Monese

📰Pockit and Monese were recently featured in Money.it, a leading Italian economic and financial news outlet, in an article exploring “Fintech for Good” in Italy. It was great to see our names, alongside other leading Italian fintechs, as examples of businesses that use technology to create positive social impact. Social impact sits at the heart of Pockit and Monese’s mission. We are focused on giving people the tools to take control of their money, whatever their circumstances – particularly those who are financially underserved and too often overlooked or excluded by the traditional financial system. Pockit and Monese are proudly part of the “Fintech for Good” movement. Having expanded into 35+ markets across Europe, including in Italy, following the 2024 acquisition, a key priority for the business this year will be to further solidify that expansion and extend the benefits of inclusive financial services to even more people across Europe. https://lnkd.in/eT39pAfK

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending fscom’s ‘Payments Regulatory Outlook’, which brought together industry leaders, compliance experts, and financial stakeholders to discuss regulatory priorities for the year ahead. During the event, I took part in ‘The Great Debate’, a light-hearted yet thoughtful discussion exploring the pros and cons of bringing payment and e-money institutions within the scope of the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA). While there are arguments on both sides, I made the case that a tailored regulatory regime remains preferable. Bringing these firms into FSMA risks stifling innovation by adding red tape and increasing costs, without delivering better outcomes for customers. Ultimately, regulation works best when it is proportionate and targeted, rather than being a blanket approach. Thank you to fscom for organising a great event, and to Philip Creed, Stuart Smith, Daniel Alter, Kam Biring, Peter Tomlinson and Garreth Dorree for a lively and engaging debate.

As we approach Christmas and the New Year, I want to say a huge thank you to the entire Pockit and Monese team for an incredible 12 months. At Pockit and Monese, we provide support for our customers 365 days a year, and a special thanks goes to staff members keeping the lights on while others enjoy a well-earned break over the festive period. We’ve had some fantastic Christmas celebrations over the past few weeks, and it’s been great to reflect on everything we’ve achieved in 2025 I wish everyone at Pockit and Monese, as well as our customers, partners and investors, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🎆

As we wrap up 2025, I wanted to reflect on the highlights from what has been a huge year for both Pockit and Monese. 2025 has been firmly focused on integrating both businesses, following the acquisition of Monese by Pockit last year, and driving subsequent growth. It has been great to see that momentum reflected in the numbers: 4️⃣1️⃣We attracted 41% more new customers, demonstrating strong growth across both organic and paid channels. 2️⃣4️⃣2️⃣The usage of our Cash Advance product grew by 242%, exemplifying exceptional demand and strong adoption across both Pockit and Monese customers. I’m equally proud of what we’ve accomplished beyond financial performance, with key personal highlights including: 🤝The successful integration of Monese and Pockit, watching how the two teams have worked seamlessly together to help deliver the best possible user experience and service to our customers. Experiencing this first-hand on my visits to our Tallinn office was especially rewarding. 🏆Winning multiple awards, including the ‘Innovation in Fintech’ award at the Barclays Entrepreneur Awards, and being selected as a Top UK Fintech by CNBC and Statista. 🏛️Attending an event at 10 Downing Street last week, hosted by the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves and Alexandra Depledge, MBE. 💵Speaking at Money20/20, one of the largest global fintech events, including joining a joint panel with Greg Cox and leading a session exploring Pockit’s acquisition of Monese. A huge thank you to the teams at Pockit and Monese for what has been an incredibly exciting year. We have some great things planned for 2026, and I can’t wait to share more in the New Year.

Last night I had the privilege of joining over 100 fellow entrepreneurs at 10 Downing Street, for an event hosted by Rt Hon Rachel Reeves and Alexandra Depledge, MBE.    We covered a range of challenges and opportunities facing UK scale-ups - from attracting and retaining world-class talent to how we can play our part in driving the economy forward. Key highlights included:   🚀Boosting investment in newly listed UK companies through the three-year Stamp Duty reduction, lowering friction for investors and strengthening the UK’s attractiveness.   🤝Empowering scale-ups to hire and retain the best talent by broadening the EMI share-option scheme, giving more colleagues a stake in the long-term success of the business they’re helping to build.   💷 Unlocking the pool of capital available to scale-ups via greater VCT and EIS limits, enabling ambitious scale-ups to invest in the robust infrastructure, operations and innovation needed to grow.   Thank you to 10 Downing Street for the invitation. I look forward to seeing what these measures mean for the next generation of UK scale-ups, and for the future of Britain’s economy.   #Entrepreneurship #Scaleups

Despite the implementation of new APP fraud rules last year, the issue continues to plague financial services. Losses from people being tricked into transferring money to fraudsters increased by 12% in the first half of this year, totalling £257.5 million, according to data from UK Finance. These numbers are far too high. Fraud has a devastating impact on victims’ lives. We have spoken to customers who have described how the scams have affected not just their finances but their relationships and mental health. The industry needs to go further to tackle this issue, which is something I have been very vocal about. In particular, with two-thirds of APP fraud cases starting online, social media giants must do more to prevent scams and be held accountable for doing so. As I highlighted in my interview in The i Paper earlier this year, social media platforms have shown they can’t be trusted to address the problem. Regulators must act before the numbers go up even further. https://lnkd.in/esniYwst

On Monday, I attended the Future Identity Fraud and FinCrime event, which convened leaders across financial services, government, retail, and technology to address the fast-evolving landscape of fraud and financial crime prevention. I spoke on a panel about the growing sophistication of deepfakes, discussing key industry issues such as emerging identity theft typologies, how to spot AI-generated deepfakes, and ways to strengthen verification to stay one step ahead of criminals. I also argued that as long as those committing fraud bear no real consequences, the behaviour will continue, especially since the cost of accessing the tech is so low, but the financial returns are so high. The negative emotions that used to come with financial crime and fraud don't seem to be an influencing factor when committing fraud anymore. As I’ve said before, to make real progress in tackling these growing threats, our industry needs to collaborate as a sector, very similar to how fraudsters collaborate. This includes leveraging bespoke technology that can stay ahead of fraudsters, rather than merely keeping pace, as well as providing real-time communication and greater transparency when sharing customer information. Only by working together can we effectively address this challenge. A big thank you to Future Identity for a fantastic, well-run event and my fellow panellists for such an interesting and compelling discussion: Aarti Samani, Tobin Broadfoot, and Aurora Kapo! #FinancialCrime #Deepfakes #Fraud

Earlier this week, I attended Financial Crime 360, the most influential financial crime and fraud prevention event in Europe. I was delighted to take part in a panel on fake ID, where we discussed emerging identity theft typologies, the use of data in building a well-informed customer profile, and the UK’s new digital ID rollout. I argued that to effectively tackle the issue of fake IDs and identity verification, we need to work smarter, not harder. This involves communicating in real-time, having greater transparency when sharing customer information, and leveraging technology that can stay ahead of fraudsters. I’d like to thank the organisers for a great event and my fellow panellists for such an intriguing discussion: Thara Brooks, Joseph Bristow, Chris Ainsley, Michael Jacobs and David Comley! #FinancialCrime360 #Compliance #FraudPrevention