London buses set to stop accepting cash fares from next year August 19, 2013 TRANSPORT for London wants to axe cash payments on the city’s buses from next year, though user groups and politicians have sought assurances that the proposal will not leave passengers stranded. TfL estimates that less than one per cent of journeys, or 60,000 a day, are paid for in cash. Yesterday it asked the public [...]
Coming Soon: The death of paper money June 24, 2013 BRITONS did 10 per cent less of their shopping with cash last year as people turn their backs on coins and notes – leading some analysts to predict a cash-free future. Only eight per cent of consumers believe that traditional coinage will be the payment method of choice by 2020, with contactless cards and new [...]
London buses go contactless cards December 12, 2012 BUS passengers will from today be able to use contactless debit or credit cards to pay for journeys, as Transport for London begins its long-awaited rollout of the new payment method. Anyone with a contactless Visa, American Express or MasterCard should be able to tap the yellow Oyster pay point on the capital’s 8,500 buses, [...]
Recession shouldn’t stop tech innovation November 28, 2012 THE financial crisis has forced companies to operate in new and challenging environments. Many are now leaner organisations, the result of significant cutbacks in both staff and operations. But a simple trimming down is not a solution for the medium or longer term. A lot of companies are still clinging to in-house research and development [...]
Boris goes Bond for Poppy Day as he speeds down The Thames October 30, 2012 THE Capitalist, and presumably most of London, simply cannot escape Mayor Boris Johnson these days. Fresh from his appearance at the NFL game at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening, Boris was cruising down the River Thames on a Royal Navy RIB yesterday morning. Pointing his trigger finger at onlookers, Bozza arrived at Canary Wharf in [...]
Everything Everywhere teams up with MasterCard on digital wallet August 28, 2012 MASTERCARD yesterday announced a five year deal with the UK’s biggest mobile phone operator Everything Everywhere to develop contactless mobile phone payment systems for the network’s 27m customers. The duo will kick off the deal by launching a pre-paid digital wallet, allowing customers to transfer money from a bank account to a mobile phone for [...]
Shops look to new payment methods to escape card fees July 22, 2012 RETAILERS are shunning credit cards as shoppers embrace mobile phone and contactless payments, research released today shows. Shops are rushing to fit tills with the technology and online sellers are using e-payment methods such as PayPal to avoid costly credit card processing fees, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Just under 30 per cent [...]
Putting lunch on Barclaycard May 28, 2012 IF you’re feeling peckish today then head over to Canary Wharf, Liverpool Street or Oxford Circus. A free lunch – yes, it really is free, according to organiser Barclaycard – is being laid on for 10,000 Londoners to mark the wider launch of PayTag, the contactless way to pay. PayTag is an extension of a [...]
O2 releases its mobile wallet app April 26, 2012 ■ Yesterday saw the launch of O2 Wallet, the telecom giant’s answer to mobile banking. The app allows customers to transfer money to others – up to £500 a day – and digitise their credit cards to facilitate mobile shopping. The digital service cannot yet be used to pay in shops by tapping a phone [...]
Telcos frustrated as EU delays mobile wallet April 12, 2012 A FUTURE where you will swipe your phone instead of your credit card looks set to be placed on hold a little while longer, with the European Commission expected to delay its decision on a UK “mobile wallet” scheme. The commission will reveal its decision later today on a joint venture proposal between Vodafone, Everything [...]