A leading payments industry news source for more than 17 years. Glenbrook curates the news and keeps you abreast of the important daily headlines in payments.
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June 2, 2023
On the web
Social Media Sites are Wild West for Shopping Fraud, Says UK Bank
The Guardian
June 1, 2023
On the wires
Mesh Payments Expands Across Europe, UK, and Asia to Support Global Enterprises with Unified Spend Management in Local Currencies
PR Newswire
May 19, 2023
On the web
BoE To Stop Revolut Bid For UK Bank Licence: Report
Barrons
May 17, 2023
On the wires
Nearly 6 Million Britons Missed Payments on Bills, Regulator Says
Reuters
May 16, 2023
On the web
17% Drop in APP Fraud Highlights Influence of Confirmation of Payee and Tailored Communications: FICO
Electronic Payments International
May 12, 2023
On the web
What the Prime Minister’s Fraud Strategy Means for You
GOV.UK
May 11, 2023
On the web
Warning UK Losing £2,300 Per Minute to Fraud
BBC News
New Barclays Tool Lets UK Businesses Invoice in Local Currencies
FStech
April 27, 2023
On the wires
FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: February 2023
Business Wire
April 24, 2023
On the web
UK Government Adopts a “Pro-Innovation” Approach to AI Regulation
Inside Privacy
April 19, 2023
On the wires
FICO Data: UK Credit Card Customers Showing Signs of Financial Stress
Businesswire
April 18, 2023
On the wires
Bank of England Says May Need Limits on Using Stablecoins for Payments
Reuters
April 17, 2023
On the wires
Britain Seeks to Boost Banking Services from Fintechs
Reuters
March 15, 2023
On the web
Banking Aggregation and Payment Automation Platform Numeral Launches in the UK
EIN News
March 14, 2023
On the web
HSBC Plans to Inject £2 Billion ($2.4 Billion) into Silicon Valley Bank’s UK Division
Mint
February 6, 2023
On the wires
UK Plans to Reimburse Scam Victims 'Fundamentally Flawed,' Lawmakers Say
Reuters
Proposals to reimburse hundreds of millions of pounds to scam victims in Britain are "fundamentally flawed" and are taking too long to come into force, lawmakers said in a report published on Monday. Banks will have to refund within 48 hours customers tricked into sending money to fraudsters under plans drawn up by watchdog the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) unveiled in September.
January 10, 2023
On the web
Digital Wallets and Biometrics to Replace Traditional Payments in UK: Mastercard Survey
Biometric Update
December 26, 2022
On the web
BP and MAN to Pilot In-Vehicle Contactless Payments for Truck Drivers (UK)
NFCW
“Petrol retailer BP and truck and bus manufacturer MAN are teaming up to pilot in-vehicle contactless payments at fuel stations across the UK. MAN plans to follow the UK pilot of its new MAN SimplePay digital wallet for trucks with a rollout in Germany and then additional countries “later”. For the UK pilot, MAN is initially launching a solution for automated contactless and secure payment processes when refuelling that lets the driver stay with the truck, “thus eliminating visits to the filling station shop and saving time as a result. This also reduces possible contact with other people in times of the coronavirus pandemic.””
December 16, 2022
On the wires
Billhop & UnionPay International Announce New Partnership
PR Newswire
“Billhop, the smart online bill payment platform, announces a new partnership with UnionPay International (UPI), the global network servicing the world’s largest cardholder base, enabling support for UnionPay card products across its digital payment solutions. The agreement highlights Billhop’s and UPI’s commitment to prioritising accessibility and adoption within the card payments sphere. UnionPay cardholders across the EEA and the UK will be able to access Billhop’s unique card payment solutions, developed to simplify payments and unlock better cash flow control by bridging the gaps around card acceptance rates. The partnership enables UnionPay credit cardholders to pay almost any bill or supplier invoice accepted by Billhop, even when their end beneficiary does not accept card payments.”
Meet Mercuryo`s Banking-as-a-Service Payment Solution With The New Partner – Advcash
PR Newswire
“More and more companies are realising the need to introduce innovative products that solve pain points of the current market. Meet Advcash, another company that has integrated a breakthrough solution from Mercuryo – Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS). Advcash is an electronic payment and digital currency platform offering services for individuals and online businesses. It has partnered with Mercuryo, a cryptopowered global payments infrastructure provider, to equip its users with virtual IBANs, becoming the second company in less than three months to have implemented this solution.”
December 14, 2022
On the wires
Cash Use Slips to Just 15% of British Purchases in 2021
Reuters
“ritish shoppers used cash in only 15% of transactions in 2021, half the level of the year before and down from nearly 40% before the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers said on Friday. The British Retail Consortium said government advice to go contactless during the pandemic, as well as a surge in online shopping, had accelerated an existing shift away from cash. Debit cards accounted for 67% of transactions last year, up from 54% in 2020, while credit cards made up 15%, up from 14%, said the BRC, which represents major stores who accounted for almost 40% of British retail sales last year.”
December 9, 2022
On the web
A New Messaging Standard for UK Payments: ISO 20022
Bank of England
“Payments data in the UK is changing. The UK payments industry is moving to ISO 20022, the emerging global standard for payments messaging. This standard creates a common language for payments data across the globe. This change includes our sterling high value payment system CHAPS, which will migrate to ISO 20022 messaging on 19 June 2023. Better data in payments promises to deliver significant long-term benefits for the economy. To adapt to the new messaging standard and accompanying data requirements, your organisation might have to make process and technology changes.”
December 8, 2022
On the web
Half of UK Online Retailers Worried About Surviving the Next 12 Months – Could Instant Payments Save the Day?
Internet Retailing
“British business is bracing itself for a difficult year ahead, new research from Europe’s leading open banking platform, Tink, has revealed. In a recent survey of UK online retailers, half (50%) said they are worried about how their business will survive the next 12 months, with four in ten (41%) afraid of going bankrupt. As consumers rein in spending, two thirds (66%) of retailers are expecting to see, or are already seeing, more abandoned baskets – particularly at the point of payment (64%). Lower average order values (75%) and fewer repeat customers (67%) are also either expected or already being observed. To adapt and survive, four in ten (40%) retailers have already or are considering cutting costs across the board – from reducing staff (49%) and training (55%) to advertising (52%), technology and online/website investments (48%). Services that customers have come to expect for free are also under threat – with over half of merchants having already stopped or are considering stopping free delivery (53%) and free returns (54%). Top priorities for merchants looking to reduce payments related costs include reducing payment acceptance fees (44%), lowering costs associated with fraud (35%) and cutting refund costs (40%).”
November 4, 2022
On the wires
Santander to Block UK Transfers to Crypto Exchanges in 2023
“Santander will block UK customers from sending real-time payments to cryptocurrency exchanges next year as part of measures to protect customers from scams, the bank said in an emailed statement on Friday. At an unspecified point during 2023, the bank will introduce a block on all real-time payments to cryptocurrency exchanges made via telephone banking and in-branch payments, as well as online and mobile banking.”
August 22, 2022
On the web
FCA Warns Buy Now Pay Later Firms About Misleading Adverts
FCA
“The FCA has warned firms that offer Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) products that although some agreements are unregulated the financial promotions of all BNPL products must comply with the financial promotion rules. Unauthorised firms might be committing a criminal offence if they don’t have an FCA-authorised firm approve their financial promotions. Authorised firms selling unregulated or exempt BNPL products must comply with the relevant rules unless an exemption applies. This includes that their BNPL financial promotions must be clear, fair and not misleading. The FCA is concerned consumers could be misled if BNPL financial promotions do not comply and has seen financial adverts on websites and social media, including posts by social media influencers, which may breach FCA rules.”
August 17, 2022
On the web
Funding Circle Cofounder Unveils New Super Payments Fintech Venture With $27M Investment
TechCrunch
“Funding Circle cofounder Samir Desai has unveiled a new U.K. fintech startup called Super Payments , a venture he founded back in February but which very little was known about up until now. Reports emerged a few months back that Desai had raised around $30 million for this new company, and today this has been confirmed. Super has raised £22.5 million (roughly $27 million as of today) in a round of funding led by Accel, with participation from Union Square Ventures, LocalGlobe, and a slew of angel investors. While Super isn’t opening for business until later this year, the company has now instigated a waitlist for consumers and businesses keen to be first-in-line for when things officially get off the ground — this will include an early-access program.”
UK Group to Test Stablecoin Payments, Provide Data to Bank of England
Coindesk
“The Digital FMI Consortium, a group of private-sector companies, said it plans to test cross-border payments and provide recommendations to the Bank of England using its own sterling-backed stablecoin, dSterling. “The backing of the dSterling will be pounds held in a Bank of England reserve account and it is 100% backed,” a company spokeperson told CoinDesk. The pilot, known as Project New Era, will start in October and run for 12-24 months, it said a press release . Digital FMI, which has 15-20 members, will provide white papers and recommendations to the Bank of England and other regulators. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to hold its value against another asset, often the U.S. dollar.”
August 11, 2022
On the web
Open Banking Oversight Committee Takes Next Step with Creation of Working Group
AltFi
“Bryan Zhang, the co-founder of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, will head up the strategic working group for the oversight of open banking. The UK has moved another step closer to a clear vision of the open banking Oversight Committee with its latest appointment. Bryan Zhang will act as the new independent chair for the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee’s (JROC) strategic working group (SWG). Co-chaired by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payments Systems Regulator (PSR), the SWG is a non-decision-making consultative forum to provide industry and stakeholder insight to help shape the future development of open banking.”
June 23, 2022
On the web
FICO UK Credit Card Market Report April 2022
Business Wire
“FICO’s report of April 2022 UK card trends shows some early signs of the impact of the widely reported cost-of-living pressures. The monthly report based on the largest consortium of UK cards data shows a typical rise in card spend and balances, but also a slight increase in missed payments. Average monthly spend hit £760, tied with December 2021 as the highest in more than two years. Highlights: Average total sales at £760 – a 10 percent month on month increase, which is typical behaviour in card spend for the time of yearAverage active balance is also rising month on month – again typical for the time of year. No change month on month in percentage of payments to balance, suggesting continued pragmatic management of credit card accounts. But a small uplift in the average balance for accounts missing 1 payment suggests inflation is having an impact”
May 19, 2022
On the web
UK’s Digital Watchdogs Take a Closer Look at Algorithmic Processing
Business News Wales
“This “algorithmic processing” is commonplace and often beneficial, underpinning many of the products and services we use in everyday life. From detecting fraudulent activity in financial services to connecting us with friends online or translating languages at the click of a button, these systems have become a core part of modern society. However, algorithmic systems, particularly modern Machine Learning (ML) or Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches, pose significant risks if used without due care. They can introduce or amplify harmful biases that lead to discriminatory decisions or unfair outcomes that reinforce inequalities. They can be used to mislead consumers and distort competition. Regulators need to work together to articulate the nature and severity of these risks and take measures to mitigate them. That’s how they can help empower the development and deployment of algorithmic processing systems in safe, responsible ways that are pro-innovation and pro-consumer.”
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