Barclays cheque scanning tech leaves other banks in the past July 2, 2015 Barclays customers are ahead of the curve when it comes to financial technology, as the bank’s secure cheque-scanning service was made available to all smartphone customers yesterday. Cheque imaging, which iPhone-owning Barclays clients have been able to use since last year, allows anyone using their banking app to pay a cheque into an account [...]
UK tech sector receives record funding, and it’s largely thanks to London FinTech July 2, 2015 UK technology startups received a record amount of funding in the first six months of the year, according to figures from London & Partners. Read more: It's official – London's the capital of European tech Between January and June, the sector managed to attract almost £900m in venture capital investment, which compares to a [...]
Are smartphones making us dumb? Digital amnesia stops us remembering vital information because we use our devices to store memories July 2, 2015 Easy access to information at the touch of our fingertips is making it harder for us to remember things and creating digital amnesia. Storing numbers and other vital information like pin numbers as well as treasured photos on smartphones is acting like an external hard drive for our memories, resulting in the majority of us being [...]
Is Facebook looking to join the music streaming party? July 2, 2015 Is Facebook looking to join the music streaming party? The company has been in talks with Sony Music, Warner and Universal to discuss a serious foray into music, but exactly what form it will take remains unclear. Read more: You can now sign up for Facebook messenger without having a Facebook account According to the Verge, [...]
Grant Thornton makes multimillion-pound investment in London tech startup Geniac July 2, 2015 Grant Thornton has made a multimillion-pound investment in a startup which manages services such as HR and compliance for small businesses. The advisory firm has splashed £22m on London-based Geniac, its first investment in a tech startup. "The Geniac proposition to fast growing small businesses is exciting," said Grant Thornton’s head of audit Mark Cardiff. “When you’re [...]
The world’s first ever 3D-printed office is being built in Dubai July 1, 2015 Dubai is planning to create the world's first ever 3D-printed office, in the hope that it will pave the way for cheaper construction in the future. The single storey building, which will be located in the city's centre, is a joint project between the Gulf state and a number of companies, including WinSun, a [...]
Banco Santander and Monitise partner on a London-based £20m FinTech fund July 1, 2015 One of Europe's biggest banks and one of London's most successful Financial Technology startups are joining forces to invest in technology companies that will disrupt the global financial services sector. Banco Santander and Monitise are partnering on a new fund worth up to £20m that will seek out investments in the burgeoning FinTech sector. The equally [...]
Mark Zuckerberg’s Q+A with Stephen Hawking and the Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger July 1, 2015 Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg often turns to Facebook (where else?) to hold Q+A sessions so those around the world can raise a question with him. Last night, though, the billionaire social network founder was joined by a line-up of star-studded questioners which included scientist Stephen Hawking, media darling Arianna Huffington and even the Terminator himself, Arnold [...]
This is why your boss should actually want you to sleep at work June 30, 2015 When you feel like you're about to doze off at your desk, don't feel ashamed – your boss should be actively encouraging you to take naps at work if they want to get the best out of you. Read more: Feeling groggy? You could be suffering from "sleep drunkenness" By looking at the effects [...]
American billionaire Mark Cuban invests in eSports firm Unikrn June 30, 2015 American billionaire, film producer and TV personality Mark Cuban contributed to a $10m (£4.5m) investment round in eSports betting firm Unikrn. Read more: eSports betting firm Unikrn launches in the UK Venture firm Binary Capital, early investors in Silicon Valley successes such as Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram led the investment round which attracted the eccentric Cuban [...]