Labour to cut rail fares and create ‘London-style’ ticketing for the UK December 1, 2019 Labour will reform the country’s rail ticketing system to create a one-stop shop for tickets if elected, while also promising to cut fares by 33 per cent. The party wants to create a uniform “London-style” ticketing system that allows contactless payments and sets out fares on a zonal basis. Read more: Train companies to hike [...]
RBS launches digital bank Bo in bid to rival fintechs November 27, 2019 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has officially launched its digital bank as it looks to rival a group of fast-growing fintechs and hoover up more online customers. The state-backed lender has created Bó, its new digital, cloud-based bank featuring a bright yellow Visa card and a mobile app. Read more: LSE hires fintech to widen [...]
Tesco investigates technical issues affecting Monzo card payments November 1, 2019 Supermarket giant Tesco is investigating a technical issue affecting customers with Monzo debit cards after cardholders complained they were being charged twice for transactions. Monzo customers have complained on Twitter about issues using their cards in Tesco, prompting the supermarket chain to put up signs at some of its stores saying it could not accept [...]
Citymapper’s London travel card will expand to zones three and four October 23, 2019 London commuter app Citymapper is set to expand its contactless transport pass to more parts of the capital. The Citymapper Pass was introduced in February to cover travel on the Tube, buses, trains, Santander bikes and its own Citymapper Ride shared taxi service in zones one and two. Read more: Uber rival Kapten teams with [...]
Natwest launches UK’s first biometric fingerprint credit card October 7, 2019 Natwest has become the first UK bank to launch a biometric credit card that allows contactless payments using a fingerprint for verification. The cards have entered into circulation today as part of a three-month trial with 150 customers. It comes after a successful trial of biometric debit cards. Read more: Natwest customers wrestle with IT [...]
Boris Johnson conference speech 2019 live: PM rules out checks at border October 2, 2019 This is a rolling news story, so please refresh to get the most recent updates 2.10pm: Bookies cut odds on no-deal Brexit Meanwhile, Johnson’s insistence that the only alternative to a Brexit deal is a no-deal Brexit meant bookies shortened the odds on that outcome. Ladbrokes put odds at 5/2 in favour of a no-deal [...]
How can online-only banks win over cautious consumers? September 27, 2019 The direction of travel for banking is clear – we’re moving away from highstreets and onto smartphones. But tech should not outpace consumer confidence, and lessons on how to do that can be drawn from the payments industry. This week Which? reported that a third of UK bank branches have closed in the last five [...]
Crossrail: TfL to run Paddington to Reading trains from December September 26, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) will start running services between Paddington and Reading from this December, which will become part of Crossrail when it opens from 2021. TfL Rail will replace GWR as the operator of the services, with four trains per hour at peak time and two at off-peak. Read more: Crossrail shares progress pictures [...]
Chris Robshaw on England’s World Cup hopes, dealing with his omission and seeking help from Tony Adams September 18, 2019 The Rugby World Cup is upon us and for most there is an unparalleled excitement that comes with uniting behind a nation in one of sport’s elite tournaments. For Chris Robshaw that will also be true, along with a lingering sense of what might have been after head coach Eddie Jones decided against including the [...]
Meet the 23 fintech startups on Tech Nation’s latest growth programme September 5, 2019 London startups dominate the list of 23 fintechs that have joined government-backed Tech Nation’s 2019 growth programme. Sixty per cent of the new cohort of financial technology firms hail from the capital, while 40 per cent boast at least one female co-founder, Tech Nation revealed today. Read more: Fintech is all the rage, but is [...]