accounts. You can't just have a savings account, you've got to be using the linked current account, if you like. So they they... Basically, it's a market standard out there for for the near banks. Volt is another bank that's got 2.15%, but, you know, it it... It's up there. It's good if you think about the rates that we're seeing over here. And those aren't those aren't fixed term rates. Those are easy access rates. So Zynga has done this, you know, as the other banks have done to gather customers, to get customers through the door, to get customers using its product. And, you know, obviously, off the back of that, to start getting their feedback to see, you know, what they should be doing next. The last thing it wants to do is let go of all those customers and all those deposits that it's successfully accumulated by slashing the rate. Because those other banks are offering the same rate and haven't cut theirs yet, and I will say yet. The minute it cuts that rate, all that's gonna happen is those people are gonna go to 86,400 or go to up, and it loses that advantage it's gained. So whilst I do appreciate that it could be viewed as spin, I actually think it's a very sensible decision. And And I think if also to go back to your point, Ross, about just how much they've accumulated, like 350,000,000 in dollars, they are very, very close as far as I understand it to launching their mortgage product. So they don't wanna be giving up that deposit just as they're on the cusp of launching a lending product, which they comprise very attractively because of aforementioned rate cut. So I think there's two things here that are interesting to me.