U.K.

U.K. consumer spending had its first January decline in five years last month, dealing another blow to the hopes of retailers after an inflation squeeze sapped demand in 2017.

The U.S. charged 36 people in a takedown of an international cybercrime ring that prosecutors say used the slogan “In Fraud We Trust” and stole $530 million with the help of pilfered identities and malware.

"Ring-fencing" is designed to reduce risk, but will lead to major changes in transaction infrastructure and open a temporary door for fraudsters, according to Marcus Hughes, head of strategic business development at Bottomline Technologies.

Wirecard is working with Fortress GB on new payments technology that will enable fans of two U.K.-based football clubs to earn points and cash-back rewards when making purchases inside stadiums at sporting events — and will track their spending data to decide on future offers.

A fintech investment surge is underway across Europe. What’s unknown is how the looming Brexit situation may affect the U.K.’s strong fintech momentum, and where exactly funds would flow if talent and startups flee Britain.

The all-in-one card market is littered with the carcasses of unsuccessful ventures, but Curve's Shachar Bialick insists his initiative has a model and a headstart that will help it fight the market's considerable headwinds.

Visa did not attribute its shutdown to the use of bitcoin, but the incident is a further reminder — as if one was needed — that cryptocurrencies' volatility extends beyond their dramatic pricing swings.

One of the indirect offshoots of Brexit is a government program that's designed to keep the U.K. relevant by lending a hand to new companies.
The program, FCA Innovate, may have a global effect by nurturing companies that aim to retire static authentication modes such as usernames and passwords.

In a move designed to strengthen its capabilities for integrated payments, processor and technology provider Total System Services has agreed to acquire Cayan for $1.05 billion. The news shortly follows another deal valued in the billions — Thales agreeing to buy the chip maker Gemalto for $5.4 billion.

Loot has been in development since 2014 and has raised a total of more than $7 million thus far.

Pay by Bank, an app developed in recent months by Mastercard’s Vocalink unit, is expanding as Germany’s Wirecard makes the service available to all of its U.K. merchants.

We’ll view this wild rally as the starting point of cryptocurrencies becoming mainstream. They cannot be defined as a fad any longer, writes Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group.

The U.K. challenger bank appeals to its customers to use a debit top up sparingly and for “last minute emergencies” since this feature will cost them around $30 per customer each year due to processing fees.

Google was sued by a group of U.K. consumers over claims that the company improperly collected personal data from millions of users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

Uber Technologies Inc. said information from 2.7 million U.K. customers was taken in a 2016 security breach that hit 57 million riders and drivers globally and that the company kept secret from the public and authorities until recently.

With the wide-scale adoption of mobile phones, and the use of NFC and QR codes for payments, the card brands most likely see a threat to their business model and, in a defensive move against potential disruptors, are wisely embracing the spirit of mobile, writes Jeremy Gumbley, CTO at Creditcall.

A recent change raises geographic FOM potential by 50 percent, which could help CUs in some of Britain’s most heavily populated areas.

Black Friday is making headway with bargain-hunting U.K. consumers, but their 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) in spending is doing nothing to help Britain’s troubled retail centers.

Transit agencies worldwide are attempting to eradicate cash and the bottlenecks that it causes from situations where customer throughput is paramount. But is this effort truly viable given the entrenched payment behaviors and requirements for serving everyone, even digital naysayers?

Facebook's introduction of mobile payments in the U.K. and France is accompanied by the complexity of having to adapt as Brexit unwinds the U.K. from the European Union.