Welcome to an extra special episode of Fintech Insider - our 150th episode and it's a Halloween-themed show recorded in front of a live studio audience at our home in WeWork, London. Simon, David and Jason are joined by Valentina Kristensen, Head of Marketing at Oak North; Charlie Wood from Capco; Monty Munford, Journalist for titles such as Forbes, The Telegraph, The BBC and The Economist; and Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia.
Straight on to the news and the guys discuss why Monzo has become a chat up line in London's bars and how maybe it's all to do with their sense of community. Plus, Britain's fintech boom has pushed finance trademarks to a record high. So where will new fintech company names come from?
With reports this week that people trust Amazon almost as much as they trust their bank, we discuss just how close tech firms have got with their customers, and what that might mean for banking in future. Find out who our live audience trusts most. After Dark wasn't going to pass without talking about ICOs - so do they meet William Bernstein's four criteria for a 'bubble'?
No live recording is complete without a good feature, so we have a bit of audience participation in Trick or Treat: Celebrity ICO & crypto endorsements, including Bono, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and many more. Plus, the hotly anticipated return of the Fintech Wall of Emoji, introduced by the authority on Emoji interpretation, and Chief Emoji Officer, Jeremy Burge, and featuring Jamie Dimon vs bitcoin, iPhone X and "being the Uber of...".
The guys also discuss SMBs; gender equality in banking and further afield; the Uber credit card; and Amazon Alexa's rib-tickling sense of humour.
We had a fantastic night an we hope you did too - thanks to everyone who came to party with us, you made the night.
Hope you enjoy the show and don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes! Let us know your thoughts @FintechInsiders or find us at podcasts@11fs.com. Special Guests: Charlie Wood, Monty Munford, and Valentina Kristensen.