Fintech Insider Podcast by 11:FS

Episode 1026: Insights – Our Fintech Predictions for 2026
Aired: January 5, 2026
Host: Laura Watkins
Guests: David Brear (Group CEO, 11:FS), Russ Gallagher (Head of Consulting, 11:FS), Kate Moody (Customer Strategy Director, 11:FS)

Episode Overview

The first Fintech Insider Insights episode of 2026 kicks off with a bold premise: each host and guest lays their reputation on the line with one (or two!) daring predictions for the fintech industry in the coming year. Before looking ahead, the group reflect on how last year’s predictions stacked up, unpacking key developments around digital money management, wealth, IPOs, and more. The conversation then steers into their boldest forecasts for 2026: digital riches, identity, investment battles, youth banking, and the increasing power of brand. With engaging banter and deep industry insight, this episode gives listeners both a sober review of where fintech faltered and an energizing look at what could shape financial services this year.

1. Looking Back: How Did 2025 Predictions Fare? (02:00–23:20)

a. Prediction: Digital Money Management Tools Will Finally Make an Impact

• Russ Gallagher’s 2025 Prediction: That “digital money management tools would make a real difference for people’s finances.”
  • Reflection: Russ expressed disappointment, citing persistent reliance on cash, economic strain, and digital tools still being reactive rather than proactive. He cited inflation despite being "under control" is still "double the Bank of England average" (02:28).
  • Kate Moody: Tools are now "hygiene" in most platforms, but "we still haven't fundamentally seen a shift to helping people decide what to do with their money before they spend it" (04:27).
  • David Brear: Digital services are not providing the trusted budgeting support that some third-party cash-based systems are. Regulation "creates a sphere of panic" between giving advice versus guidance, freezing innovation (06:41).
  • Memorable Quote:

    "Hindsight being 20/20, here's what you shouldn't have done is not really great advice, is it?"
    — David Brear, 06:41

b. Prediction: "Wealth is Going to be Big"

• David Brear’s 2025 Prediction: Succinct but vague—wealth would be the major fintech theme.
  • Reflection: Brear argues that while it’s still “emerging, but maybe not emerged,” challengers like Monument and players building for "mass market private banking" show progress (09:57–11:44).
  • Kate Moody: Customers' expectations, set by platforms like Netflix and Spotify, are now applied to digital wealth—"they’re pretty pissed off…there’s been this sort of veneer of human service covering the gaps" (12:19). 2025 was a year of "announcements"; 2026 may see actual delivery.
  • Russ Gallagher: Legacy and new players have failed to create joined-up solutions—“no one provider has been able to solve for all of those pain points" (14:08).
  • Memorable Quote:

    "The commas are bigger, but the problems are similar... you’re traversing fancier banks, but the problem is still being solved by yourself doing some work and the mental math around it, which is crazy."
    — David Brear, 16:14

c. Prediction: 2025 Would Be the Year of the IPO—But Not for London

• Laura Watkins’ 2025 Prediction: Major fintech IPOs, but predicted the headlines wouldn't favor London.
  • Reflection: While IPOs happened (Klarna, Chime), "the mood music of IPOs in London’s not ideal" (18:00). All agree the “music” is moving across the Atlantic or, increasingly, to the Middle East.
  • Kate Moody: Recalled a Zilch CEO interview—listing markets need three things: “understand the story, provide liquidity, and get stakeholders supporting the growth” (21:26).
  • Memorable Quote:

    "I think you sort of nailed this one, if I’m honest with you… the sort of mood music part of it was absolutely spot on."
    — David Brear, 18:00

2. Predictions for 2026: What's Next in Fintech? (24:09–60:31)

a. Prediction #1: "Digital RICHES" Experiences Go Mainstream

• David Brear: Predicts digital products offering “real time, intelligent, contextual, human, extendable, and social” (“RICHES”) experiences become mainstream this year (24:21).

• Example: Revolut’s Street Mode is a model—solving real-life emerging problems like mobile phone theft.

• Russ Gallagher: Agrees, focusing on the “H” (human) in 'RICHES'—the more contextual, intelligent, and real time a service, the more human it will feel (25:55–28:11).

• Kate Moody: Pushes back—the word "mainstream" might be premature; only a small handful of digital banks (outside rare examples like Nubank in Brazil) are "truly capable of delivering experiences which would meet our riches benchmark" (28:38).

• Memorable Quotes:

  "If you deliver something real time, intelligent and contextual, it's going to be pretty human."
  — Russ Gallagher, 25:55

  "Even the most invested digital customers want a human fallback for their money."
  — Kate Moody, 28:38

b. Prediction #2: Digital Identity Becomes the Power Play

• David Brear: Predicts a "new power play" around digital identity as government mandates emerge; key is user control (not centralization by government) (33:16–34:48).
• Kate Moody: Cites the possibility of digital ID revolutionizing inclusion via better risk profiling, potentially extending access to credit and investment (35:08).
• David Brear: Advocates for primitive tech steps first—just being able to "very rigorously and consistently identify yourself" would be transformative (37:04).
• Memorable Quote:

  "I'm so pro digital identity if users are put in control... so con of it if it's some dystopian world with the government in charge."
  — David Brear, 33:16

c. Prediction #3: Investments Become the Customer Battleground

• Russ Gallagher: Predicts investments will become the "key customer battleground" in 2026, driven by both regulation and macroeconomics (38:44–39:07).

• Key Drivers:

  • Policy: Government nudges (reducing cash ISA limits, prompting more stock investing).
  • Consumer Behavior: Growing confidence and comfort with non-traditional investments (e.g., art, whiskey).
  • Fintech Opportunity: Non-traditional players will enter investment en masse.

• Memorable Quote:

  "Policy and regulation is huge... for a really long time investments have been a bit of a branding and PR problem. Always positioned in terms of risk... akin to gambling."
  — Russ Gallagher, 39:23

• Kate Moody: Investment will rise out of necessity (“globally aging population,” less state support), with a big test for FCA’s new “targeted support” regime (43:41–45:53).

• David Brear: Access is improving, but education and onboarding are paramount ("don't want to put Formula 1 cars in the hands of people who've just passed their driving test") (48:26).

• Memorable Quote:

  "Just giving people access to markets doesn't democratize a whole market if they've got no idea what they're doing."
  — David Brear, 48:26

d. Prediction #4: Big Banks Try to Woo the Next Generation—And Struggle

• Kate Moody: Big banks will finally "start to take young people seriously again," propelled by anxiety about aging customer bases and watching youth lean into Monzo, Revolut, et al (46:02).
• Challenge: But success isn’t guaranteed—customer experience (CX) will be decisive.
• David Brear: Big incumbents’ attempts to buy youth solutions (e.g., NatWest/RoosterMoney) haven't delivered (48:26).
• Memorable Quote:

  "Even when the big banks get this right, they kind of get it wrong."
  — David Brear, 48:26

e. Prediction #5: Brand Will Become More Crucial Than Ever in Fintech

• Laura Watkins: Fintechs will need to differentiate amid consolidation and “AI marketing slop” (53:58). Sponsorships, partnerships, and purpose-driven branding will become essential for survival and growth.

• Examples: Aberdeen’s rebrand; Starling’s "grown up" redesign; fintech/F1 and sports team partnerships (Airwallex, Robinhood, Sokin, Bitpanda, etc.).

• David Brear: Skeptical that sponsorship delivers value unless it’s authentically aligned to brand; “personally would spend more time developing our own brand.” (56:54)

• Kate Moody: Overcrowded ecosystem of brands means only the memorable, authentic ones will stick in a consumer’s mind (58:45).

• Memorable Quotes:

  "If it’s just totally inauthentic for you to slap your logo on a preexisting brand... you haven’t done the hard yards on what your brand actually means."
  — Laura Watkins, 58:19

  "People only can remember a certain number of companies in their head... brand is going to play such a huge part."
  — Kate Moody, 58:45

Notable Quotes & Banter

• Kate (on her absence from last year’s show):

  "I deliberately tried to time having my baby last year to avoid having to commit to doing predictions, so I've not managed to do that this year, sadly. So, yeah, I need to come and trash my career along with the rest of you." (01:32)

• David (on vague predictions):

  "I realize I should just make my predictions much more vague than I did previously." (18:49)

• David (on fintech product design):

  "Internally they’re fundamentally different beasts. But externally, actually the products that they build [neo-banks] are very similar to traditional banks...I think we start to see the difference between what's on the inside making a difference to what's on the outside." (30:52)

Key Timestamps

• [02:00–23:20] Reviewing 2025 predictions: digital money management, wealth, IPOs
• [24:09–33:07] 2026 Prediction #1 – Digital RICHES
• [33:16–38:34] 2026 Prediction #2 – Digital identity power play
• [38:44–45:53] 2026 Prediction #3 – Investments become customer battleground
• [46:02–48:26] 2026 Prediction #4 – Big banks chase (and may lose) young customers
• [53:58–60:19] 2026 Prediction #5 – Brand’s starring role in the market

Conclusion

This rapid-fire episode demonstrated how fintech’s evolution in the UK and globally is increasingly shaped by regulatory shifts, consumer confidence, and digital experience. While some 2025 predictions fizzled, the panel found common cause in believing that competition in wealth, investments, and next-generation banking will escalate in 2026—shaped by smarter technology, policy nudges, and the battle for both consumer mindshare and trust. As ever, authenticity and true customer-centric innovation remain the North Star.