U.K.

U.K. fintech Rapyd is offering clients the ability to accept all payment methods through one application interface, a digital service it says eliminates the need for companies to develop complicated payments infrastructures.

In the U.K., many policy researchers predict that the economic fallout of the pandemic in the U.S. could change attitudes toward the idea of basic income on both sides of the Atlantic.

U.K. fintechs are using their technology to assist British businesses and consumers during the coronavirus pandemic by helping banks disburse emergency business loans, enabling e-commerce merchants to offer installment payments to consumers, and giving employees access to salary advances.

Starling Bank has raised £40 million (about $49 million) in its latest fundraiser as it steps up its support for small businesses, bringing its 2020 total to £100 million (about $123 million).

As Erez Ben-Kiki and his wife tried to move her yoga business online — conducting classes via Zoom — they discovered that the process of monetizing such classes was surprisingly awkward. Ben-Kiki, CEO and co-founder of 2Key Network, spotted a gap in the market.

The Financial Conduct Authority is pushing for a review of fintechs that provide payment technology, out of concern that the coronavirus may be harming their financial performance.

Mastercard and Judopay have teamed up to enable mobile payments through The Pharmacy Centre.

British banks are confronting the European import of subzero interest rates that could damage profits already weakened by the coronavirus pandemic as the Brexit divorce rumbles toward its rocky end.

Consumer remittance behaviors are being forced to change, with senders and recipients moving to mobile wallets, bank accounts, and cards. But many still want cash.

U.K. ATM operator LINK reported that its cash withdrawals have fallen by 60% over the past month ending April 27 when compared to the same period one year earlier.

At the start of 2020, the overriding security concern when it came to payments was fraud. After all, before the days of the global coronavirus pandemic, no one had really viewed hygiene as being a particular selling point.

Barclays has experienced an incremental £264 million (about $330 million) in contactless spend in the month since it raised its per-transaction limit in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has created an aversion to cash and contact payments.

The payments landscape for U.K. farmers has long been fraught with inefficiencies at the best of times, particularly when it comes to the government’s processing of financial support payments. Now, with coronavirus wreaking havoc with administrative departments, farmers across the land are bearing the brunt of the crisis.

Due to the U.K.’s coronavirus lockdown, many British people are socially isolated in their homes, and rely on friends to get their groceries for them. They face the problem of how to reimburse people for their expenses, since cash is no longer acceptable.

PayPal subsidiary iZettle is working with U.K. urban delivery platform Stuart to offer small businesses remote payment and delivery services during the coronavirus crisis.

For Good Causes has emerged from pilot in the U.K. to help consumers and businesses convert loyalty rewards points to digital cash donations for charities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.K.’s growing panic about the spread of coronavirus has created an open season for fraudsters, with government agencies and cybersecurity companies reporting unprecedented levels of criminal activity since the virus began sweeping across the globe in January.

Payments gateway and financial crime compliance technology provider Pelican is partnering with Banking Labs to serve banks and corporations in Canada.

The firms say they can't handle crushing loan demand from small and medium-sized businesses.

U.K. supermarkets which have been experimenting with mobile scan-pay-go may see more consumers adopting the technology due to social distancing requirements in stores.