543. Insights: Why is the gig economy so underserved?

40min listen

543. Insights: Why is the gig economy so underserved?

Sarah Kocianski is joined by some great guests from Gigwage, Lance and Branch to discuss the gig economy and how the market has been largely underserved by traditional finance, as well as looking at one of the big reasons why the gig economy has exploded in the last year. During Covid-19 we saw more and more people embarking into gig work, for reasons ranging between increased flexibility, having lost their job or just to gain a side hustle. What has this meant for financial services aimed at gig workers?

Our expert host, Sarah Kocianski, is joined by some great guests to dive into the gig economy.

The gig economy is en route to generate $455 billion globally by 2023, and in 2020 gig workers represented around 35% of the US workforce. There currently is no universal definition of a gig worker, but one common explanation is that gig workers are independent contractors or freelancers who typically do short-terms work for multiple clients.

Why is it so difficult for financial services companies to cater to gig workers? Are the workers' financial needs too unusual? What impact does a growing gig economy have on the financial services industry — does it force providers to look for ways to serve the market to avoid being left behind? These are some of the questions we try to answer on today's episode.

This week's expert guests include:

  • Craig Lewis, Founder & CEO, Gigwage
  • Oona Rokyta, Co - Founder & CEO, Lance
  • Atif Siddiqi, Founder & CEO, Branch

This episode is sponsored by Temenos. Temenos is the world’s leader in banking software, helping over 3,000 banks serve over 1.2 billion people. Our purpose is to make banking better. Together with our community, we make banks more successful, individuals better banked, and society better served. With our software banks can create more human digital experiences, hyper-efficient business models, and transform their back-office. Our clients are the highest performing banks with cost-income ratios which are twice better than the industry average.
Learn more at Temenos.com.

This episode is brought to you by Visa, one of the world’s leaders in digital payments. Visa’s Fintech Fast Track program is a quick and easy way to connect to the Visa network and issue payment credentials. Whether you’re an up and coming neobank, modernizing B2B payments, or launching a new crypto solution - amazing things can happen when your innovation is combined with the power of one of the world's largest payment networks. Learn more about the possibilities at http://partner.visa.com/.

**This episode is also sponsored by YouGov. **With a global consumer panel of 15 million registered members, 11+ years’ historic single-source data, and proprietary technology that connects data and simplifies research, YouGov is home to the largest collection of constant, entirely permissioned consumer opinion and rich behavioural intelligence in the world.
YouGov’s latest report measures the effect of COVID-19 on consumer attitudes, behaviours, and preferences when it comes to financial services. Beyond the pandemic, it examines the payments landscape, investments, sustainability & ethics and more in 17 markets. Download On the money: YouGov’s Global Banking & Finance Report 2021

Fintech Insider by 11:FS is a podcast dedicated to all things fintech, banking, technology and financial services. Hosted by a rotation of 11:FS experts including David Brear, Simon Taylor, Jason Bates and Sarah Kocianski and joined by a range of brilliant guests, we cover the latest global news, bring you interviews from industry experts or take a deep dive into subject matters such as APIs, AI or digital banking.

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Special Guests: Atif Siddiqi, Craig Lewis, and Oona Rokyta.