Ep. 165. State of the Union 4

Sam Maule is joined by Jason Bates and new 11:FS team member, Doug Bobenhouse in Chicago to discuss the State of the Union in the US, wrapping up 2017 and looking ahead to next year.

They discuss the history of fintech, starting with pre-paid cards, and the slowness of movement by the big players in the US in particular to adapt and change.

Jason talks through "platformification" and the ability to make fast changes by building new propositions on top of old systems, turning products into services.

They discuss the risks and also the opportunities for smaller banks in the space to collaborate and share learnings and also APIs and backend systems, with each other and also the big banks in order to take advantage of the changes in the space, and "take the game to the big guys".

What does "ruining the romance" in banking mean? Jason and Sam explain all.

Sam and Doug discuss how Chicago made its mark on the financial services landscape of the US, and its benefits for start ups in the space.

And Jason asks are faster payments even possible in the US? Sam and Doug debate, and Sam Maule is left speechless by one suggestion - listen out for that!

The guys also look ahead to 2018 and give their predictions for the next year in financial services for the US, including Dodd Frank, and marketplace competition vs monopoly.

Enjoy the show! Spread the word, tell all your friends and don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes. If you want to get in touch, drop us a line at [email protected] or on Twitter @FintechInsiders and follow us on Facebook.

Special Guest: Doug Bobenhouse.