1068. News: Monzo drops millions on growth, Mastercard and QNB expand into Syria, and Legacy rethinks charitable giving

28:04Do you think there's any kind of long-term brand or commercial advantage to be gained? Or am I being, misunderstanding? I think there's two things we need to keep in mind that I don't think anybody's partnering up with a central bank. It's the same way Barclays did not partner up with PRA and Bank of England. They are regulated and they have to connect. So this commercial advertisement vocabulary, I don't think it's very helpful. They have been there before the war. They have been there during the war and they are staying there after the war. And they are also helping MasterCard issue card locally, which is a fierce competition with Visa also, because Visa and Mastercard are competing in emerging markets because the interchange cap is not regulated and there are other types of benefits of giving credit in those territories.

28:54That being said, Syria needs a lot of investment. The country is completely broken and there are a handful of countries in that region that are actually willing to invest in Syria, especially on infrastructure, healthcare, education. And Qatar is one of those countries that have been very, very generous with this current government, both during the civil war and also now that they have the power. There's also a geopolitical angle on it that Qatar and Turkey are quite aligned on what they want to see in Syria and are supporting the current Syrian government. And if you believe that most of those investments will come from Qatar and from Turkey and also be done by mostly Turkish companies, probably some Jordanian companies as well.

29:43It's and maybe Lebanon, but that's a different story. It's very natural for Qatar's biggest bank to take a strong position to kind of handle those credit lines and manage those investments locally in Syria. There's definitely much more of a geopolitical angle on payments than there was, let's say 10, 15 years ago. So you already mentioned sanctions and the ownership of players, the ownership of infrastructure is much more important now or has much more significance than it did perhaps some years ago. But I think the point you're making is a great one that the Qatar National Bank is investing in helping to reconstruct Syria and that can only be a good thing.

30:31So on that note, we will take a pause here, a quick pause here very short, and we will be back very shortly.

30:41Before we get back into the news, I want to tell you about our latest Insight show. This week, we're diving into one of the biggest questions facing fintech, which is regulation. From open finance and financial advice to artificial intelligence and platform ecosystems, We unpack how regulators and financial institutions are navigating a rapidly changing landscape. That's available in the feed today, so be sure to give it a listen after you've finished this show. Okay, our next story is that non-profit fintech legacy aims to upend charitable giving. So UK fintech legacy has launched a non-profit app designed to modernize charitable giving, bringing more than 11 ,000 UK charities into a single platform.

31:24The app allows users to split one monthly contribution across multiple charities, pause or adjust donations instantly, and track impact through real-world metrics and tax-ready reporting. Legacy says the goal is to make giving feel as intuitive and engaging as modern consumer fintech, using product design and technology to reduce friction between intention and action. Unlike most fintech startups, Legacy is structured as a non-profit organization, meaning any surplus revenue is redistributed back into charitable causes rather than returned to shareholders. So, Hubby, let's bring you in. Why are you thinking that giving has largely missed the fintech revolution until now?

32:15I mean, people will be familiar with some of the big platforms like JustGiving or GoFundMe. What are you doing at Legacy that's sort of different and what's the problem that you're solving? Yeah, so I think there's kind of two questions there. And firstly, thank you very much for having me on to talk about this and tell you guys a bit more about Legacy. I think the first question was about what are we doing differently? And what we're doing differently is we're building a donor-first product, whereas the likes of JustGiving and other platforms like that are generally fundraising first products.

32:52You go on there to raise money if you're running a marathon or if you're doing a local bait sale or things like that. So it's kind of a different product angle which we're really trying to focus on the donors and making their experience as good as possible and really bringing that experience into the 21st century so to speak and giving it some fintech love so i think the reason this kind of hasn't been done before um is primarily because the charities have so much else to do so the charity is obviously doing amazing work they're often on the front lines of extremely challenging problems and technology simply isn't their core focus so yes it's been left behind a little bit um technology has helped us transform as we've discussed how we bank how we invest and how we spend but giving still feels fragmented it still feels antiquated it hasn't really changed much in the last like 10 to 15 years you're still interacting with hundreds or thousands of different charity websites you have direct debits spalled everywhere you have different payment methods and you have lots of admin and one of the things that I'm most excited about is also you don't always have the the feedback and recognition of the impact of your donations.

34:11So yeah, our view is really that giving deserves to be a go-for-it, please. Yeah, tell us a little bit more about the impact, because that is really interesting. Because of course, you know, lots of people, you know, most people, I think, you know, give money to charity. And sometimes you sort of have a, you know, a little bit about that charity and you sort of know where it goes. And sometimes it's a little bit hard to know what impact is my money having. And obviously not everybody wants necessarily to see the impact, and that's not really the point. But it's nice sometimes to know what impact you're having.

34:43So tell us a little bit about how you're helping people see the impact of their giving. Yeah, sure. So I think, yeah, seeing your impact is hugely important. And there's been multiple studies, one as recent as 2025, that show that when people see the tangible benefits of their giving, they're more likely to maintain that habit and they're more likely to increase their donations. and that's not really a surprise. If you see the good you're doing, you're more likely to do more of it. And it's worth pointing out here that charities are already doing work here. They're already publishing things on their social channels.

35:18They already normally have newsletters of some description. They have impact. They normally collect impact metrics. So for example, £10 gets you, or£10 plants 10 trees, £5 buys a meal, etc. And they also have annual reports but I think the problem is that this is very disjointed not everybody's on socials so they don't have that live feedback they might get an impact report once a year but it's kind of a 30 pages long a block of text that in today's age where attention is short and people are busy they don't always have a way of consuming that so we're just kind of doing what the neobank did for banking basically making that simple simpler and bringing it into one app so in our app you can see all your impact metrics you can see them grow over time i don't necessarily like to use the word gamification but is it there is an element of that seeing each month you're planting more trees buying more meals homing more people that's really powerful because it's a tangible connection with what you're doing so we have that in app you can watch your impact over time and we also have positive news and I think we can all agree in today's age there's one thing we need more of.

36:31It's positive and happy and good news stories because unfortunately our media fills us with the opposite. So we take all that stuff that the charities are already putting out, their annual reports, their social channels, their updates and then we give that to people in a format they're used to. In the same way you have an Instagram notification from your favourite chef with a new sourdough recipe, you'll get a notification from Legacy saying the local charity has done something great and here's a photo of it and this is what your money's done. Thank you. Sarah, what do you think of Legacy? What do you think of this idea?

37:10Do you think we're going to see lots of people deciding to sort of try and get a charity app so they can sort of see the impact that they're having? What do you think? So I think my perspective on this is slightly from, you know, a different lens to have, I suppose, necessarily. But I think there's a couple of things here that people will value from legacy. I think the first thing is that it's really hard to track your spending at the moment. And that could be from subscriptions, it could be from charitable giving, and it's actually understanding where you're spending money, you know, how often are you spending the money?

37:44What does that look like? How do you manage your finances? And I think that that's where legacy can be incredibly helpful for people to fully understand, okay, so this is where my charity donations are going. Did I sign up for that one 20 years ago? Is that still a cause that's close to my heart? Or actually, is there another cause that I think is more appropriate to my current circumstances? So I think there's kind of that element of tracking, if you like, which sort of feeds into budgeting. And that's not to say that people are going to look at it and go, oh, well, I'm going to cancel that one, that one, and that one.

38:14And I think the point that Herbie's made, the additional features, if you like, the sort of so-called softer features around it, will be very, very helpful for people to be like, right now, I really care about X rather than Y. And I think in today's environment, that's hugely important. And the other one is, for me, a slightly selfish feature, but I've been looking for for a while, is it tells you what your tax is. because when you do your self-assessment and they say, what have you gift-aided? I've got bits of paper from cancer research. I've got emails from the Dogs Trust. I've got something else from Refuge.

38:50And, you know, I gift-aid it all. Of course I do. But keeping track of that has here to for been a nightmare. So slightly selfish feature, but I do think that's incredibly useful, particularly for people who are self-employed and who do want to try and keep track of these things. So thank you, Herbie. That's a feature I have been looking for for a while. For listeners outside the UK, Gift Aid is a sort of UK government tax break where higher income tax payers can reclaim part, or rather the charities can reclaim part of the tax that they would otherwise pay, but it does make your tax filing more complicated.

39:26I was just going to say, please don't make that sound like that's entirely about me saving money and having a tax break. It is all so important to the charities because if people don't sign up to Gift Aid and state that they have done it and how much it is, then they lose it as well. So please, that's an entirely selfish point. Ozan, I'd love to bring you in here. What do you think about this? Is charitable giving an area that does need, you know, to move into the 21st century, as Herbie says? What do you think? Yeah, I think there are a handful of charities that have a good marketing budget. They have a strong audience.

39:59They know how to get their message out. And they're getting most of the money and most of the attention. I think I don't know the legacy as a product, but I understand it's almost like a marketplace for charities where I can sign up to an app and basically pick and choose which charity I want to give to and also follow up what my impact have been from my donation. I would strongly advise him to also provide that service through an API because I think there's a generation that might sign up for an app where they are in the church on Christmas Eve or in the mosque during Ramadan, but then not maybe use that application that much.

40:35But if you have also an API from your app that Monzo and Starling Bank and other organizations can embed into their own service, I think that would be a great way of you reaching new audiences, basically bringing more money and donations to the noble charities that you're supporting. So I really give you a kudos for doing such an application. But I think, yeah, there are some challenges with getting people to use standalone applications just for a certain purpose. Yeah, totally agree and good feedback on the API. I think especially as we move into an era of people interacting with agents more, for example, having an API is especially important because at the moment our top of funnel is SEO and influencers, for example, but in two to three years time, maybe even sooner, the top of funnel will be agents.

41:26So in that era, having an API and MCP on top of it so agents can choose charities for you or set of your donation is going to be hugely important and it is something that's on our road now. Yeah, I think it's a really, really interesting point, isn't it, of how many apps people want or how people manage their money, as you say, people potentially adopting AI assistance and so on. But certainly I can see that while some people will want to have an app for giving, other people will want to have their giving in with all of their other spending so that they can see their spending alongside their charitable giving and so on.

42:03So I think that's really, really interesting. Herbie, I'd love to hear anything about sort of any sort of early results. Are you seeing any sort of behavior changes as people sort of see the impact? Can you see anything, you know, the sort of the transparency of the impact encourages people to continue donating, to donate more? Are you seeing any sort of early signals from customer behavior of how your app maybe changes what people do a little? That's a great question. And to be honest, we're just too early to tell. We actually only went live at the beginning of last week. So we're extremely early.

42:49Give him a chance, Benjamin. Give him a chance. What I can say is initial feedback from users has been really good. They kind of get what we're doing. they like the features that we've discussed and their ability to see their impact in real time. So we're hoping in a month or two I'll be able to answer that question but at the moment it's a little bit too soon. But yeah, I think the response has been good and one thing I wanted to touch on which we didn't touch on earlier is that people find it quite refreshing the way we've structured the app and the way we're presenting it. So we're structured as a non-profit So that's very different to a for-profit company.

43:31And I think that changes the way we're doing the product and also how we're going to grow. So private companies, like the big ones we just mentioned earlier on, they have, to be honest, a bit of a conflict of interest. So they're trying to maximize shareholder value, pay dividends, but they're also trying to make their users happy, their donors. And most donors want as much of their money to go to the end charity. And that's a real tension. and you can see that in these other giving platforms that are for profit. You mentioned kind of dark patterns earlier on, like dark UX patterns, and that's something very prevalent at the moment with private companies.

44:10You'll go through the flow and you'll donate£10 to your favourite dog charity, and then it will say, would you like to give us a tip? And you'll be like, oh, great, these are probably a charitable organisation. I do. And then the options are 10 % to 15%. And there's a little bit at the bottom that says other amount. So you click that and then there's an input that says 5 % or that equivalent. And it's kind of like a three-step process to actually give a tip that you feel comfortable with. So I think that's a huge problem, basically. I think a lot of these technology companies supporting the charity sector are extracting value from the flow of funds from the donors to the end charities.

44:50And we're trying to solve that. And when we tell that to people, that gets them really excited. on top of what we're building in terms of the features. Well, it is very exciting. And so best of luck to you and your team with this endeavor. It's exciting what you've built. And we're going to have to get you back on the podcast in about a year when you can actually share some insights into how it's changed customer behavior. So sorry for asking you that question a year too early. But congratulations. So on that note, we'll have a quick pause here and we will be back very shortly.

45:27Okay, now for a quick touch on a story that we don't have time to cover in full, which is that Marketa is partnering with Banking Circle to expand in Europe. So the American banking as a service company, Marketa, has announced a big European expansion through a partnership with Banking Circle, bringing its account and money movement capabilities into 30 additional European countries. The move significantly expands Marketa's embedded finance infrastructure offering across Europe, combining card issuing, virtual accounts, multi-currency wallets, and cross-border payments into a single platform. The company says its total processing volume for its European card programs has grown eight times between 2022 and 2025.

46:08And the partnership with Banking Circle enables Marketa customers to embed virtual accounts, debit-linked wallets, faster payments, SEPA and SEPA Instant, and multi-currency money movement directly into their products. We've talked about partnerships once or twice already in this call. Some partnerships are deeper than others. But I think what Marketa does here by partnering with Banking Circle is expanding their capabilities, enabling customers to do more on one platform or do more through one program, which is particularly attractive for larger companies that are operating in multiple European markets and so on.

46:50So by adding more capabilities to what it already offers its customers, our marketer potentially creates more value and keeps its existing customers more engaged. Okay, let's move on. Money 2020 Europe kicks off next week in Amsterdam. That'll be this week by the time most of you are listening to this. So Money, Money, Money 2020 is this week in Amsterdam. So for anyone unfamiliar, Money 2020 is one of the biggest gatherings in global fintech and payments, bringing together banks, fintechs, regulators, payment networks, tech firms, and investors from across the industry. Some of the 11FS team will be there all week.

47:30We'll also be recording both Fintech Insider News and Fintech Insider Insights live in Amsterdam. So if you spot any of the team, come along and say hello. I'm not in that lucky group. Not that I'm bitter at all. So are any of my three guests going to Money 2020 this year? Yes, I will be there. Yes, I'm heading over. I'm doing no fewer than three panels at the current moment in time, but it's possible that that will increase as we go through the week. So I'm doing a panel on Tuesday afternoon called Engineering and AI Native Bank, and that's with a load of really senior people within kind of incumbent institutions.

48:12Then on Wednesday, I've got a more fintech-y panel with Richard from Alicaba and Ken Lisa from Funding Circle talking about British CEOs leading fintech innovation. And then that's followed by me sitting down with a bunch of regulators, which is possibly the most terrifying panel I've got of the week because we all know how much regulators love to be interrogated on stage. But yes, so I will be very much there I am very much present. And if anybody would like to slot into the gaps I do have in my schedule and meet me for coffee, I'm more than happy to catch up with people whilst I'm over there.

48:44It's always a brilliant event and I'm very pleased to have been invited back again. Herbie, are you going or does your non-profit budget not extend to Money 2020 tickets? Unfortunately, not this year. Maybe next year, we'll see. Yes, we're also two months. Herbie, if you're going, I'll get you a ticket. I'll have a ticket extra for you. Okay, thank you very much, Ozan. Yeah, we're also two weeks into our launch. So at the moment, I'm working what feels like 14 hours a day. So I don't necessarily have the time. Probably a bit busy for a week in Amsterdam would be my guess at your current stage in your company's life.

49:21Yeah, hopefully next year. And how about you, Ozan? Are you on stage? Are you just taking in the audience and making connections with people? So OpenPaid have a stand at Money 2020 also in Europe. So we travel to all of them in Asia, US and Europe. So I will be dropping by the stand, seeing some of my colleagues and also meeting some partners. Yeah, so usually that week is a very busy week for anyone in fintech or in banking. Yeah. Fabulous. So our producers have two questions, probably for you, Sarah and for Ozan. So question number one is, what's your strategy for surviving money 2020? And the second one is what should first-time attendees focus on?

50:12So maybe I'll come to you, Sarah, first. What should people focus on and what's the strategy for surviving the week? So if you're a first-time attendee, they actually run sessions for first-time attendees, which I kind of hosted a couple of last year. So definitely make time to find one of those. They'll give you all the best kind of tips and tricks. they will also make it easier for you to start meeting people money 2020 is huge there are thousands of people it can be quite terrifying to think about having to network in amongst all those people so the the first timer sessions i definitely recommend you go along find one of those it's like 30 to 40 people you can have a glass of wine or a beer people like myself who've been going for possibly 10 years um give you some some tips on kind of you know how to survive the event.

50:57So that would be my first time attendees tip. For those, for my personal strategy for surviving money 2020, take a water bottle. Don't just drink coffee, drink as much water as you drink coffee, if not more. Do, do wear trainers. I know that that comes up a lot, but honestly, and I don't just mean like trainers, I mean like ones with like arch support and ankle support, like you will be doing 20 ,000 steps a day. So just, just bear that in mind. And I think the third thing is try and make time for some of the content. I think people get very caught up in Money 2020 and about the events and the networking and trying to kind of see as many people and talk to as many people as possible.

51:35But do go along to the content. Do pay attention to the content. I know that sometimes it's just, you know, the relief of having a comfortable seat when you've been on your feet for six hours already that draws people in. But there's some really, really interesting people speaking. And at Money 2020, they tend to be a little bit more, shall we say, liberated in what they're prepared to say and you're almost certain to get some insights. And the other thing is keep an eye out for the side events because there's loads of interesting other things happening in the city. So don't just stick to Money 2020.

52:04Make sure you're kind of keeping your ears and eyes open for what else is going on. And Ozan, what are your tips apart from obviously visiting the open paid booth? What are your tips? I think like try to spend as much time as possible on the floor. Go and see as many people as possible. It's very hard to have a meaningful conversation with a counterparty during Money 2020 because they are so overwhelmed. There are so many people and there are so many stands. It's amazing how big Rye Conference Center is. So if you're a British fintech, don't go to Amsterdam to meet someone which is down the street in London.

52:46Go to Amsterdam and try to look for those fintechs in Asia, Africa, Latam, US. Get their business card and then have a strategy that when you come back home to London or wherever you're based that you contact those people by their business card and engage. Because you have a unique opportunity to meet people and companies that you otherwise would not have been able to either come across or they wouldn't even listen to you. So the smaller you are, and I'm talking to you, Herbie, you should be there, the more important it is that you work the floor and you get those business cards and build relationships.

53:20Because LinkedIn and other type of conferences can only get you somewhere. Not as much as being there in person. Can I add one more thing? Sorry, I'll be quick. Honestly, I promise, Benjamin. There's no bloody signal in the rye. Make appointments in advance. Know where you're going to meet people and set a location and a time because there is no signal and the Wi-Fi has up until this point been catastrophically, what I was going to say, rubbish. So make appointments in advance. And if you want to do what Ozan suggested, like just wander around and meet people, absolutely brilliant. But if you do have people you specifically want to see, make sure that that is set before you get into that building because otherwise you will never, ever find them.

54:04Fantastic tips from both of you. Thank you. Okay, well, thank you so much, all three of you. You've been absolutely fabulous. Where can people find out a little bit more about you and your companies? Herbie, where can people find out a little bit more about you and legacy? And of course, the term legacy fintech is quite hard to search on. Where can people find out more about legacy and about you? Yeah, that's a great point. So you can find us at www.givewithlegacy.com to try and make that easy. We also have socials, etc. But that's probably the best landing page for it. Fantastic. Ozan, where can people find out more about you and about OpenPaid?

54:41I mean, search on me on LinkedIn. That would be the easiest one. If you want to get in touch with me, and OpenPaid, just search on Google. OpenPaid, straightforward. So, yeah. And Sarah, where can people find out more about you? Well, I will be in Amsterdam from 6 a.m. Monday morning until 7 p.m. Thursday evening next week. So please do drop me a note if you'd like to catch up there. otherwise you can find me on LinkedIn. And as me, Benjamin Ensor, you can find me on LinkedIn and you can find out what the team have been up to on 11FS.com. So that wraps up our episode for today. Thank you all so much for listening to today's show.

55:19If you liked what you heard, please do follow us on your favorite podcast platform of choice and do share the podcast with a colleague or any friends you have who are interested in fintech. If you want to join the conversation, seek us out on social media. Just search for 11FS or Fintech Insider or you can email us at podcasts at 11fs.com. Thank you so much again to my three panelists and thank you all for listening and goodbye.