How does lending work? - Decoding: Banks - Episode 4

From 11:FS. Lending has been around for thousands of years and is one of the cornerstones of banking. Although ledgers aren't made out of clay anymore, the principles have largely stayed the same. Curious to know more about lending? We get into how it works and what's in it for the banks.

NFTs: are they worth the hype?

In the past year a new trend in the crypto world has boomed: NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. They started as a way for digital artists to have ownership over their work but have transformed into a dizzying new multi-billion-dollar marketplace. Are they worth the hype?

Remember Second Life? It’s Now Taking On Big Tech’s Metaverse

Second Life – yes, the virtual world from the ‘00s – is staging a comeback to challenge tech giants like Meta that are throwing billions into the metaverse. Its creator explains to WSJ how he plans to refresh the platform – no VR headsets required.

How do card networks operate? - Decoding: Banks - Episode 3

From 11:FS. Mastercard and Visa are the two biggest credit card networks in the world. But what is a card network? How did they begin? How do they operate?

Spacs: under the microscope

Spacs have pulled in billions of dollars from investors over the past couple of years. But as the FT’s Ortenca Aliaj reports, they’ve also attracted intense scrutiny from regulators. Of particular concern has been the fast-track route to public markets offered by Spacs, as well as some optimistic revenue projections. So, where does that leave the Spacs market?

What are payments rails? - Decoding: Banks - Episode 2

From 11:FS. Ever wanted to know what’s going on behind the scenes every time we make a payment? We break down what a payments rail actually is, the different types, and why achieving real time payments is so difficult.

Fintech Africa

"Africa is leading a FinTech revolution that many have not seen or noticed. It has unicorns and funding that has increased nine times in just the last five years to a value of $5 billion in 2021, and that is double the amount of 2020" .... so writes Chris Skinner in his Blog.

He continues ... "When you mention Africa, some people think it is a country full of famine and war. First, it is not a country but a continent and yes, there is some famine and war, but that’s not Africa. Before the pandemic, I travelled to many countries in the region and had amazing experiences in Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and more. Now, I am so pleased to report that from early seeds, trees have grown."

Read his full blog-post HERE and find out what Africa is doing and what Africa has achieved in the fintech world.