U.K.

The seemingly positive embrace of contactless payments raises important questions about how we can safeguard access to cash, especially for the most vulnerable members of society, says Moorwand's Luc Geuriane.

The coronavirus outbreak initially looked like it might torpedo U.K.-based Paysafe’s plan to expand in the U.S. in 2020. But several months into the pandemic, the payments conglomerate sees ways it can grow by helping bruised small businesses retool operations.

Payment processor Elavon purchased Sage Pay four months ago, completing the acquisition on March 11. Two days later, Elavon's entire workforce was operating remotely as the coronavirus forced it into lockdown.

Lloyds Banking Group is partnering with payments technology fintech Form3 to advance its digital payment offerings for bank customers.

The most recent legislative push to mandate cash is bipartisan at the outset, but there are divisions over how to put this plan into effect.

Fueling its market expansion, U.K. earned wage access startup Wagestream has raised £20 million (about $25 million) in a Series B fundraiser from several VC firms.

Mobile payments provider Judopay is partnering with marketing specialist Thyngs to provide touch-free payments for pubs and restaurants that just reopened in the U.K.

With thousands of job cuts likely to follow what's forecast to be the worst recession in three centuries, the tenants of the glass and steel towers that dominate the City of London and Canary Wharf may face an even bigger retreat.

American Express Global Business Travel has developed a new service enabling small businesses to manage travel, office purchases and cash flow on a single platform.

The U.K.’s six major banking groups are now required to have implemented the new Confirmation of Payee (CoP) scheme for Faster Payments and Chaps as part of a regulatory push to tackle the rampant rise in Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud.

An obscure-sounding statistic gives a fresh look at how dramatic the move to digital finance has been the past few months — and how permanent the move will be.

Orka Technology Group has launched a new earned wage access tool called Orka Pay for hourly workers to gain access to their wages between pay periods.

The spending and account management capabilities of corporate prepaid cards have been given new purpose in a pandemic-struck world dependent on government and charity aid.

As the coronavirus pandemic took hold in March and the U.K. went into lockdown, many of the country’s e-commerce businesses suddenly found themselves facing a nigh unprecedented level of demand.

Traditional U.K. businesses found innovative ways to serve their customers under coronavirus restrictions. Iconic London black taxi cabs, independent local community pharmacies, old-fashioned pubs, and QSRs have turned to in-app mobile payments to enable their businesses to carry on.

Merchants prevailed in a long-running legal battle with Visa and Mastercard in the U.K. over whether interchange fees the payment card networks charged for years in Britain were anticompetitive, which could increase scrutiny on U.S. card interchange rates.

Mobile commerce provider Bango has added Softbank Corp. customers to its list of Japanese mobile phone carriers whose customers can now make purchases in their Amazon accounts and charge the cost to their phone bill.

Coronavirus has made traveling a dicey proposition to begin with, but when U.K. consumers do venture beyond their homes during the pandemic, far fewer plan on using cash for payments.

Once the payment holiday is over, monthly repayments are likely to be higher, leaving many borrowers struggling to manage their debt.

The global coronavirus outbreak has up-ended daily life for many consumers, including where they shop and how they pay for things. The U.K. is no exception, as issues of health and hygiene have now been introduced as important factors when it comes to both planned and impulse shopping.