Antonio Argiolas

Android v iOS has been described as an 'endless debate' by many tech analysts and commentators. Ultimately, at the end of the day it comes down to preference. I had a really interesting conversation with Sue Azari, eCommerce Industry Lead at AppsFlyer, a number of weeks ago. The interview largely focused on the key findings that emerged from their annual State of eCommerce App Marketing Report, but we also touched on subjects such as how do businesses really drive and deliver customer loyalty in the new digital economy - and what factors have led to the re-emergence of 'paid' marketing campaigns. However, one of the most pertinent outcomes from the report was the fact that shopping applications see a much higher return in 'long-term value' with iOS users than Android, and rather inevitably as a result of that are investing significantly in iOS. "Typically, what we have seen in the marketplace, and what has surfaced from speaking directly to shopping applications, is the fact that they see a much higher lifetime value in return app spend for users that are on iOS. The data clearly indicates that over time, iOS users are likely to spend much more than those using Android devices. The other thing that we have been able to identify, which we believe has been aided by the economic recovery we have enjoyed of late, is a 21% spike in in-app purchases on iOS in Q4 of 2023, versus 9% on Android,” said Azari. To read the full exchange simply click on the link below, and a big thanks once again to Sue Azari for her insights and perspectives - and to Vernon Saldanha for making the interview happen. The interview will also be featured in September's edition of CNME, which will go to print tomorrow. So, the only question left to ask is which one are you, Android or iOS? 🤔 😁 #AppsFlyer #SueAzari #iOS #Android #Shopping #Retail #Applications #Marketing

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Monzo Bank's FY24 results are in, and they've hit a 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭. Diving deep into the numbers reveals three key drivers behind its impressive growth: 1. Customer Expansion 👤 Monzo's customer base grew from 7.4M in FY23 to 9.7M in FY24, including a doubling of business accounts from 200K to 400K. With 46% of new customers acquired through word of mouth, this organic growth highlights strong customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. 2. New Product Innovations 🆕 The launch of products such as tax-free savings ISAs has attracted 1.3M customers. Monzo Flex (a novel credit card/BNPL hybrid), and overdraft facilities offer higher interest rates and greater financial flexibility. A significant 42% rise in card spend—from £33.6B in FY23 to £47.8B in FY24—demonstrates heightened customer engagement and trust, solidifying Monzo as a preferred choice for daily transactions. 3. Enhanced Profitability and Financial Strength 📈 Monzo’s profit before tax hit £15.4M, marking its first full year of profitability. This milestone underscores effective cost management, diversified revenue streams, and scalable operations. With gross revenue surging 2.5x to £880M, Monzo’s successful monetisation strategies and strong market demand are evident. At the same time, customer deposits soared by 88% to £11.2B, reflecting growing customer confidence and reliance on Monzo as a primary banking institution. Future Growth Trajectories: Strategic Focus Areas 🎯 Monzo aims to expand its consumer base to 11M by FY25, leveraging organic growth and innovative marketing strategies. It plans to venture into mortgages and go deeper into business lending, indicating significant headroom for product diversification and revenue enhancement. Moreover, Monzo's strategic entry into Europe, with an Irish HQ, and exploration of the US market, signals an ambitious geographic expansion plan to unlock new growth avenues.  ___________________ 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Supercharge your Fintech IQ with exclusive reports, industry trend breakdowns, and expert analysis on everything shaping the future of finance.  Become a member and steer your business course with actionable intelligence on the winning strategies of leading fintechs - because knowing what's next is the ultimate competitive advantage ➡️: https://lnkd.in/gVfE8Cwg via @WhiteSight #fintech #digitalfinance #digitalbank #profitability #payments #lending #Monzo

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I keep seeing Pay by Bank (open banking) appearing. This is Just Eat (Doordash for the UK). When you get to checkout there's a TrueLayer flow for checkout. Given their partnership with Stripe will we see this pop up in more major UK and European merchants? I think the answer is yes. The insight here is a lot of people thought e-commerce would be the last to get pay by bank. It's actually looking like one of the first major use cases.

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Big B2B Payments news - From today, Kriya is available on Stripe for UK Merchants! I’m excited to announce this collaboration with Stripe, a leading global payments provider. 💸 We’ve taken the age-old need to provide trade credit and turned it into a digital, scalable B2B payment method. Merchants can now offer their customers PayLater options, which helps them optimise their working capital and buy more with confidence. It’s a win-win. ⚡ Through our direct integration, Stripe merchants can simply toggle Kriya as a payment method to their existing checkout experience without any development work. It’s that easy. 📈 With Stripe, we’re providing the tools merchants need to diversify their eCommerce offering and grow their revenues. For more about this ground-breaking partnership and how to grow your B2B revenues with PayLater, check out the links in the comments. #Partnership #Stripe #B2B #B2BPayments #BNPL #eCommerce# #PayLater #TradeCredit

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Accel, the Silicon Valley investor known for backing Monzo Bank, GoCardless, and Synthesia, has raised a $650 million European startup fund 💰 Andrei Brasoveanu, a Partner at Accel, commented on LinkedIn: “When we opened our office in London 24 years ago, Europe’s tech ecosystem was nascent and far from an obvious choice to build a team on the ground. It took another five years for the first unicorn to appear, but now the talent flywheel is spinning and so many fantastic companies have paved the way for the next generation of founders.” According to Dealroom.co, the European and Israeli VC market is now nearly half the size of the US market, with approximately $66 billion invested in 2023... 👇 Read more below 👇 #StartupsMagazine #Startups #Entrepreneur #VC #Funding #VCMarket

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Interesting move by Revolut, to now try to boost revenues by having targeted advertising. Will be fascinating to see whether there is much uptake from users, as it certainly is an intriguing move. https://lnkd.in/eWrDDR-E

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🌟 Monzo vs. Monese: Which Neobank Fits Your Banking Style? 🌟 Monzo and Monese are both popular neobanks offering distinct features and services. Our detailed comparison delves into how these two platforms differ in terms of functionality, user experience, and value. Whether you’re looking for comprehensive financial tools, flexible account options, or seamless international transactions, our analysis will help you determine which neobank aligns best with your needs. 👉 Explore our full comparison to find out which neobank is right for you: https://lnkd.in/dieSbwdY #Neobank #Monzo #Monese #DigitalBanking #PersonalFinance #BankingComparison #WhatNeoBank

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Unveiling the 2024 UK Fintech Top 50 Report (Top 50 UK private fintech companies). Takeaway 1: less growth but much more profit -      Total Revenues of top 50 UK Fintech companies in 2023: £6.2bn; -      Revenues growth rate 2023 vs 2022: +45%; -      The annual revenues growth rate declined from 68% in 2022 to 45% in 2023; -      Combined positive EBITDA of £169m (vs a total loss of over £300m in 2022); -      Chip, Oxbury Bank, Truelayer and Moneybox registered the highest revenues growth rate in 2023 (+800%, +243%, +189%, +183%). -      The 10 most profitable companies have also a higher growth rate than the rest (+74% growth rate vs 48% of the benchmark). Takeaway 2: The breakeven message was heard by the sector -      17 companies are now profitable (34% of the panel); -      20 companies are > the Rule of 40 (Growth Rate + EBITDA Margin should be over 40%) vs. 10 in 2022; -      The median EBITDA margin was -39% (-96% in 2022); -      For the second year in a row Oak North has the best EBITDA Margin (64%), followed by Starling (47%) and Trading 212 UK (33%); -      Median GP Margin of 76%, The companies with positive EBITDA have a GP Margin 35% higher than the unprofitable companies (81% vs 60%). Takeaway 3: Fintech is just 10 years old but represents already 5% of the total UK finance industry -      The revenues of the top 50 fintech companies represented in 2023 around 5% of the total revenues of the top 5 UK Banks vs 3% in 2022; -      On average the companies in the fintech index are 10 years old (the top 5 UK banks are on average 249 years old).   Takeaway 4: Valuation are still too high, new down rounds are coming -      On average the fintech panel is valued @ 11.1x Revenues (latest disclosed valuation considered); -      The fintech sector in the US (70 listed players) is valued at 4.5x Revenues; -      In the UK, the main fintech listed players are Wise (8x revenues, 19x Earnings), AJ Bell (8x Revenues, 20x Earnings) and Pension Bee (12x Revenues, still loss making).

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Monzo Bank has raised another $190 million as the challenger bank looks to expand its presence internationally — particularly in the U.S. The new round comes just two months after Monzo raised $425 million, meaning the London-based company has now raised north of $610 million in 2024, and $1.5 billion since its inception nine years ago. Do you think that Monzo can make it in the US ? I personally don't think so. What about other international markets ? in Europe in key countries like France or Germany, or Latam like Brazil ? Isn't it too late for them to come there and compete locally with the likes of Revolut, Nubank, N26, who locally took over their market. I don't think Monzo would go internationally while applying for a bank license locally. Are we back in 2018? Again I believe going international is great but assuming you can leverage your costs, level your infrastructure, bring competition and innovation, this is what we did back in 2006 with Fortuneo Bank when we went international. What do you think Efi Pylarinou, Jason Mikula, Marcel van Oost, Bryan Clagett ?

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Big news for the BNPL space: Affirm is launching in the UK just as the industry faces new regulatory changes. It’s a bold move, especially as regulators focus more on transparency, consumer debt, and the broader impacts of BNPL on financial health. With BNPL’s rapid growth, we’ve seen the convenience it offers but also the need for responsible practices to protect consumers. The UK’s regulatory changes could be a turning point, pushing the industry to find a better balance between accessibility and accountability. Affirm stepping into this market at such a critical moment will be interesting to watch. The hope is that this shift will lead to more sustainable and fair models for everyone involved. https://lnkd.in/d4sDMp-W #Fintech #BNPL #FinancialHealth #ResponsibleFinance

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In the world of consumer finance: 1. Chase discontinuing working with Klarna -- do Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) customers tend to dispute charges? 2. I had no Klarna balance and was not at risk of late fees; I'd call this somewhat misleading advertising to get people to update payment information proactively. 3. BNPL is going to be an interesting story; they're already funny for providing credit on top of credit. Whatever credit the credit card companies authorized, BNPL companies take just a little extra risk on top of it.

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Finteching in world- Same stories everywhere Yonder raises £23.4m Running a #Creditcard fintech isn't easy. To establish such business models doesn't make sense to me as these models have business sustainability issues. Issuers sharing interchange & interest rate likely to impact lenders more. Lenders probably are ok for distribution now but eventually they would stop such arrangements. Lenders can create their own distribution layers marketed by lenders only. Through #techfin sourcing they can. If you are building a tech stack for FI. Please reach out. On top of it Membership fee and earning from businesses sound good but not easy. If you want to learn more about my thoughts why would lenders like to kill these models at some scale? Please DM... #Creditcard #Fintech #Banks #issuers #interchange

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Revolut's Rise: Digital Banking and the Power of AI - A Weekend Reading Revolut Ltd., a leading European fintech firm, has recently seen significant valuation changes and strategic moves.  In March, an investment trust managed by Schroders Plc raised Revolut's valuation by 45%, implying a worth of $25.7 billion. This rebound in valuation highlights renewed investor confidence in the fintech sector, despite a drop from its 2021 peak valuation of $33 billion.  The Schroders report credits Revolut’s international expansion and solid progress for this positive reassessment. As reported by Financial Times and Bloomberg, Revolut has hired Morgan Stanley to facilitate the sale of $500 million in existing shares, potentially raising the company valuation to $40 billion. This move aims to provide liquidity for employees and early investors amid a sluggish IPO market.  The $40billion would "surpass the market capitalisation of UK lender NatWest and Paris-based Société Générale, and be on par with that of Lloyds Banking Group." Revolut is also actively pursuing a UK banking license, which would allow it to expand its services in its home market.  In the business banking space, the Revolut Business offer has all the chances to become dominant in geographies like Romania and Eastern Europe. I am not an official promoter of Revolut Business, but I have to note that their offering includes, in addition to standard banking: primary accounting, expense management, invoicing and, most recently, payments to treasury accounts. (for Romania) Read More: Financial Times: https://lnkd.in/dk65wZg8 Bloomberg News: https://lnkd.in/dWptyRGB

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Passive churn exists because payment processors don't trust subscriptions. Repeat charges on default raise a red flag for most. Especially on certain types of goods. If you're seeing higher than usual declines, look into @ButterPayments.

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Very interesting article in the Financial Times which sums the situation up perfectly. The new entrants have moved the market on with the services delivered, however despite being used for their "free" or innovative services, users still remain wedded to the incumbents. https://lnkd.in/eR3kaGXV

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With our first clients, we are happy to see how Octopus helps entrepreneurs navigate financial challenges with ease, accessible today only through AI 🎉 We have already taught Octopus to: 💸 Assess any founder's decision in monetary terms, whether predicting what results a marketing campaign should bring to cover costs or when hiring a new developer will start to pay off 📊 Track financial KPIs in real-time and create financial decks for investors, including P&L and unit economics 🤖 Answer any financial question in seconds, from calculating costs to recommending ways to increase sales We believe that AI can be a great player in financial teams today. It processes data more quickly and lets your team focus on more interesting challenges. How about you? 🤔 #AIinFinance

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Great points by Simon Taylor with Fintech Brainfood today. https://lnkd.in/exv88eWy "Most payment professionals still rank Stablecoins relatively low on their priorities. Yet, they rank global acceptance and the challenge of being international as the highest or near highest. I put it to you that you're systematically not paying enough attention to the weak signals in this market because of personal biases, lack of usefulness in your context, or distaste for anything with a proximity to Crypto. That's a recipe for disruption." 10x is probably underselling. Stable coins and payments in general are the most obvious answer to mainstream application in fintech/financial services due to the magnitudes of gains in efficiency. Sure there are AML concerns, but this can actually be fairly easily solved with KYC'd wallets. Additionally, ACH kiting, which really plagued the fintech ecosystem as challenger banks started to scale would be impossible on the blockchain.

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A great question here.

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June Updates from The Bank of London! 📢 🚀 We’ve been so busy building that we’re a tad late with the June product updates, please find a summary of what we have been up to!! ✨ API Enhancements: - Create, edit & manage physical accounts - View virtual accounts and transaction histories - View, edit & cancel direct debit mandates via API. 🔒 🖥️ Online Banking: - We've now launched the ability for clients to utilise two-factor authentication apps within our online banking experience. - We've further digitised the onboarding experience for authorised payment service providers with agents. - Customers now have an enhanced payments search and payee management experience. - Customers can now receive in-app, SMS & e-mail notifications for a number of different client scenarios. All personalised to your preferences. The velocity & significance of our change is starting to grow & we’re all excited to continue to keep building for prospects & clients alike. Charlotte Bullock / Dan Turdean / Andy Day / Tom Spence / Nanna Bergmann

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