News

E-commerce technology

• May 21, 2025 21 May'25

  Google I/O: LLM capabilities power agentic AI search

  As Google strives to make AI universal, it is starting to integrate agentic AI into Google Search to fast-track purchasing on websites

• May 09, 2025 09 May'25

  Nordic countries plan offline payment system for disaster backup

  Board member of the Bank of Finland reveals plan as likelihood of losing internet connectivity increases amid geopolitical tensions

• May 06, 2025 06 May'25

  Options for Google as DoJ seeks divestiture

  The US Department of Justice is calling for Google to divest its adtech business. Google says it’s impossible. But is there an alternative?

• April 25, 2025 25 Apr'25

  M&S suspends all online sales as cyber attack worsens

  M&S shuts down online sales as it works to contain and mitigate a severe cyber attack on its systems

• April 17, 2025 17 Apr'25

  UK class action sets stage for Google showdown

  Another class action has been filed against search engine giant Google for anti-competitive practices that negatively affect small businesses

• March 31, 2025 31 Mar'25

  Understanding of ‘black box’ IT systems will reduce Post Office scandal-like risk

  A Parliamentary committee has reported that leadership teams need to understand the ‘black box’ IT systems that underpin their organisations

• March 19, 2025 19 Mar'25

  Former subpostmaster to sue Post Office and Fujitsu for judgment ‘obtained by fraud’

  Lee Castleton, one of a group of seven former subpostmasters who began the fight against the Post Office in 2009, triggers ‘seismic’ shift in Post Office scandal

• March 12, 2025 12 Mar'25

  Apple slated in CMA mobile browser investigation

  Apple policies are main focus, but Google doesn’t escape the regulator’s scrutiny either, with its business practices to promote Chrome coming under fire

• February 28, 2025 28 Feb'25

  Major UK banks hit by payday digital banking problems again

  A month after Barclays suffered online banking problems, customers at multiple banks report further issues

• February 24, 2025 24 Feb'25

  Government seeks payments tech partner through £49m contract

  UK government wants tech partner to help it embed open banking functionality into its Gov.uk Pay platform

• February 17, 2025 17 Feb'25

  ‘Times are hard’ for fintech but latest report reveals glimmer of recovery

  Fintech investment in the UK hit a four-year low last year, as the wider EMEA region saw the lowest numbers in eight years

• February 17, 2025 17 Feb'25

  AI-driven personalisation appealing to UK shoppers, says research

  Retailers should be using artificial intelligence to increase brand loyalty through personalisation, according to research

• January 31, 2025 31 Jan'25

  Barclays hit by major IT outage on HMRC deadline day

  Customers of Barclays Bank are left unable to access web app and online banking following a significant IT outage that seems to have come at the worst possible time

• January 29, 2025 29 Jan'25

  Interview: Digital tech fuels AutoTrader’s drive into the future

  Led by a technology enthusiast, AutoTrader is on a digital journey that began when it decided to take a different route in 2007

• January 23, 2025 23 Jan'25

  ICO launches major review of cookies on UK websites

  ICO sets out 2025 goals, including a review of cookie compliance across the UK’s top 1,000 websites, as it seeks to achieve its ultimate goal of giving the public meaningful control over how their data is used

• January 14, 2025 14 Jan'25

  CMA kicks off investigation into Google search engine dominance

  The Competition and Markets Authority is using powers that came into force at the start of the year to assess Google’s reach

• December 13, 2024 13 Dec'24

  Post Office scandal 2024 – part 3: Fujitsu’s 12-month fall from grace

  After years of refusing to comment, Fujitsu was unable to continue hiding from its role in the Post Office Horizon IT scandal as politicians and a public inquiry demanded answers

• November 27, 2024 27 Nov'24

  Stage is set for legal battles over Big Tech dominance

  Having lost its case to drop a £7bn collective claim, Google is facing increased legal scrutiny on a number of fronts over its business practices

• November 25, 2024 25 Nov'24

  More Google search woes

  Summary judgment clears path for UK campaigner to pursue collective action against Google over search engine practices

• November 04, 2024 04 Nov'24

  Financiers isolate Middle East over sanctions-evading paytech

  Cross-border payment system loses support of association of global central banks

• October 08, 2024 08 Oct'24

  Google to appeal Play Store ruling

  Google’s ongoing fight with Epic Games is game-over, after a judge ruled in favour of the developer to open up access to Android apps

• October 02, 2024 02 Oct'24

  Amazon Mechanical Turk workers suspended without explanation

  A likely glitch in Amazon Payments resulted in hundreds of Mechanical Turk workers being suspended from the platform without proper explanation or pay

• September 04, 2024 04 Sep'24

  Fraud and scam complaints hit highest ever level in UK

  The Financial Ombudsman Service says it recorded almost 9,000 complaints about fraud and scams from April to June, the most ever recorded

• August 29, 2024 29 Aug'24

  Interview: Currys CIO Andy Gamble on AI strategy

  The CIO of Currys on the four pillars of the retailer’s artificial intelligence strategy and how generative AI can enable staff to be the best versions of themselves

• August 06, 2024 06 Aug'24

  Court document reveals Google’s strategy to dodge Department of Justice

  Google got away with various practices to avoid scrutiny from regulators, but has been found guilty of acting in an anti-competitive way in the US

• July 29, 2024 29 Jul'24

  WTO digital trade agreement aims to modernise global commerce

  A digital trade deal negotiated over five years at the World Trade Organization has been signed by 91 countries, laying the groundwork for a new global digital trade regime

• July 23, 2024 23 Jul'24

  Chrome cookies reprieved amid Google Privacy Sandbox changes

  Google abruptly changes tack on third-party cookies in its Chrome web browser, cancelling plans to deprecate them in favour of an unspecified ‘new experience’ for users

• July 12, 2024 12 Jul'24

  Public awareness of ID security grows, but big obstacles remain

  Consumers are improving their awareness of the issues around digital identity security, but there are still some big issues preventing many from doing better, according to an Okta report

• June 11, 2024 11 Jun'24

  CDO interview: Sophie Gallay, global data and client IT director, Etam

  The French retailer has some catching up to do on its data strategy and digital transformation – and its new data chief has an ambitious roadmap to deliver on data science, business intelligence and artificial intelligence

• June 07, 2024 07 Jun'24

  European data chief prepares bid to get UK to join EU digital single market

  Data initiative Gaia-X is trying to plug the UK into a planned digital European single market, as the EU seeks to extend the reach of vast and controversial data laws over global supply chains

• June 05, 2024 05 Jun'24

  Executive interview: Richard Wazacz, CEO, Travelex

  The data-savvy chief executive is rebuilding Travelex as an omnichannel, digital business after the company foundered during the pandemic

• May 29, 2024 29 May'24

  Interview: EU data chief Ulrich Ahle on obstacles to Europe’s digital single market

  EU data scheme Gaia-X is trying to plug the UK into Europe’s planned digital single market as opposition mounts to efforts to extend the reach of Europe’s vast and controversial data laws over global supply chains

• May 13, 2024 13 May'24

  Norway bolsters digital transformation drive

  Norway’s government backs digital transformation with major capital investment this year

• April 26, 2024 26 Apr'24

  European Parliament approves platform worker directive

  The approval of the platform worker directive gives member states two years to incorporate its measures into their national legislation, which includes provisions on how to classify the employment of gig workers and deploy algorithmic ...

• April 26, 2024 26 Apr'24

  Alphabet earnings show drive to boost Google Cloud and AI adoption

  The parent company of Google has increased artificial intelligence R&D spending and raised cloud sales commissions to boost adoption of Google Cloud

• March 22, 2024 22 Mar'24

  Nationwide building society falls victim to IT outage

  Nationwide joins McDonald’s, Greggs, Sainsbury’s and Tesco as the fifth major high street name to experience an IT service outage in the space of a week

• March 21, 2024 21 Mar'24

  US sues Apple, alleging smartphone monopoly

  A major legal action against Apple over its dominance of the smartphone market has kicked off in the US, alleging anticompetitive practices on Apple’s part that have damaged the sector and restricted consumer choice

• March 11, 2024 11 Mar'24

  TechUK calls for next government to introduce ‘industrial strategy’ for AI

  Trade group TechUK publishes blueprint calling for winner of next election to boost tech startups, digitise government services and accelerate technology R&D

• March 04, 2024 04 Mar'24

  Amazon lobbyists banned from European Parliament

  Amazon lobbyists have had their access badges to the European Parliament revoked, following allegedly repeated refusals to engage with lawmakers on issues around working conditions and rights

• December 22, 2023 22 Dec'23

  Top 10 retail technology stories of 2023

  Computer Weekly looks at what 2023 had in store for the retail industry – a year of financial uncertainty and increasing cost of living has made consumers ever more demanding, so how are retailers using tech to cope?

• December 22, 2023 22 Dec'23

  Top 10 financial services and fintech stories of 2023

  Generative AI is the buzzword on every financial services IT professional’s lips as the technology promises to accelerate the ongoing fintech revolution

• December 20, 2023 20 Dec'23

  Orange Business boosts digital ambitions with Expertime acquisition

  Acquisition of consulting company by business services division of global telco becomes latest part of strategic ambition to accelerate growth in digital services and support growth in digital, public cloud, AI and data

• December 04, 2023 04 Dec'23

  CIO interview: Sasha Jory, Hastings Direct

  For a company aiming to be the biggest digital insurer in the UK, that means going cloud-first, and focusing on innovation for both customers and employees

• November 30, 2023 30 Nov'23

  Government’s Online Fraud Charter welcomed

  The government has corralled 11 of the largest tech platforms in the world to commit to its Online Fraud Charter, designed to tackle online scams, fake adverts, and more

• November 16, 2023 16 Nov'23

  Cancer Research UK uses AWS for payments and trial search function

  Charity Cancer Research UK has been using AWS to make its donations platform more scalable, as well as making it easier for patients to find clinical trials

• November 15, 2023 15 Nov'23

  BlackCat affiliate seen using malvertising to spread ransomware

  Researchers at eSentire identified a wave activity from an ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware affiliate which has adopted a somewhat unusual approach to delivering its locker

• November 14, 2023 14 Nov'23

  Million Brits could lose access to bank branch if closure rate continues

  Even people in urban constituencies could lose access to a local bank branch, according to research

• November 09, 2023 09 Nov'23

  NCSC makes annual Black Friday plea to consumers

  Ahead of the annual festival of retail avarice, the NCSC is once again asking consumers to do the bare minimum to avoid falling victim to scams

• October 31, 2023 31 Oct'23

  Over a quarter of UK adults use buy now, pay later fintechs

  Latest research from UK financial services regulator shows BNPL more likely to be used by people experiencing financial difficulty

• September 15, 2023 15 Sep'23

  Number of UK contactless payments rose by 30% last year

  UK consumers are increasingly making contactless payments, with the number of payments using the technology up 30% last year