Companies Global

Barclays Wins UK Supreme Court Case Over Push Payment Fraud

Reuters

"Barclays on Wednesday won a UK Supreme Court appeal that turned on the extent of banks' duties to protect customers from fraudsters in a closely watched decision lawyers say could stem a flood of litigation."

Tags: UK

Global

Bank of England Collaborates with Wallet Manufacturer to Enhance CBDC Transaction Privacy

InsideBitcoins.com

"The Bank of England (BoE) is teaming up with payments platform Nuggets to develop a privacy and identity layer for the proposed digital pound.  According to a Wednesday report by The Block, Nuggets will design a private and secure payments feature using ‘Untraceable connections to privately swap and check credentials without revealing identities.’"

Tags: UK

Companies Global

Mastercard Is Piloting Tokenized Bank Deposits in New UK Testbed

Coindesk

"Mastercard is setting up a testbed, dubbed the Multi-Token Network (MTN), which will begin by exploring tokenized bank deposits, and which will be available in beta mode this summer in the U.K."

Tags: UK

Global

UK Crypto, Stablecoin Rules Receive Royal Assent, Passing Into Law

Coindesk

"A U.K. bill giving regulators the power to supervise crypto and stablecoins was approved by King Charles Thursday, marking the last formal stage that makes the bill law. Royal assent, a purely procedural step following agreement from lawmakers, makes the Financial Services and Markets Bill an Act, and includes measures to bring crypto and stablecoins into the scope of regulation. The bill was last week approved by the upper chamber of Parliament."

Tags: UK

Global

Pay.UK Partners with Visa, Synectics Solutions and Featurespace on Pioneering Fraud Detection and Prevention Initiative

Wearepay

"Pay.UK today announces a major new collaboration within the UK payments industry that will help fight fraud by bringing together the combined power of data from multiple high street banks and payment service providers for the first time. Confirmed today in a pilot form, the initiative aims to create a new overlay service for UK banks and building societies that will safely and securely analyse money flows and use predictive intelligence to proactively detect fraud and help prevent crime before it occurs."

Tags: UK

Global

‘Britcoin’ Launch Inches Closer After Project Rosalind CBDC Tests

Cointelegraph

"A major study between the Bank for International Settlements and the Bank of England found that a retail central bank digital currency could make peer-to-peer payments cheaper and easier."

Tags: UK

Global

UK Crypto, Stablecoin Laws Approved by Parliament's Upper House

Coindesk

"U.K. parliamentarians have voted through a new bill that could recognize crypto as a regulated activity in the country. The approval of the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB) on Monday by Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords, means the bill is going to enter the final stages before it is put into law."

Tags: UK

Global

Merger of Vodafone UK and Three UK to Create One of Europe's Leading 5G Networks

"Vodafone Group Plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, have entered into binding agreements in relation to a combination of their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK . Vodafone will own 51% of the combined business and CKHGT 49%."

Tags: UK

Global

UK Takes the First Step to Stop Authorized Payment Scams

Bank Info Security

"U.K. banks will soon have to reimburse customers who fall prey to authorized push payment scams. The U.K.'s Payment Systems Regulator recently released a long-awaited policy that would split the reimbursement cost between sending and receiving banks."

Tags: UK

Companies Global

Flutterwave and Token.io Team Up to Provide Pay By Bank Transfer to Users in UK and EU

PR Newswire

"This collaboration enables Flutterwave to give its African e-commerce merchants enhanced access to UK and EU customers, while Token.io leverages Flutterwave's presence in Africa to enable a Pay By Bank method for businesses in the continent."

Tags: Africa European Union UK

Global

Social Media Sites are Wild West for Shopping Fraud, Says UK Bank

The Guardian

"More than two-thirds of all online shopping scams affecting UK consumers start on Facebook and Instagram , with social media now a “wild west” for fraud, according to one of Britain’s biggest banks."

Tags: UK

Global

Mesh Payments Expands Across Europe, UK, and Asia to Support Global Enterprises with Unified Spend Management in Local Currencies

PR Newswire

"Today Mesh Payments announced expansion of its unified spend management platform to support global multinational businesses operating in Europe, UK, and Asia in local currencies. Mesh now enables companies to operate globally across international entities, issue local cards and settle in local currencies all from one unified platform."

Tags: Asia Europe UK

Global

BoE To Stop Revolut Bid For UK Bank Licence: Report

Barrons

"The Bank of England is preparing to reject a bid by digital bank Revolut for a UK banking licence, citing balance sheet issues, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Friday. Revolut, Britain's most valuable fintech company, told the paper the issue in fact surrounded auditor concerns over revenues. The Bank of England made no comment when approached by AFP."

Tags: UK

Global

Nearly 6 Million Britons Missed Payments on Bills, Regulator Says

Reuters

"Millions of British borrowers repeatedly missed payments on bills in the six months to January amid the steep surge in the cost of living and higher interest rates, a survey from the Financial Conduct Authority regulator showed on Tuesday. British households have faced double-digit inflation since September and the government's budget forecasters have said the country is heading for a record decline in living standards over the two years to March 2024."

Tags: UK

Global

17% Drop in APP Fraud Highlights Influence of Confirmation of Payee and Tailored Communications: FICO

Electronic Payments International

"UK fraud losses overall fell by 8% to £1.2bn, driven by a 17% fall in authorised push payment (APP) losses. Specifically, APP fraud dropped to £485.2m in 2022, following a 39% rise the previous year. While the efforts of Confirmation of Payee and tailored communications have been successful, more can be done to further eradicate payments fraud in the UK, argues Matt Cox, MD, EMEA, FICO."

Tags: UK

Global

What the Prime Minister’s Fraud Strategy Means for You

GOV.UK

"” Fraud now accounts for over 40% of crime. It costs us nearly £7 billion a year and we know these proceeds are funding organised crime and terror. What’s more, new technologies are making these scams easier to do and harder to police. It’s time to take the fight to the scammers and fraudsters, and put an end to these crimes which can devastate lives and livelihoods within seconds. Today, we’re launching our new plan to tackle fraud."

Tags: UK

Global

Warning UK Losing £2,300 Per Minute to Fraud

BBC News

"People in the UK lost £1.2bn to fraud in 2022, the equivalent of £2,300 every minute, according to bank industry group UK Finance. It said around three million scams took place - slightly less than the previous year - with frauds involving payment cards being the most common. UK Finance said losses were not always reimbursed and urged tech firms to "share the burden" of covering costs. Ministers say they will get tougher on scams as part of a national strategy.  Fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, with one in 15 people falling victim."

Tags: UK

Global

New Barclays Tool Lets UK Businesses Invoice in Local Currencies

FStech

"Barclays and B2B payments tech company TransferMate have announed a new partnership to provide a new international receivables tool for the British companies.Barclays' British business customers operating in GBP will now be able to invoice customers in their clients’ local currency in over 60 currencies and across 67 countries.Users will receive the payment back into their GBP account at the exact amount requested with manual reconciliation eliminated, said the bank."

Tags: UK

Global

FICO UK Credit Card Market Report: February 2023

Business Wire

"The latest data from FICO on UK credit card trends illustrates the financial balancing act many consumers are facing. Average card spend has increased month-on-month and year-on-year. Higher prices for day-to-day purchases will be reflected in this increase. UK consumers are also paying off less of their outstanding balance, indicating the squeeze on personal budgets."

Tags: UK

Global

UK Government Adopts a “Pro-Innovation” Approach to AI Regulation

Inside Privacy

"On 29 March 2023, the UK Government published a White Paper entitled “A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation” (“White Paper”). The White Paper elaborates on the approach to AI set out by the Government in its 2022 AI Governance and Regulation Policy Statement (“Policy Statement” – covered in our blog post). This announcement comes following the Government’s commitments, in the Spring Budget 2023, to build an expert taskforce to develop the UK’s capabilities in AI foundation models and produce guidance on the relationship between intellectual property law and generative AI."

Tags: UK

Global

FICO Data: UK Credit Card Customers Showing Signs of Financial Stress

Businesswire

"New analysis of UK credit card activity from FICO has revealed worrying payment patterns amongst customers who have held their cards for between one and five years, known as the Established vintage. This group is showing increased rates of missed payments and other signs of financial stress. This will particularly be a concern for risk managers, with new Consumer Duty expectations starting in July."

Tags: UK

Global

Bank of England Says May Need Limits on Using Stablecoins for Payments

Reuters

"There may need to be limits initially on the use of major stablecoins for payments, and they should also be backed by high quality and liquid assets to protect consumers, Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said on Monday. Britain is due to adopt rules for regulating stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency backed by an asset or fiat currency, which consumers could use to make payments digitally."

Tags: UK

Global

Britain Seeks to Boost Banking Services from Fintechs

Reuters

"Britain's financial regulators said on Monday they would set up a new body over the next two years to encourage more competition in banking services through the use of third-party apps from fintech firms. Open banking refers to third-party firms using banking data from customers at mainstream lenders to offer tailored services such as lending or payments, a sector that has helped to turn Britain's fintech sector into the world's third largest with 2,500 companies."

Tags: UK

Global

Banking Aggregation and Payment Automation Platform Numeral Launches in the UK

EIN News

"Numeral announces its launch in the UK, with the support of SEPA, Bacs, and FPS payments for UK fintech companies...Numeral’s banking aggregation and payment automation platform provides fintech companies with fast, future-proof and cost-effective access to SEPA, Bacs, and FPS through their banking partners"

Tags: UK

Global

HSBC Plans to Inject £2 Billion ($2.4 Billion) into Silicon Valley Bank’s UK Division

Mint

"HSBC Holdings Plc is planning to inject £2 billion ($2.4 billion) of liquidity into Silicon Valley Bank’s UK division, a move capping a frenzied weekend of talks that saw Europe’s largest lender take ownership of the stricken subsidiary. Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn and Ian Stuart, the head of HSBC UK, told London tech investors on a call Monday that the bank would commit billions of pounds to ensure that business-as-usual continued at SVB UK after it bought the unit for £1."

Tags: UK

Global

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.

Tags: UK

Companies Global

Digital Wallets and Biometrics to Replace Traditional Payments in UK: Mastercard Survey

Biometric Update

"Roughly half (51 percent) of people in the UK believe physical wallets will become less relevant as digital ways to pay become increasingly popular, new research from Mastercard suggests. The data hints at a decrease in cash usage in the UK. According to Mastercard, around 60 percent of payments were made in cash a decade ago, with UK Finance estimating that this figure will fall to 6 percent by 2031."

Tags: UK

Global

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.””

Tags: UK

Companies Global

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.”

Tags: UK

Global

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.”

Tags: UK