Barclays bPay, a £20 contactless pay wristband, given away for free in latest sign bank’s wearable has flopped July 19, 2017 Barclays has started giving away a contactless payments device normally costing £20 in the latest signal that its technology efforts have failed to take off. The bank is offering the bPay wearable band or key fob, used to pay for things with just a swipe, for free in a push to get them into people's [...]
Open Banking’s a step closer with these 20 fintech startups, but the clock is ticking on the CMA’s deadline July 19, 2017 The UK’s progress toward making banking more open has taken another step forward after 20 fintechs were chosen to test out a new way of sharing banking information for the benefit customers. A call for startups was put out as part of the competition watchdog’s ambitious plans to disrupt the big four banks’ hold on [...]
Sector charge for more women to get top jobs in finance gathers pace as firms shake up succession planning and hiring practices July 9, 2017 A push to secure more women top roles in the finance sector is gathering pace, as a fresh batch of firms have signed up to a charter devised by the Treasury to build the pipeline of female talent for leadership positions. Some 25 new firms have signed up to the Women in Finance Charter, taking [...]
Top City figures Andrew Bailey, John McFarlane, Xavier Rolet and Catherine McGuinness fire back at Brussels hard talk over post-Brexit trade and clearing July 6, 2017 Some of the biggest names in the City were out in force on Thursday demanding a Brexit deal that maintains free trade between London’s financial sector and the rest of Europe, and allows the market to determine where trillions of pounds worth of daily transactions are cleared. Their comments jarred with a warning from EU [...]
Big UK banks slip down in global ranking, but Metro and the challengers make ground July 3, 2017 Big UK banks are suffering compared with international rivals, according to a ranking of the world’s 1,000 largest lenders out today. HSBC remains Britain’s biggest bank in the global ranking, coming in ninth for the second year in a row. However, the lender – which topped the 2008 ranking – suffered its worst result in [...]
FTSE 100 history: how the index has changed over 33 years July 3, 2017 The FTSE 100 index has just seen one of its quarterly changes with security firm G4S and real estate investment trust Segro promoted to the top 100. Although perhaps small in themselves, these regular events have changed the face of the UK’s leading index since it was formed in 1984. For the many investors whose [...]
The new voice of British banking: UK Finance launches today with new board members revealed July 3, 2017 The British finance industry will be publicly represented from today by a single new body, UK Finance, after the merger of six separate lobby groups. The new body, which officially starts operations today at Angel Court, behind the Bank of England, will represent over 300 British firms providing credit, banking, markets and payments services. The [...]
Barclays’ EU base after Brexit looks like it will be located in Dublin July 2, 2017 Dublin has been chosen by Barclays as the location for its European base after Brexit, according to a fresh report. The high street bank has agreed terms to rent a bigger office in the Irish capital, the Telegraph reports, having also considered Frankfurt. Read more: Japanese banks to shift London resources to Frankfurt after Brexit [...]
Treasury confident that new money laundering rules will scupper terrorist financing June 26, 2017 New regulations take effect today which the Treasury says will crack down on funding for terrorism and organised crime. Here’s what you need to know about the changes. 1. It comes from an EU directive Today is the final deadline for member states (which the UK still is until 2019) to implement the fourth EU [...]
Pride in London 2017: Barclays leads host of Britain’s biggest firms in support of LGBT+ event June 23, 2017 City stalwarts and some of the UK’s largest companies have rallied in support of Pride in London 2017. A raft of the great and the good from the corporate world have stepped up to sponsor the event. Barclays is one of two headline sponsors together with the Mayor of London office. This year’s event takes [...]