Google’s Apple Pay rival Android Pay is finally here in the UK May 18, 2016 Good news for anyone eager to pay using just the swipe of their mobile, but who doesn't own an iPhone. Google's Android Pay is launching in the UK today, bringing the tap and pay technology to millions of smartphone users across the country. A rival to Apple Pay which launched last year, the app lets users pay by [...]
Barclays rules out Android Pay, going it alone with own mobile pay app May 12, 2016 Barclays is going it alone when it comes to mobile pay, rolling out its own contactless payment app on Android to all its customers, eschewing Google's own soon to launch Android Pay service. The bank's customers will be able to pay with just a swipe of their debit card from June with Barclays' Contactless Mobile [...]
Visa Europe records three billion contactless payments over the last 12 months May 10, 2016 Card company Visa has recorded three billion contactless transactions in Europe over the past year. In April alone, European consumers used their cards 360m times, clocking in at almost 140 transactions per second. Contactless now accounts for one in every five Visa card payments in Europe, up from one in 60 in 2013. In the [...]
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announces first transport policy and statutory deputy mayor as Joanne McCartney May 10, 2016 Newly elected mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced his first major policy. The one hour bus "hopper" fare – which he pledged throughout his campaign – will start in September. Bus passengers who use Oyster cards or contactless payment will be able to take an extra bus within one hour and pay just one fare. Khan [...]
Spending held back by low consumer confidence in April May 9, 2016 Consumer spending rose by 1.9 per cent year-on-year in April, up from March’s 1.6 per cent rise, according to the latest data from Barclaycard. April was the second consecutive month of poor performance, with growth down from four per cent in December. The gloomy numbers have been put down to economic headwinds including slowing wage growth, [...]
Say what? A third of us wouldn’t mind being microchipped at work April 26, 2016 Fancy having a chip implanted in you? Fancy using it at work to get around the office or log on? It may sound more like science fiction (however close it is to becoming reality) and a rather creepy concept – but surprisingly, a third of us wouldn't mind at all being microchipped at work in order to do these [...]
Visa shares slump as it changes Visa Europe deal April 21, 2016 Visa's shares skidded down nearly five per cent in after market trading after the credit and debit card giant cut its full-year revenue growth forecast. The company now expects full-year revenue to come in between seven to eight per cent, lower than its previous forecast of high single-digits to low-double digits. Read more: Visa's contactless payments soar [...]
Last year’s cohort shows UK unicorns are real deal April 20, 2016 THE first cohort of the Leap 100 is coming to an end. Although there wasn’t a graduating ceremony, leading business experts voted Crowdcube the winner of the prestigious City A.M. Explosive Growth Company of the Year Awards, chosen from the companies in the Leap 100. This wasn’t the only award won by the 100 companies though. Original BTC, [...]
Five things we learned about the way we eat now from Pret a Manger’s annual results April 19, 2016 There's no better barometer of the nation's eating habits and hottest foodie trends than Pret a Manger's yearly results. Last year, it was all about pulled pork and quinoa. This year, we're ditching the carbs and eating a hell of a lot of avocado… 1. Avocado king We knew avocado was having its moment (thanks, largely, to Instagram), but now [...]
This is how many Londoners have been a victim of card fraud in the past year, and we’re running scared from contactless as a result April 7, 2016 Although the queue to get to card readers on your commute may beg to differ, Londoners are becoming increasingly terrified to tap. One in five Londoners (20 per cent) has fallen victim to card fraud in the past year, leading many to question the city's love of contactless payment, a survey released yesterday has found. [...]