News

IT for financial services

• January 20, 2022 20 Jan'22

  MoonBounce firmware bootkit shows advances in malicious implants

  MoonBounce firmware bootkit shows evident technical improvements over others, making it a more dangerous threat to organisations. It is being used by Chinese state-backed actors

• January 20, 2022 20 Jan'22

  Advantages of traditional banks are weakening amid digital challenge, says FCA

  Weakening of the advantages enjoyed by traditional banks over the years is “driven by digital innovation and changing consumer behaviour”, says regulator

• January 20, 2022 20 Jan'22

  Zopa Bank hits £1bn deposits in just 18 months

  Bank has seen rapid growth since its launch and has set ambitious targets for the next 12 months

• January 19, 2022 19 Jan'22

  Danish digitisation partnership delivers plan to government

  Public-private collaboration submits plan setting out “how Denmark can take advantage of the opportunities presented by digitisation moving forward into the future”

• January 19, 2022 19 Jan'22

  Twelve million jobs to be lost to automation in Europe by 2040

  Millions of current jobs in Europe will be carried out by robots as software robots automate processes

• January 18, 2022 18 Jan'22

  Nordic fintech to use Google-inspired core banking from Thought Machine

  Nordic fintech Lunar is modernising its banking platform as it sets out to expand free of the limitations of its current systems

• January 18, 2022 18 Jan'22

  Amazon puts UK Visa ban on hold

  Online retail giant Amazon continues to allow UK Visa credit card payments as negotiations over fees with the card provider continue

• January 14, 2022 14 Jan'22

  Microsoft veteran turns her attention to levelling up IT industry for women

  Diversity goes beyond balancing the internal workforce and should include working with partners that also have diversity as a core objective, says Gavriella Schuster

• January 13, 2022 13 Jan'22

  Ikano Bank’s team of robots exceeds 2021 targets

  How the Swedish bank’s robotic automation project reached its time-saving target with time to spare, automating 168 processes, creating an in-house RPA team and embedding automation in every department’s thinking

• January 12, 2022 12 Jan'22

  Microsoft fixes six zero-days in January Patch Tuesday update

  A larger than of late Patch Tuesday update from Microsoft comes as defenders continue to grapple with Log4Shell

• January 12, 2022 12 Jan'22

  Dutch cyber volunteers receive major funding boost

  The Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure has received a $100,000 donation to expand the scope of its work

• January 11, 2022 11 Jan'22

  Almost half of Log4j downloads still dangerously exposed

  Whether by error or design is unclear, but a great many IT teams are still exposing themselves by downloading outdated, insecure versions of Apache Log4j

• January 11, 2022 11 Jan'22

  Banks accused of neglecting customer security measures

  Which? singles out Metro Bank, Virgin Money and TSB over insecure online banking processes

• January 06, 2022 06 Jan'22

  Record amount invested in UK fintech last year, but female founders still overlooked

  Last year the UK financial technology sector attracted the most investment ever following a slowdown in 2020

• January 06, 2022 06 Jan'22

  Which? raises concerns over buy now, pay later schemes

  The ease of use and increased availability of buy now, pay later schemes masks the risks, says consumer protection champion

• January 06, 2022 06 Jan'22

  How far has Saudi Arabia come with open data?

  While clearly on the right path, Saudi Arabia still has a lot to do before it reaps the full benefits of open data

• January 05, 2022 05 Jan'22

  Google buys Siemplify in first phase of cyber investment

  Once integrated into Google Cloud, Siemplify’s platform will serve as the basis for deeper security development at Google

• January 05, 2022 05 Jan'22

  Fintech players get cozy in Luxembourg

  Luxembourg aims to play a larger role in the rapidly growing global fintech market

• December 29, 2021 29 Dec'21

  Top 10 Nordic IT stories of 2021

  Computer Weekly selects some of the biggest Nordic tech stories of 2021

• December 22, 2021 22 Dec'21

  Top 10 financial services and fintech stories of 2021

  Computer Weekly selects 10 key stories from the financial services IT sector over the past year

• December 21, 2021 21 Dec'21

  Large organisations turning to digital currencies for stored value

  Gartner predicts a major acceleration in the use of digital currencies over the next couple of years

• December 21, 2021 21 Dec'21

  IT services spending recovery to get renewals boost in 2022

  IT services and BPO deals worth $18.5bn globally up for renewal next year, adding fuel to already-expected high growth

• December 17, 2021 17 Dec'21

  HSBC fined £64m for automated transaction monitoring failures

  Bank hit by multimillion-pound fine for failures related to its transaction monitoring, which failed to spot potential money-laundering activity

• December 16, 2021 16 Dec'21

  Barclays selects HPE GreenLake to host 100,000 workloads

  Bank sees a need to provide more personalised digital experiences, and GreenLake is providing the IT infrastructure to help it get there

• December 16, 2021 16 Dec'21

  Nationwide Building Society moves website to Azure cloud

  Building society’s tech teams work with consultancy Contino to implement new website using the chaos engineering method

• December 15, 2021 15 Dec'21

  After Log4j, December Patch Tuesday piles on the pressure

  December’s Patch Tuesday update from Microsoft contains several critical CVEs, but this month all attention is focused on the fall-out from Log4Shell, and burn-out is becoming a real issue

• December 15, 2021 15 Dec'21

  AIB signs up to z15-powered transformation

  Irish bank has continued its investment in IBM z-series hardware and the Red Hat software portfolio to help it achieve its digital transformation goals

• December 15, 2021 15 Dec'21

  UK government to take ‘whole-of-society’ approach to cyber

  Second iteration of the UK’s National Cyber Strategy broadens its focus to build a ‘whole-of-society’ security posture

• December 15, 2021 15 Dec'21

  Which? tells banks to stop rushing branch closures

  Consumer rights protector says banks should pause branch closures until they can ensure people have access to cash and services

• December 14, 2021 14 Dec'21

  Multibillion-dollar quantum opportunities if error rate recedes

  Management consultant McKinsey discusses a potential $700bn opportunity in the pharma, finance, automotive and chemicals sectors

• December 14, 2021 14 Dec'21

  Almost half of networks probed for Log4Shell weaknesses

  Close to half of corporate networks have already been actively targeted by individuals seeking to exploit the critical Log4Shell Apache bug

• December 13, 2021 13 Dec'21

  What is Log4Shell, and why are we panicking about it?

  It’s been described as a ‘design failure of catastrophic proportions’ that threatens the very fabric of the digital world. Find out what the Log4j2 Log4Shell panic is all about, and what you should do about it

• December 10, 2021 10 Dec'21

  Channeling Nordic startup innovation towards global survival

  Nordic startup innovation offers global organisations the green light towards sustainability

• December 09, 2021 09 Dec'21

  What are the challenges associated with the MITRE ATT&CK framework?

  Businesses sometimes struggle to use the MITRE ATT&CK framework effectively. Learn more about some of the challenges, and how to overcome them

• December 08, 2021 08 Dec'21

  2021 another record-breaker for vulnerability disclosure

  More than 50 CVEs were logged every day in 2021, more than at any time since records began, while ethical hackers continue to prove their value

• December 08, 2021 08 Dec'21

  Most consumers expect banks to cover losses to scams

  Consumers expect banks to cover losses to cyber crime, as the number of attacks grows

• December 08, 2021 08 Dec'21

  CIO interview: Nicola Wadham, Financial Ombudsman Service

  CIO Nicola Wadham brings Computer Weekly up to speed on the Financial Ombudsman Service’s IT challenges and successes

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  Zopa to focus on banking after closing peer-to-peer lending

  Peer-to-peer lending pioneer Zopa to focus on its banking operation after the closure of its original business

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  Former TSB CEO joins money-sharing fintech

  Paul Pester teams up with fintech heavyweights to target multibillion-pound money-sharing market

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  Fintech boss fires 900 staff on one Zoom call

  Better.com boss used a Zoom call to tell 900 people they no longer had a job

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  APAC banks gear up on cloud, but challenges remain

  Public cloud spending by financial institutions in the region is rising even as they grapple with legacy IT challenges and cost concerns

• December 06, 2021 06 Dec'21

  IT Priorities 2022: Pandemic’s long tail for cyber buyers

  Pandemic response has been top of mind for cyber leaders these past 18 months, and as Covid-19 turns two, the TechTarget/Computer Weekly IT Priorities 2022 study shows buyers are still focused on how Covid has upended the workplace

• December 06, 2021 06 Dec'21

  European finance firms increase open banking spend

  Financial services firms are increasing investment in open banking capabilities, with improvements to payment initiation and onboarding capabilities expected

• December 06, 2021 06 Dec'21

  Consumers say supermarkets among best at social engagement

  Many types of business have improved their online interactions with consumers as a result of the pandemic, with consumers claiming supermarkets are among the most engaging

• December 03, 2021 03 Dec'21

  Virgin Money adapts offices to fit flexible and collaborative working

  Virgin Money is repurposing its offices to fit a future where staff will work from home and visit offices to collaborate

• December 03, 2021 03 Dec'21

  Bank of Ireland fined €24.5m for business continuity failures

  Bank of Ireland hit with multi-million euro fine by central bank following an investigation

• December 02, 2021 02 Dec'21

  Millions of credit card details for sale on dark web for as little as 75p

  The credit card details of millions of people from across the world can be bought by criminals using the dark web for as little as $1

• December 01, 2021 01 Dec'21

  Cloud-based Redwood becomes latest challenger bank to make a profit

  Cloud-based business bank becomes the latest of the new wave of challengers to achieve profit

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  UK bank branch cull continues as TSB condemns 70 more

  TSB’s branch closure programme gathers pace as dozens more high street premises are shuttered

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  HP patches bugs in over 150 printer models

  More than 150 HP multifunction printers are at risk of compromise through a series of newly disclosed vulnerabilities, one of them wormable

• November 29, 2021 29 Nov'21

  Second Mizuho executive quits after IT problems

  IT failures have forced the CEO of Japanese financial services group to step down

• November 29, 2021 29 Nov'21

  Three latest trends and developments around the Mitre ATT&CK framework

  Framework is set to receive important updates to help organisations and businesses evolve their cyber security. Learn more about what it offers

• November 25, 2021 25 Nov'21

  UK consumers warned of increase in credit card application fraud

  There has been a sharp rise in fraudsters using stolen personal details to open credit card accounts

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  Societe Generale accelerates data and artificial intelligence strategy

  French investment banking giant increases its focus on data and artificial intelligence as digital transformation matures

• November 23, 2021 23 Nov'21

  Four-day week introduced for staff at digital bank

  UK’s Atom Bank brings in four-day working week for employees with no salary reduction

• November 22, 2021 22 Nov'21

  Upcoming holidays prompt ransomware warning from authorities

  Ransomware gangs know how calendars work, and may target their attacks around major holidays to take advantage of more people being off work, according to a new alert

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  How Axa drives digitisation forward

  Digital transformation is not a one-shot project – it’s a continuous and evolving process that requires a mindset change in IT management

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  Government to legislate to make APP fraud reimbursement mandatory

  UK payments regulator wants to reduce the huge sums of money lost to authorised push payment fraud and is calling on the banking and tech industries to play their part

• November 17, 2021 17 Nov'21

  Amazon to stop accepting Visa credit cards in UK due to high fees

  Online retail giant Amazon will stop accepting UK Visa credit card payments from January next year

• November 16, 2021 16 Nov'21

  Blueprint for future high street shows tech’s role in creating thriving communities

  Technology will play an important role in creating thriving communities after Covid-19 lockdowns renew interest in local high streets

• November 16, 2021 16 Nov'21

  Can UAE become a world leader in AI?

  The UAE has launched multiple programmes as it bids to be a world-leading location for artificial intelligence innovation

• November 15, 2021 15 Nov'21

  UK government proposes new rules for digital supply chain security

  Proposals could see IT service providers legally required to adhere to the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework, among other things

• November 15, 2021 15 Nov'21

  CaixaBank system normal after migration of millions of customer accounts

  Spain’s CaixaBank has successfully completed the migration of millions of Bankia customers to its systems

• November 12, 2021 12 Nov'21

  Cost reduction is still the biggest driver of banks’ cloud adoption

  More than 80% of banks now have a clear cloud strategy following a injection of urgency during the Covid-19 pandemic

• November 12, 2021 12 Nov'21

  CaixaBank to complete IT integration of Bankia in two days

  Spanish bank embarks on a massive migration of customer accounts following merger

• November 11, 2021 11 Nov'21

  Finance ombudsman overturns more than three-quarters of bank decisions on APP fraud

  The financial services ombudsman is siding with customers in over 75% of complaints against banks that refuse to repay losses to authorised push payment fraud

• November 11, 2021 11 Nov'21

  Bank of England loses 161 computing devices in three years

  Bank cannot account for phones, laptops and tablets that have gone missing over the past three years

• November 11, 2021 11 Nov'21

  Financial Conduct Authority chooses Aiimi for improved information discovery

  The Financial Conduct Authority has awarded a three-year contract to UK enterprise search firm Aiimi to enable the regulator’s staff to find documents more easily and collaborate better

• November 10, 2021 10 Nov'21

  Traditional banks could get revenue boost if they copy digital challengers

  Traditional banks could see huge sales increases if they adopted the business models of their digital challengers

• November 09, 2021 09 Nov'21

  Standard Chartered picks Starling Bank tech for product launch

  Standard Chartered able to quickly launch new product through fintech platform

• November 09, 2021 09 Nov'21

  Blockchain technology will help banks will cut cross-border payment costs by $10bn in 2030

  The use of blockchain technology in cross-border payments will save global banks $10bn in 2030, according to research

• November 09, 2021 09 Nov'21

  Singapore ups ante in AI with sectoral programmes

  Singapore launches two national AI programmes to bolster adoption of AI by financial institutions and the public sector

• November 08, 2021 08 Nov'21

  CME Group signs 10-year cloud and product innovation deal with Google

  CME Group, one of the world’s largest financial derivatives exchange operators, has signed a multi-year infrastructure migration deal with Google Cloud

• November 07, 2021 07 Nov'21

  Technology spending reaches record levels, fuelling jobs boom

  Spending on IT has reached its highest levels for a decade but a shortage of skilled IT professionals could dampen growth

• November 05, 2021 05 Nov'21

  Inside Krungsri Bank’s open API journey

  Thailand’s Krungsri Bank has been harnessing open application programming interfaces to enable its partners to build new services in a strategy that has won over customers from rival banks

• November 04, 2021 04 Nov'21

  Women grossly underrepresented in global fintech

  Women are CEOs at less than 6% of global financial technology firms and even fewer hold top tech jobs

• November 03, 2021 03 Nov'21

  Quarter of people don’t plan to visit a bank branch again

  A quarter of people have no intention of visiting a bank branch again after experiencing the benefits of digital banking when branches were closed during Covid-19 lockdowns

• November 02, 2021 02 Nov'21

  HSBC standardises on DevOps platform

  HSBC to standardise and automate software development through CloudBees platform

• November 01, 2021 01 Nov'21

  Payments through open banking could end card dominance

  Payments made through open banking will eat into those made using cards as the next five years sees an acceleration in adoption

• October 27, 2021 27 Oct'21

  TechUK slams government gift to big banks that will disadvantage fintechs

  The government will put challenger banks at a disadvantage through its reduction in the bank profit surcharge, says TechUK

• October 27, 2021 27 Oct'21

  TSB opens 100-seat tech centre in Scottish capital

  TSB has opened its latest tech centre in Scotland while IT services provider CGI announces the creation of hundreds of UK tech jobs

• October 26, 2021 26 Oct'21

  Thought Machine: Google-inspired banking fintech to unicorn and beyond

  UK fintech unicorn Thought Machine is transforming the IT of large traditional banks, while working with fledgling digital-only challengers

• October 21, 2021 21 Oct'21

  German regulator imposes limit on number of new customers digital bank can sign each month

  BaFin limits the number of new customers that digital bank N26 can enrol until it is reassured on issues it has raised about the company

• October 20, 2021 20 Oct'21

  Lloyds Bank closes more branches as customers migrate to digital channels

  Banking group has announced more closures as part of the ongoing reduction of its branch network

• October 20, 2021 20 Oct'21

  Oracle NetSuite embeds HSBC corporate banking services into ERP

  Oracle Netsuite integrates HSBC corporate banking services into its latest software

• October 20, 2021 20 Oct'21

  American Express announces global hybrid working model

  US credit card giant is latest corporate to formalise hybrid working following the success of informal policies introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic

• October 19, 2021 19 Oct'21

  Zopa becomes unicorn with latest funds to go to bank operation

  Zopa will invest in its growing digital bank operation after becoming a unicorn in its latest fund-raising round

• October 15, 2021 15 Oct'21

  Global IT outsourcing sees record spending and no sign of slowing

  Cloud services are being taken up by enterprises rapidly as they accelerate digital transformations

• October 14, 2021 14 Oct'21

  Darlington Building Society invests in platform for digital transformation

  Building society is looking to satisfy existing customers and attract new ones by meeting their digital service-level expectations

• October 14, 2021 14 Oct'21

  FCSA clarifies anti-tax avoidance stance of offshore Charter change for umbrella firms

  The Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) has published a revised version of its membership Charter to reinforce its commitment to ensuring its members do not operate offshore tax avoidance schemes

• October 14, 2021 14 Oct'21

  SocGen to cull thousands of jobs and move to single IT platform in merger with subsidiary

  French bank’s move to a single banking platform will enable it to cater for changing customer demands

• October 12, 2021 12 Oct'21

  Morgan Stanley brings diverse fintech innovation to London

  US bank expands its diversity-focused fintech accelerator programme to Europe with an initial £1m investment

• October 12, 2021 12 Oct'21

  Nearly half of finance firms will acquire or partner fintechs in next year

  UK financial services firms are preparing to acquire or partner fintechs as they target business growth

• October 11, 2021 11 Oct'21

  Sensitive documents to stay with whistleblower after deadline for agreement for their return passes

  A deadllne to agree the safe return of the sensitive banking details of former and current NatWest Group customers has passed without agreement

• October 08, 2021 08 Oct'21

  NatWest admits to weaknesses in anti-money laundering systems

  Bank pleads guilty to failures concerning the laundering of hundreds of millions of pounds, but says it has since improved its anti-money laundering systems

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  US lawmakers propose ransomware reporting rules

  Former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren lends her support to a bill that would require corporate ransomware victims to disclose more information about their attacks to the authorities

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  Tech Nation adds 30 fintech scaleups to growth programme as funding continues to rise

  UK government-backed startup network adds 30 fintechs to its growth programme amid record investments in finance tech sector

• October 05, 2021 05 Oct'21

  Microsoft’s financial services cloud available next month

  Financial finance sector-focused cloud service will be available at the beginning of November

• October 04, 2021 04 Oct'21

  Mastercard acquisition of Aiia is a further sign of open banking’s big future

  Mastercard’s acquisition of Denmark-based open banking fintech Aiia follows rival’s takeover of Sweden’s Tink

• October 01, 2021 01 Oct'21

  IR35: Giant Group cyber attack prompts renewed calls for statutory regulation of umbrella companies

  As details about the fallout from the cyber attack on the Giant Group umbrella company emerge, stakeholders say the incident should prompt the government to expedite regulating contractor payroll processing firms