E-commerce technology

Coronavirus: Use of fintech apps in Europe accelerates

Fintech apps are being increasingly used by consumers as restrictions on their movements are put in place Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Coronavirus: Contactless limit rises as retailers make point-of-sale changes

The spending limit for contactless card payments is increasing to £45 today (1 April), which is just one of several ways that retail point-of-sale is evolving in response to the coronavirus Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Coronavirus: Viability of half of London’s tech startups threatened

Technology startups in London are fighting for their existence, with business plans for the next three months geared towards survival Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 3 ways to increase engagement in e-commerce

Engagement is a key component of relationships between customers and businesses, and it is essential for fostering an exceptional customer experience. Continue Reading

By

• Demetra Edwards, TechTarget

Tupperware fixes hacked site, but questions remain over response

Kitchenware brand removes active digital credit card skimmer from its website and insists it takes security seriously despite ignoring repeated attempts to contact it Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nordic fintechs urge financial literacy to be taken seriously before it’s too late

Fintechs in the Nordic region hope to prevent more adults getting into financial difficulty through apps that educate people about managing their finances at an early age Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Kitchenware brand Tupperware is ignoring hacked website

Website has been hacked in a targeted cyber attack, and the dangerous vulnerability has not been addressed Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Coronavirus: Amazon and eBay failing to stop profiteers, says Which?

Despite promises by both Amazon Marketplace and eBay to crack down on coronavirus-profiteering, a Which? investigation has found plenty of sellers charging inflated prices for goods such as hand sanitiser Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Coronavirus: Contactless spending limit increased to fight pandemic

Banking and financial services trade body UK Finance to increase spending limit for contactless payments to £45 from the start of April Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Coronavirus: Grocers scrambling to update online and delivery propositions

The supermarkets have effectively become the fourth emergency service as the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis takes hold, aided by significant online and delivery changes Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Coronavirus: uncertainty for online retailers as some slump and others surge

Online retailers face uncertainty as the Covid-19 coronavirus forces change in consumer shopping habits Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Coronavirus prompts cross-industry collaboration from datacentre operators to keep UK online

TechUK positioning document reveals datacentre operators are putting their competitive differences aside to share best practice on how to keep staff safe and keep the UK online during the coronavirus outbreak Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Ocado pulls website amid coronavirus shopping frenzy

Ocado has closed its website and will not take any new orders for several days thanks to sheer volume of traffic Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Amazon to recruit 100,000 extra workers to cope with coronavirus-induced online shopping surge

Online retailer plans to focus its recruitment drive on providing jobs to hospitality and service industry workers who are out of work as coronavirus prompts city-wide shutdowns across the US Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Shirts and suits retailers using tech to stay smart

Enhanced personalisation, increased visualisation and much more customisation with a digital twist comprise the to-do lists of several UK formalwear retailers Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

CW Europe: Experts examine Dutch government’s IT problems

Technology experts discuss the challenges and potential solutions to the Netherlands government’s IT problems. Also read how Russia’s VTB and Rostelecom are creating a platform to utilise big data technology, and how Spain’s CaixaBank is using AI to help its staff training. Continue Reading

Dutch landscape attracts fintech exploration

In 2019, the Netherlands had more than 450 companies active in financial technology. The country’s “polder model”, in which new and traditional companies work closely together, offers many opportunities for fintechs Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Fake CDNs obscuring credit card fraudsters

Fake content delivery networks and ngrok servers are being pressed into service to obscure credit card skimming activities Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Swedish consumer-protection legislation will hit fintechs

New financial regulation to protect consumers from agreeing to unnecessary credit will force financial technology companies to make changes to their products Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Brexit cited as reason for German digital bank’s UK exit

German challenger bank N26 leaves the UK, saying Brexit is the reason behind the decision due to the removal of passporting rights Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Mobile checkout expanded to 50 M&S stores

After a successful trial, retailer Marks & Spencer has expanded its mobile checkout-free offering to 50 stores around the UK Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

The big retail tech themes from Retail’s Big Show

The National Retail Federation’s Big Show signals the kick-off of the retail events calendar. We look over the themes promised for retail tech over the next year Continue Reading

By

• Glynn Davis

Swedish rail firm’s digital journey running on time

Swedish rail company tells Computer Weekly about its successful mission to improve customer experience Continue Reading

By

• Jane Hamrin

Interpol uncovers cyber crime operation in Indonesia

An Interpol-coordinated cyber operation leads to the arrest of three people in Indonesia who allegedly used a JavaScript-sniffer malware to steal payment card details of online shoppers Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

ICO code sets out digital privacy standards for children

The Information Commissioner’s Office has published its Age Appropriate Design Code, a set of 15 standards that online platforms must meet to protect the privacy of younger users Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

A quarter of users will fall for basic phishing attacks

Phishing emails that appear to be security alerts are the most effective method of compromise, says KnowBe4 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gates Foundation mobile money projects in developing world to go live this year

Mobile money projects aim to give millions of the world’s poorest people access to financial services Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Asos trials AR tool to give customers idea of fashion fit

Online fashion brand Asos has launched an augmented reality trial to help customers see how garments will fit their body type Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Automation could help resolve store shortfalls, says Capgemini

As consumers become more receptive to in-store technology, introducing automation to improve the retail experience could increase footfall, says Capgemini Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Swedish venture capitalist giants anticipate increased global interest in local startup scene

Local venture capitalists in Sweden do not fear the arrival of international players Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

Can fintech succeed where schools and parents have failed?

Young people in Britain are unprepared to manage their finances when they leave home and, as a result, many run into serious problems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Why the banking industry needs an IT makeover

UK banks face huge challenges keeping their service availability levels at 99.99% Continue Reading

By

• Sascha Giese

Future fashion: does that dress come in digital?

A visit to a technology-fuelled fashion pop-up paints a picture of a world where retailers and brands sell virtual clothes for usage solely in consumers’ digital lives. Continue Reading

Top 10 financial services IT stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 financial services and fintech stories of 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How Halfords is using tech to rev up its customer service

Live chat, virtual contact centres and a new unifying web platform are set to enhance Halfords’ customer service proposition in the year ahead Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

How can we tell if regulating Google and Facebook is the right thing to do?

There are different economic approaches to dealing with monopolies and market dominance, but the nature of Google and Facebook defies easy answers Continue Reading

By

• Tim Worstall, Adam Smith Institute

Top 10 retail technology stories of 2019

Computer Weekly looks at what 2019 had in store for the retail industry – what technologies were retailers rushing to adopt and how is customer behaviour changing? Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Alarm bells ring, the IoT is listening

With Christmas bearing down on us, a series of vulnerability disclosures has drawn attention to the parlous state of IoT security, and serves as a timely warning to people planning to buy smart devices as gifts Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Future fashion: does that dress come in digital?

A visit to a technology-fuelled fashion pop-up paints a picture of a world where retailers and brands sell virtual clothes for usage solely in consumers’ digital lives Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

CW Europe: Deutsche Bank creates innovation division

German banking giant Deutsche Bank is opening a division focused on innovation which will be led by former SAP executive Bernd Leukert. It will create agile teams with business and infrastructure divisions leading teams of technologists, using agile principles. Also read why China’s Huawei has offered governments an anti-industrial espionage commitment, and how software robots are helping social workers in Sweden. Continue Reading

Two Russians indicted over Dridex and Zeus malware

The US Department of Justice has indicted two Russian citizens over their alleged role in the distribution of the virulent Bugat, or Dridex, and Zeus banking trojans Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Walking on the water

There wasn’t much fanfare around Amazon Prime’s midweek maiden voyage into Premier League football coverage. We’d have missed the delectable choice of fixtures altogether had we not opened the app ... Continue Reading

By

• Ryan Priest

Goldman Sachs reins in cloud-based retail challenger in UK

Bank does not want rapidly expanding Marcus to breach deposits threshold at which UK banks have to ring-fence their retail operations Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

City of London switches on to connected lighting

City of London teams with Itron, Wi-SUN Alliance for smart lighting project to brighten up urban experience of historic parts of the UK capital Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Some 29,000 UK web domains suspended for criminal activity

Domain suspensions for criminal activity over the past year has dropped for the first time since 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Labour pledges review of NCSC in UK security overhaul

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre may get expanded powers under a Labour government Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Holy grail of digital banking is, at first glance, a new channel, not a new concept

Details of Google’s plans in the financial services sector have emerged with nothing groundbreaking so far, but the sector is guessing what comes next Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Macy’s Magecart breach presages Christmas fraud spike

US retailer Macy’s admits some customer data was accessed by unknown actors during a week-long Magecart attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Guarding the shop: Rewind backup protects e-commerce data

E-commerce sites need backup in the event of data loss situations, especially during the holidays. Rewind gives merchants the chance to go back to a safe point in time. Continue Reading

By

• Paul Crocetti, Editorial Director

Foreign e-commerce giants threaten Nordic high streets

Surveys show up to 40% of high-street stores in Sweden and Finland could face closure by 2030 as retailers seek to combat e-commerce threat Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Google to launch bank accounts in 2020

Google is launching bank accounts in the US in 2020 as tech giants continue to deepen their activities in the financial services sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 36

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, the team pick talk about General Election tech, HMRC's “war” on IT contractors, diversity in STEM and how organisations can fight back against fake online reviews Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor
• Clare McDonald, Business Editor
• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

What’s new in UK retail’s online-to-offline movement?

US menswear retailer Untuckit used to be an online pureplay, but by the end of 2019 it will have 80-plus stores, including its two new UK shops, as the online-to-offline trend continues Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

GoCardless and TransferWise create global network for direct debits

Fintechs’ network will make it easier for small companies to expand their customer bases internationally Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Enema at the Gates

The Conservatives’ doctored version of Keir Starmer’s Good Morning Britain interview left out our favourite bit: an arms-folded Piers Morgan insisting he’s “absolutely fine” with 26 billionaires ... Continue Reading

By

• Ryan Priest

Marks & Spencer profits drop as digital push ramps up

Clothing, home and luxury food retailer Marks & Spencer has been pushing to make its business more digital, but its half-year profits have seen a hit Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Goldman Sachs lends billions of dollars through Apple partnership

Apple Card issuing bank Goldman Sachs has already given billions of dollars in credit to iPhone users since Apple's credit card was launched Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Brits moving to digital banking channel faster than people in the US

Digital banking services rapidly gain popularity, but digital banks face major challenges to make deeper inroads into traditional banks’ customer bases Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IR35 reforms – the difficult decisions facing IT contractors

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the difficult choices facing UK IT contractors from the controversial IR35 tax reforms. Social engineering is a major source of cyber security attacks – we look at mitigation strategies. And the IT chief at Mercedes F1 explains what it takes to support a world championship team. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Verizon to give 5G, Fios customers a year’s worth of free Disney content

US comms giant will offer all new and existing 4G LTE and 5G unlimited wireless customers access to the forthcoming Disney+ direct-to-consumer service Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

How retailers are using social to reach Gen Z and beyond

The younger generation of shoppers are all using social media, so how are retailers using influencers to reach these potential customers and their spending power? Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Chapman

Zopa continues in its mission to apply a Netflix user experience to banking

Zopa has made a credit scoring tool available as it continues to expand the portfolio of products it offers beyond loans. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Digital and innovation apprentices to start NatWest programme

NatWest is kicking off a tech apprentice programme, with its digital innovation hub set to play a key role Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

French and German banks end talks on challenger bank sale

After months of negotiations, BPCE's proposed sale of Fidor Bank to OLB has fallen through Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CW Middle East: Saudi banks trial biometrics in ATMs

Biometric and blockchain technologies are being used in tandem to provide ID verification at Saudi Arabian cash machines. Also read about the first government organisation in Bahrain to migrate to Amazon Web Services, and an interview with Yasmeen Al Sharaf, head of fintech and innovation unit, Central Bank of Bahrain. Continue Reading

Southeast Asia’s internet economy hits $100bn milestone

The digital economy in Southeast Asia grew 39% this year but the growth momentum can only be sustained if talent gaps are filled Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, Informa TechTarget

Cyber war as big a threat as nuclear war, says ex-RSA head Coviello

Former RSA chairman Art Coviello has been speaking about the devastating potential of cyber weapons, and warned that humanity must learn from history in order to control them Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Disabled consumers left logged out of retail’s digital revolution

Retailers are being urged to make their digital assets more accessible to disabled consumers, not just for moral and social reasons, but because of the commercial opportunity Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Interview: James Smith, director of digital, Nationwide Building Society

James Smith says heading up the digital unit at Nationwide Building Society is the best job in the business Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Why CIOs must digitise internal IT processes to keep pace with change

Nothing ever stands still, and IT is now expected to be more adaptable than ever before to help businesses keep in step with the pace of innovation Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Industry opposition to no-deal Brexit hardens, says TechUK

A survey of TechUK members has found that 71% believe a no-deal Brexit at the end of October will negatively affect them in spite of their preparations Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

That don’t impress Ma much

Over to Hangzhou now, where the richest man in China has thrown himself the mother of all retirement bashes by performing in front of an audience of 60,000 employees. Alibaba founder Jack Ma donned ... Continue Reading

By

• Ryan Priest

The emergence of the shopping centre-as-a-service model

Shopping centres have been morphing into wider entertainment, leisure and hospitality venues for some time, but their role is set to evolve yet further Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

IT leaders need to speak up about the voice channel

Voice assistants represent the next frontier, and a range of new skills will be needed to move beyond pilot projects to a true voice channel Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Executive interview: How Figleaves uncovers a data Eden

Online lingerie business that started out at the height of the dot com boom is now focused on using advanced analytics to reveal new data insights Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Samsung KX gives consumers and retailers a glimpse of the future

Samsung puts its Galaxy range, the internet of things and community events at the heart of its new central London consumer space – but don’t call it a store... Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

From cleaners to architects – lessons learnt by a serial entrepreneur

After the emotional sale of her first company, Alex Depledge, co-founder of and CEO of Resi, explains the lessons she has learnt and what she will and will not do again Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

UK banks outage caused by problem at US payment service provider

UK consumers were unable to access some banking services due to a hardware failure at a US payments provider Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 29

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna, Caroline Donnelly and Clare McDonald take a look back at the last 28 podcasts ahead of the summer podcast pause Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Enterprise Applications Editor
• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK
• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Over 40% of UK shoppers want store-specific stock information

Shoppers want to use mobile or the web to see availability of items in stores near them in a growing trend towards convenience shopping Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

7 ways to improve your retail sales

Retailers, especially traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, need to throw caution to the wind and follow these seven tips to spur sales and provide remarkable retail. Continue Reading

By

• Jesse Scardina, News Writer

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 26

In this special edition of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload, Brian McKenna and Caroline Donnelly are joined by Bill Goodwin and Sebastian Klovig Skelton to dig into the pair's recent run of in-depth investigative articles on Facebook and its privacy practices Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

The next stage in football’s digital revolution is ready for the new season

Technology is playing an increasing role in football, as the Premier League adopts video assistant referees for the first time and clubs turn to data to capture more of their fans’ attention Continue Reading

By

• Richard Edwards, Freeform Dynamics

Surge in UK businesses switching bank account providers

The UK system that makes it easy to change bank account has seen a surge in businesses taking up the service Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

US Department of Justice launches antitrust probe into dominance of online platform providers

The US Department of Justice has called for an antitrust investigation into how “market-leading” online platform operators in the search, social media and retail space operate Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Convenience, digitisation and the impact on the physical store

Digital technologies and the need for convenience have changed the way consumers shop, but what will this mean for the purpose and size of physical stores? Continue Reading

European Commission launches antitrust investigation into Amazon

Amazon is being officially investigated by the European Commission to assess whether its use of data from independent retailers is anti-competitive Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 24

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna, Caroline Donnelly and Clare McDonald talk about using Alexa to search for medical advice, how a good cup of tea can solve most problems and whether more should be done to provide childcare at tech events Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Retailers engineer new ways to recruit and retain IT talent

Senior leaders at Holland & Barrett, Feelunique and BrandAlley offer tips on finding and keeping sought-after engineering and developer talent Continue Reading

By

• Ben Sillitoe

Challenger bank shuts up shop in UK amid uncertainty

Digital bank Fidor is ending its time in the UK, blaming uncertainties in the market Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Why Facebook’s Libra digital currency could run rings round the regulators

Facebook’s cryptocurrency isn’t really a cryptocurrency, nor is it really a money transfer network, but it’s been formulated in such a way that regulators might not be able to do anything to stop it Continue Reading

By

• Tim Worstall, Adam Smith Institute

Rise of the machines: How AI is changing unified communications

Artificial intelligence is now moving into live UC environments at scale. We look at the impact it will have and what lies ahead Continue Reading

By

• Christian Annesley

Almost half of shoppers still prefer brands with stores

Despite an increasing amount of people shopping online, factors such as product pricing and whether a brand has a physical store still come into play Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

How privacy could breathe new life into personalisation

As much of the advertising technology used by marketers to deliver personalised content online is deemed unlawful, there are signs regulation could actually be a win-win for both consumers and business – as long as the industry embraces change Continue Reading

By

• Jim Mortleman

Open banking could generate £18bn in value for UK SMEs and citizens

Consumers and SMEs could generate billions of pounds in value if open banking adoption reaches its potential Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 21

In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna, Clare McDonald and Caroline Donnelly are joined by Computer Weekly’s acting management editor, Angelica Mari, to talk about some of the past week’s biggest news stories Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Asos trials AR catwalk technology

Online retailer Asos has partnered with HoloMe to trial an augmented reality catwalk for users of its fashion app Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor

Facebook officially unveils cryptocurrency plans

Facebook has released details about its Libra cryptocurrency, but questions still remain over how, and if, it will work Continue Reading

By

• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Facebook announces global digital currency Libra

Facebook is launching digital coin to open up affordable financial services to the world Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Whittard spills the tea about its use of technology

CFO and IT manager of British hot beverages brand Whittard explains the firm’s recent investment in technology ahead of the business’s expansion into China Continue Reading

By

• Clare McDonald, Business Editor