News

E-commerce technology

• 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

• September 12, 2023 12 Sep'23

  European fintech investment plummets, but more sustainable future lies ahead

  Investment in European fintechs has seen a dramatic drop, but a more sustainable sector will result from investment discipline

• September 07, 2023 07 Sep'23

  Hyundai to launch in-car payments in US

  Hyundai will launch an in-car payments service in the US when the company’s latest car model is launched next year

• August 31, 2023 31 Aug'23

  Ducktail social media marketing malware rears its head again

  Use of the Ducktail infostealer, which first popped up in 2022 targeting Meta Business accounts, seems to be increasing

• August 30, 2023 30 Aug'23

  July sees huge jump in open banking payments

  The number of open banking payments in the UK have doubled over the past year, according to latest figures

• August 23, 2023 23 Aug'23

  Innovative UK SMEs spend half of turnover on tech

  UK SMEs are increasing spending on technology, with dedicated IT teams set up to enable them to keep pace with tech change

• August 07, 2023 07 Aug'23

  Rise in fraudsters spoofing the websites of leading UK banks

  Despite safeguards to protect customers from scams, UK retail banks are still seeing high volumes of fake phishing websites exploiting their brands, and the problem seems to be increasing in scope and scale

• July 20, 2023 20 Jul'23

  Online Safety Bill screening measures amount to ‘prior restraint’

  The Open Rights Group is calling on Parliament to reform the Online Safety Bill, on the basis that its content-screening measures would amount to “prior restraint” on freedom of expression

• July 12, 2023 12 Jul'23

  Ofcom’s online safety preparedness efforts hobbled by government

  Despite Ofcom’s progress so far, UK government changes to the scope and timetable of the Online Safety Bill are hobbling the ability of the regulator to successfully prepare for the new regime

• July 04, 2023 04 Jul'23

  ‘Political lethargy’ to blame for digital exclusion, says Lords

  A House of Lords report about digital exclusion across the UK has blamed slow and undedicated government intervention for the extent of digital exclusion

• June 21, 2023 21 Jun'23

  Interview: Paul Cooper, director of technology operations, River Island

  Retailer River Island has had a recent in-store technology overhaul, making it easier for shop staff to cater to customers

• June 19, 2023 19 Jun'23

  Prime minister Rishi Sunak faces pressure from banks to force tech firms to pay for online fraud

  The UK’s major banks have told the prime minister to force tech firms to do more to prevent fraud that the banks end up paying for

• June 16, 2023 16 Jun'23

  Collaboration in finance sector develops prototype API for digital currency

  The Bank for International Settlements and the Bank of England worked with private sector on central bank digital currency experiment

• June 14, 2023 14 Jun'23

  TSB calls on Meta to intervene and protect users from fraud losses of £250m this year

  TSB is the latest bank to demand more action from social media sector in helping to reduce online fraud

• June 14, 2023 14 Jun'23

  Banks still investing heavily in legacy payments systems

  Banks are missing out on additional revenues through payment services because they are stuck with inflexible legacy payments systems.

• June 13, 2023 13 Jun'23

  Delivery charges and slow payments have customers abandoning baskets

  Customer expectation has been on the rise, both on and offline, and no-code automation firm Primer finds there are several reasons why consumers are choosing not to checkout

• June 07, 2023 07 Jun'23

  Open banking regulator sets out next steps

  Plans for ongoing evolution of the UK open banking sector have been set out by regulator in bid to grow the open banking sector in a ‘safe, scalable and economically sustainable way’

• May 31, 2023 31 May'23

  Lloyds Bank calls on tech companies to control social media ‘wild west’

  Lloyds Banking Group is calling on tech giants to step forward in the fight against online fraud, which emanates in the social media ‘wild west’

• May 25, 2023 25 May'23

  Digital channels thriving for M&S but profits down

  Many of M&S’s digital offerings have gained more users over the past year, but after a long programme of transformation, profits are still smaller this year than last

• May 15, 2023 15 May'23

  Online sales suffer as consumers hit shops for bargains

  While overall shopping figures saw year-on-year growth in April 2023, online sales took a hit as shoppers look for cheaper goods in stores

• May 05, 2023 05 May'23

  Open banking use to increase 470% in next four years, driven from Europe

  Europe is leading the surge in the take-up of API-based open banking services, according to Juniper Research

• May 04, 2023 04 May'23

  Age UK calls for physical banking hubs as older people demand face-to-face banking

  UK charity calls for banks and government to speed up the introduction of physical banking hubs as research reveals millions of older people don’t bank online

• May 02, 2023 02 May'23

  Researchers see surge in scam websites linked to coronation

  Scammers and fraudsters continue to take advantage of large public events, with the coronation of King Charles III no exception

• April 25, 2023 25 Apr'23

  Online makes up 25% of retail sales three months in row

  The percentage of all retail sales made online remains steady at around a quarter this year, though cost of living is affecting customer behaviour

• April 18, 2023 18 Apr'23

  Fintechs get more certainty about open banking’s future direction

  Fintechs have welcomed the UK open banking regulators recommendations for the future of the sector

• April 05, 2023 05 Apr'23

  Nordic app-based bank offloads its peer-to-peer lending business

  Danish fintech Lunar has sold its peer-to-peer lending business to Sweden’s SaveLend

• March 30, 2023 30 Mar'23

  How millions of consumers and businesses are using open banking

  SMEs and consumers are increasingly turning to open banking services to help them manage their businesses and lives

• March 28, 2023 28 Mar'23

  Barclays makes further cut to branch network

  Barclays cuts another 14 branches from its network as it continues to see a migration to digital banking channels

• March 24, 2023 24 Mar'23

  Over a third of UK’s online transactions used digital wallets

  Mobile phone-based digital wallets are fast becoming a preferred method of buying goods and services online

• March 23, 2023 23 Mar'23

  US bakery pilots Amazon tech for palm payments

  Amazon's palm-scanning authentication technology is being used by US bakery and café chain to boost use of its loyalty programme

• March 14, 2023 14 Mar'23

  Central bank digital currency use set to soar over next seven years

  The use of central bank-backed digital currencies is set to explode over the next seven years as governments drive adoption to increase financial inclusion

• March 06, 2023 06 Mar'23

  Fintech industry calls for regulatory change to help struggling consumers

  Fintech trade body calls for regulatory changes to allow fintechs to broaden services for people struggling in the cost-of-living crisis

• March 02, 2023 02 Mar'23

  Salt Labs identifies OAuth security flaw within Booking.com

  Security flaw in Booking.com OAuth implementation could be used to launch account takeovers, but researchers discovered and flagged the issue before it could be exploited in the wild

• February 28, 2023 28 Feb'23

  Two years on from the Kalifa report, UK fintechs speak out

  Two years after the UK government’s Kalifa fintech report, entrepreneurs warn of a continuing Brexit headache and slow regulatory reform

• February 21, 2023 21 Feb'23

  Seven million people in UK used open banking services in 2022

  More than seven million people used services that harnessed open banking last year, with 1.2 million of these first-time users

• February 21, 2023 21 Feb'23

  Online makes up a quarter of retail sales in January 2023

  Online shopping makes up a quarter of all retail volumes in the first month of 2023, but retail is still rocky as the cost of living rises

• February 20, 2023 20 Feb'23

  App-based Zopa bank buys BNPL fintech

  App-based Zopa bank is adding a buy now, pay layer platform to its technology stack through its first acquisition