Forget contactless, train tickets could soon use fingerprints and facial recognition February 7, 2017 Ambitious plans to bring train travel into the 21st Century could replace paper tickets and even forward-thinking contactless payments with fingerprints and iris scanning. “Britain’s railway exists to drive our economic prosperity. A 21st century railway offers opportunities for businesses to grow by bringing more technology to the railway more quickly. Everyone in the railway [...]
UK fintech VC investment plunged by a third last year while China overtook the US February 7, 2017 The cash being ploughed into the UK's fintech startups dwindled by a third in 2016, falling under the $1bn mark due to the uncertainty surrounding Brexit – but the country grasped on to its position as the third most attractive country in the world for venture capital investors in the sector.. Funding also fell for US fintech startups in similarly tumultuous political [...]
Investing in automation: If robots are coming for your job, how can you make money out of it? February 7, 2017 "Robots are coming to take our jobs,” scream the headlines. The debate around automation has become alarmingly dichotomous – either your job requires skills which are resistant to computers and machines, or you’re destined for the scrap heap. The reality is probably more nuanced. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, it is unlikely that specific jobs [...]
Love is in the air: “Tinder economy” is worth £11.7bn as a third of Brits find dates from apps February 7, 2017 Dating is providing a loving boost to the UK economy – to the tune of £14.5bn. And dating apps cash in on £11.7bn of that, according to research for TSB. The average singleton goes out on two dates a month, with first dates costing around £41.20 as people push the boat out. When it comes [...]
More than half of businesses in the UK, US and Germany aren’t fully prepared to deal with a cyber attack February 7, 2017 More than half of businesses (53 per cent) in the UK, US and Germany aren’t fully prepared to deal with cyber attacks, according to a new study of 3,000 companies. Specialist insurer Hiscox’s cyber report – which assessed firms on strategy, resourcing, technology and process – found that UK firms are least likely to have [...]
A gig economy inquiry by MPs hears a tale of two Uber drivers February 6, 2017 Uber drivers have given evidence to MPs scrutinising the rise of the gig economy and its implications for workers, painting two very different pictures of their experience with the company. "There is no flexibility," said Uber driver David Dunn, giving evidence to the work and pensions committee chaired by Frank Field, who last year accused Uber of treating its drivers [...]
It’s lift off for Uber’s flying cars with a major hire from Nasa February 6, 2017 Think flying cars are just a pie in the sky idea? Think again. Uber is working on creating driverless cars and has already hinted at more sci-fi ambitions for airborne vehicles, but now its made a serious new hire to lead such technological development. And where else would you find someone to do such futuristic work? Nasa, [...]
Airbnb took a big swipe at Trump in its very last minute Super Bowl LI advert #WeAccept February 6, 2017 Airbnb has taken a swipe at Donald Trump's controversial travel ban with an advert at one of the most watched TV events of the year – the Super Bowl. The tech company aired a 30 second spot in prime time promoting diversity and featuring its own employees "We believe no matter who you are, where [...]
Meet the 96 companies taking a stand against Trump February 6, 2017 In an unprecedented uniting of mainly technology companies, 96 have joined forces to fight Donald Trump's controversial ban on people from certain countries entering the US. From giants such as Apple and Google, to smaller firms such as TaskRabbit and Stripe, they have filed what's called an amicus brief in the court of appeals, meaning they are interested [...]
Twitter could be the people’s platform – but not unless it turns a profit February 6, 2017 Twitter has a problem. Despite unbridled use by the President of the United States; despite being used the world round to mobilise protests and marches – to distribute news, to interact and advertise – it looks like it’s in trouble. Awareness of it has never been higher and yet, Twitter isn’t making a profit. While [...]