We’ve already spent more via contactless than in all of 2015 August 22, 2016 People are swiping their card rather than splashing the physical cash these days as new figures reveal payments made with contactless technology have already overtaken the amount spent in the whole of 2015. Just over £9bn was spent using contactless in the first half of the year compared to £7.75bn in the the entire of last year, the new [...]
More trouble for Southern: Card payment failure hits rush hour August 22, 2016 Customers of Southern Rail, already fuming over ongoing service delays and then strike action, were dealt another blow on the morning rush hour commute. The rail network was unable to accept card payments for tickets at some of its stations due to an unspecified technical problem early on Monday, leaving many customers in long queues or failing to [...]
A new corporate-backed fintech lab has opened in London August 22, 2016 The investment firm behind one of London's top venture capital funds is doubling down on one of the hottest areas of tech with a dedicated lab specialising in all things fintech. Octopus Investments, whose venture capital firm Octopus Ventures backed successful startups such as Swiftkey (acquired by Microsoft), Magic Pony (bought by Twitter) and Zoopla, will launch a fintech [...]
Datwyler won’t increase its takeover offer for Raspberry Pi maker Premier Farnell August 22, 2016 An original bid to takeover the maker of the Raspberry Pi mini-computer will not be increased, the company behind the offer said today. Swiss manufacturer Datwyler will not up its bid of 165 pence per share after US tech firm Avent swooped in with a a higher offer of 185 pence per share. Datwyler will now [...]
I, Human: Spending on staff more important than robots to harness fourth industrial revolution August 22, 2016 Manufacturers are putting skills ahead of software even as they race to implement new technology to improve productivity, a new survey has found. More than eight in ten manufacturing firms said they would be investing in skills to realise the potential of the so-called “fourth industrial revolution”, according to a survey by trade body the EEF. [...]
Commercial TV is poaching BBC Three’s younger viewers August 21, 2016 BBC Three's transition to online only in February has been good news for its commercial TV rivals. According to figures spanning March to May, the BBC's broadcast TV viewing dropped by eight per cent compared with the same period last year. The decline is particularly evident among the BBC Three core audience of 16-34 year-olds; viewing [...]
Uber is gearing up to launch UberEats in 12 more cities across Europe August 21, 2016 Uber is planning an ambitious expansion of its food delivery service UberEats across Europe just two months after it first arrived in London. The billion-dollar startup is already eyeing its second city in the UK and plans to expand beyond its existing patch of central London. Meanwhile it's planning to launch in a further 12 cities in 10 [...]
Misys moves closer to London’s biggest float of 2016 by appointing City advisers August 21, 2016 Misys has appointed City advisers for what would be the biggest stock market float in London this year. The banking software developer, which is owned by US buyout firm Vista Equity Partners, is planning a £5.5bn initial public offering (IPO). Read more: Misys could return to the stock exchange City A.M. has confirmed a report that [...]
Did Barbra Streisand just let slip Apple’s iOS 10 release date? August 21, 2016 When you're as big a star as Barbra Streisand, you can pretty much do what you want – including getting the boss of one of the biggest companies in the world to fix what might be a minor annoyance to us mere mortals. The singer's name is pronounced slightly wrong by iPhone voice assistant Siri, it turns out [...]
UK fintech funding has fallen – but don’t panic just yet August 18, 2016 Cash being ploughed into the UK's fintech startups fell in the latest quarter – but don't panic just yet. The value of funding declined by 12 per cent to $103m (£78.4m) in the second quarter of the year, however, the number of deals being done in one of the hottest sectors remained steady, the latest figures from KPMG and CB Insights [...]