Is cash dead? Quarter of people think cash will disappear in the next five years August 28, 2015 With the launch of Apple Pay and a host of near-field communication (NFC) rivals, was 2015 the final nail in the coffin for cash? A new study has found a whopping 25 per cent of people believe cash will be obsolete in five years' time, with 39 per cent saying it'll be gone in a [...]
TfL Tube strike 26 and 28 August 2015: Driverless trains would break the militant unions forever August 23, 2015 This week, fed-up Londoners will be forced to endure two more Tube strikes. And this despite Transport for London having already offered the unions: a two per cent salary increase this year, inflation-protected rises in 2016 and 2017, a £500 bonus for all staff on Night Tube lines, £200 extra per Night Tube shift for [...]
August Tube strike 2015: Unions are standing against progress in their fight against the Night Tube August 5, 2015 As Londoners struggle to get to work today, trade unions are also struggling – to justify their strike. If you listen to the spin from the RMT, the 24-hour Tube (the justification the union is giving for downing tools) is a “rushed and botched vanity project”. Yet the plans were actually announced two years ago. [...]
Most Londoners love taxi apps like Uber and Hailo – but think Black Cabs will still be around in 20 years August 3, 2015 As the war between Black Cabbies and taxi apps rages on, it seems the battle for Londoners' hearts has been won, after a new survey showed 55 per cent of those living in the capital are in favour of Uber and its ilk. The study, by YouGov and communications firm PLMR, found 55 per cent [...]
Apple Pay UK: Where are people using it most? TfL races ahead July 22, 2015 A week after Apple Pay's launch in the UK, and there's one spot where it's proving by far and away the most popular place to use. The contactless payment which lets you pay by simply swiping an iPhone or Apple Watch, attempts to make paying for stuff as quick and easy as possible, and there's no [...]
Apple Pay fail: If your iPhone or Apple Watch battery dies on the Tube, TfL says you’ll have to stump up the maximum fare July 16, 2015 The cracks in Apple's new contactless system (or perhaps, more specifically, the lifetime of its devices' batteries) are starting to show. As part of a detailed set of advice for commuters using their iPhones and Apple Watches to effortlessly waft through ticket barriers on the Tube, TfL has warned of the very real possibility [...]
Apple Pay in the UK: Like not laughing at a Michael Mcintyre gag, resistance is futile July 16, 2015 When Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook revealed its physical wallet-replacement service last September, I recall a tut and an eye roll at yet another Apple product announcement. A form of contactless payment, re-marketed as a physical wallet-replacement service, would be with us this summer. Where's the innovation in that? In many ways Apple [...]
Apple Pay: How does it work and is it any quicker? A guide for the new contactless payment system July 15, 2015 Apple Pay has finally arrived in the UK. Well, sort of. If you have the right iPhone and the right bank and you shop in the right place and if the sun is shining at just the right angle – then you can use Apple Pay (okay, we made the bit about the sun up). [...]
5 the war on cash July 15, 2015 Transport With apps like Uber, cashless buses and contactless payments on the Tube, public transport is practically a note-free zone already. The London Underground has had NFC technology since the introduction of the Oyster card, which means it’s Apple Pay ready. Retail Many high street retailers have jumped onto the contactless bandwagon in recent years, [...]
HSBC talks sweet amid rumours of a soured Apple July 14, 2015 SORTING out who’s in and who’s out on the first day of the launch of Apple’s contactless payment system proved a tricky business. On Apple’s website recently, seven companies were trumpeted as launch partners, among them banking giant HSBC. But fast-forward to the official launch day yesterday and it would appear everyone on the original [...]