Answer Pay and The Money Carer Foundation join forces to transform financial services for vulnerable adults in the UK Answer Pay, a pioneer in financial services, have announced a strategic partnership with Money Carer, the leading provider of DWP appointeeship and banking services catering to vulnerable adults in the UK via their banking and payments... Continue Reading →
Future of Payments Review The UK consumer benefits from a world-leading payments experience today – but it could be even better. Weighing in at 108 pages Joe Garner’s highly anticipated Future of Payments Reviewhas landed. In the Terms of Reference Joe was tasked to consider how payments are likely to be made in the future and make... Continue Reading →
Cash Tracker Cash has been in steady decline in recent years as many people have turned to different ways of paying. Back in 2006, cash accounted for 62% of payments. It’s predicted that by 2031 this will be down to just 6%. But that’s still billions of payments, and the people who rely on cash... Continue Reading →
Fraud, a persistent problem APP fraud remains a significant challenge for the UK payments industry, with consumers feeling a lack of tangible change since the onset of fake Post Office/HMRC messages during the pandemic. Despite efforts to curb fraud, annual figures persist at alarmingly high levels, showcasing the relentless creativity of fraudsters in their campaigns.... Continue Reading →
Driving payments forward by influencing, exploring, poking, heralding, enhancing, making, reinventing, ensuring, ushering, creating and digitising. A mission driven manifesto from Mike Chambers at Northey Point.
SurePay Launches Developer Portal to empower UK PSPs to implement Confirmation of Payee London/Utrecht, 7 November 2023 — SurePay, the pioneer behind Confirmation of Payee, is excited to introduce the SurePay Developer Portal, an innovative platform designed to empower developers with the full potential of SurePay's offerings. This announcement comes at a pivotal time as... Continue Reading →
What is PSD3 and what is it expected to include? Retail payment systems are ever-evolving and becoming increasingly digital and real-time around the world. However, Europe has sometimes been seen as needing to catch up in terms of payment system modernisation. Taking the example of instant payments, for instance, only 14% of all retail payments were... Continue Reading →
How PSD3 will impact participation in schemes Clearing and settlement systems (CSMs) are at the core of European payments. Every day, 48 trillion payments are cleared by those systems using the standard language of ISO XML files. However, the requirements to directly participate in the clearing and settlement process is a demanding process from a... Continue Reading →
In this tenth round up of retail payments in 2023, for the 12 months to the end of September 2023, we continue to see double digit growth in the volume and value of Faster payments and double digit decline in paper clearing. The growth in volume and value for the UK's bulk clearing scheme remain... Continue Reading →
The impacts of PSD3 on IBAN verification: the EU is getting its version of confirmation of payee In June 2023, the European Commission published its legislative proposal to amend and modernise the current version of the Payment Services Directive, PSD2. The new version, PSD3, introduces new guidelines regarding IBAN verification application and implementation. In this article, we... Continue Reading →
PSD1, PSD2, PSD3: 15 years of EU legislation in a nutshell Who, at the beginning of the 2000s, could offer payment services in the European Union? At that time, it was extremely difficult to answer the question. Companies which provide payment services could fall under extremely different legal requirements from one Member State to another.... Continue Reading →
Current Account Switch Service facilitates 1.4 million switches in past year In the latest Current Account Switch Service (CASS) dashboard, published by Pay.UK, we find out how many of us transferred our bank account in Q3 2023 and who the switching winners and losers were in Q2 2023. The latest Current Account Switch Service data reveals a 63%... Continue Reading →
UK Residents cards in issue Source: UK Finance Card transactions by UK cardholders both in the UK and overseas: There were 2.21 billion debit card transactions in July, 4.9 per cent more than in July 2022. The total spend of £67.8 billion was 4.4 per cent higher than July 2022. There were 374.5 million credit... Continue Reading →
Making a nuanced effort towards gender diversity - three pieces of advice From working in different countries to tackling the sector’s diversity problem, Sundeep Kaur, regional leader for global financial services at AWS, speaks to Jyoti Rambhai about the trends and challenges in payments. Tell us about your career path? I grew up and I... Continue Reading →
Rabobank and SurePay strengthen collaboration to improve fraud prevention Rabobank has announced the further intensification of its collaboration with SurePay to improve fraud prevention. On the one hand, the cooperation is aimed at increasing data coverage so that IBANs from more EU countries can be checked, and on the other hand, the Fraud Risk Indicator... Continue Reading →
Cash Tracker Cash has been in steady decline in recent years as many people have turned to different ways of paying. Back in 2006, cash accounted for 62% of payments. It’s predicted that by 2031 this will be down to just 6%. But that’s still billions of payments, and the people who rely on cash... Continue Reading →
When the banks leave town - a banking desert in North Wales Prestatyn is a seaside town in Denbighshire, Wales - it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl and has a population of 19 thousand which is often swelled by visitors during holiday periods. The town gained media attention... Continue Reading →
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Democratising fintechs access to UK payment systems Bacs and FPS Numeral, the leading bank orchestration platform, published a new guide in collaboration with UK payment expert and former Bacs, FPS and CHAPS CEO Mike Chambers enabling fintechs addressing the UK market to better navigate access models to UK payment systems and how to become a... Continue Reading →
In this ninth round up of retail payments in 2023, for the 12 months to the end of August 2023, we continue to see double digit growth in the volume and value of Faster payments and double digit decline in paper clearing. The growth in volume and value for the UK's bulk clearing scheme are... Continue Reading →
A universal digital identity for the UK: Myth or soon-to-be reality? Regardless of how much friction has been removed from the user experience of financial services, ID verification has remained a sticking point in the UK. In Britain, there is still no universally accepted way for users to prove their identity online. Whilst in the EU,... Continue Reading →
Cash Tracker Cash has been in steady decline in recent years as many people have turned to different ways of paying. Back in 2006, cash accounted for 62% of payments. It’s predicted that by 2031 this will be down to just 6%. But that’s still billions of payments, and the people who rely on cash... Continue Reading →
In July, the UK Government announced an independent review on the future of retail payments. The review seeks input on the most important retail payment journeys, such as user experience, security and cost; how they compare to other countries, and feedback on the current initiatives which are shaping retail payments today. The review will make recommendations to... Continue Reading →
Basikon and Numeral Enable Financial Institutions to Launch New Lending Products Faster Basikon, the SaaS credit and leasing management system, and Numeral, the leading bank orchestration platform, today announce a strategic partnership to empower fintechs and financial institutions to launch new lending products with unprecedented time-to-market. To build new lending experiences and launch new products,... Continue Reading →
Simple, reliable and stress-free* The subject of this special anniversary podcast shares its special day with: The Mayflower setting sail for America in 1620. The introduction of First Class stamps by the Royal Mail in 1968. The UK government suspending Britain’s membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992. All of these events happened... Continue Reading →
Merchants need to up their chargeback game to reduce revenue loss Chargebacks are a pain point for merchants which can sap revenue, cause reputational damage and in extreme cases lead to the loss of processing privilege. Yet their existence underpins consumers’ confidence in using their cards, providing recourse against fraud and unscrupulous sellers. Since the... Continue Reading →
In this eighth round up of retail payments in 2023, for the 12 months to the end of July 2023, we continue to see double digit growth in the volume and value of Faster payments and double digit decline in paper clearing. The growth in volume and value for the UK's bulk clearing scheme have... Continue Reading →
Seigniorage : The last roll of the dice for cash In issue 516 of Payments:Unpacked we featured former Bank of England economist Andy Haldane who called out a "stealth tax scandal" at the heart of central bank digital currency (CBDC) design choices. Andy argued the decision by central banks not to pay interest on citizen CBDC holdings reinforces a... Continue Reading →
When the world waits with bated breath When the world waits with bated breath for the election of a new pope all eyes are fixed on a tiny chimney perched on the roof of the Sistine Chapel - everyone wondering whether they will see white smoke confirming that a new pope has been chosen or black smoke... Continue Reading →
My first financial goal Although I’d never been to Cheshunt and I didn’t know what a Building Society actually did my teenage self dutifully visited the counters of the Cheshunt Building Society 1 each Saturday to handover a small portion of my weekly newspaper round earnings. In return for handing over a couple of pound notes to... Continue Reading →
Cashless, cash user or somewhere in between - ten facts that you should know Cash has been in steady decline in recent years as many people have turned to different ways of paying. Back in 2006, cash accounted for 62% of payments. It’s predicted that by 2031 this will be down to just 6%. But... Continue Reading →
1.2 million switches in past 12 months In the latest Current Account Switch Service (CASS) dashboard, published by Pay.UK, we find out how many of us transferred our bank account in Q2 2023 and who the switching winners and losers were in Q4 2022. Spoiler alert: The latest Current Account Switch Service data reveals a 50% increase in switches... Continue Reading →
39 plays and 154 sonnets - I can't stop writing - Shakespeare? No a 1988 Barclays advert for the new Connect Card. https://youtu.be/5oYaVtQxxQo
The cheque you don't have to write featuring 1980's Eastenders actor Elaine Jordan - a 1988 advert from Barclays. https://youtu.be/mdudsJfUB00
We all know it is is difficult to get Carbon Neutral and do our part for the environment so its a privilege to share an exciting initiative from our friend Michael Boevink. Unlocking the value of reforestation and reducing carbon emissions New innovative technology NFT combined with investment in land gives everyone the opportunity to... Continue Reading →
Tuum and Numeral Empower Financial Institutions to Rapidly Expand Across Europe with a Streamlined Payment Infrastructure Tuum, a leading next generation core banking provider, and Numeral, a leading bank orchestration platform, today announce a strategic partnership to empower financial institutions and fintechs to efficiently launch and expand across Europe and the UK, leveraging a robust... Continue Reading →
UK Residents cards in issue Source: UK Finance Card transactions by UK cardholders both in the UK and overseas: There were 2.1 billion debit card transactions in April, 5.1 per cent more than in April 2022. The total spend of £66 billion was 2.1 per cent higher than April 2022. There were 326.4 million credit... Continue Reading →
Want to avoid project delays? “In delay there lies no plenty.” William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night Project procrastination can affect us all Procrastination is the act of waiting until the last minute to do those tasks that have a relatively high priority and typically require more effort than others. Adrian Neumeyer at Tactical Project Manager argues... Continue Reading →
A 'Big Bang' in the City During my five decades in payments, it is not surprising to have experienced a number of significant payment related events that happened in London’s ‘Square Mile’ - you may have already watched my ‘City Payments Trip’ video or my recollections of walking to work on the 26 April 1993. My time in... Continue Reading →
Payment Security: Why Anti-Virus And Firewalls Are Essential In this guest blog Peter Cornforth of Answer Pay introduces Answer Pay's Request to Pay proposition as a payment firewall to complement Confirmation of Payee's (CoP) anti virus protection. To bolster the security framework, Answer Pay’s Request to Pay proposition introduces the Payment Firewall as a vital... Continue Reading →
ATM value and volume figures for June 2023. Daily LINK ATM transaction volumes: The following graph depicts the daily withdrawal value for June across the last four years. For the most part of the timescale shown by the graph the value withdrawn has tracked in line with last year - with withdrawal values receiving a... Continue Reading →
New Payments Architecture (NPA) Prospectus Pay.UK have published a new prospectus to highlight the substantial benefits that they anticipate the New Payments Architecture (NPA) platform can bring. With input from specialists across the programme, the brochure offers a detailed overview that covers: payment file submission options describes new “flavours” of Faster Payments outlines fraud prevention initiatives... Continue Reading →
The NPA and future of instant payments Join Andrew Hewitt, Director of Payment and Data Solutions at FIS and Anjana Haines, Editorial Director at The Payments Association as they discuss the New Payments Architecture (NPA) and specifically instant payments, the future potential and risks, as well as Andrew’s own learnings from early account-to-account initiatives. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7kS7siVkExApw0PUeStN4X?si=rtYtYeTyTKSj7EFr4jFDSQ The NPA... Continue Reading →
9 things you should know about the PSR’s latest work In this edition we cover nine things you should know about the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) latest work. You’ll find all the detail over on the PSR’s website but if you are short of time here’s a quick summary of what the PSR have been upto recently….. #1: Fighting APP... Continue Reading →
POV: Combating APP Fraud: A Paradigm Shift in Security A POV from Peter Cornforth, Answer Pay. Overview The Payment Systems Regulator has introduced new policies to combat the £500M annual fraud problem, resulting in the need for banks and payment providers to re-evaluate their security approaches. Failure to adapt will result in increased costs or... Continue Reading →
POV: Likely unintended consequences of new policies to reduce APP fraud scams A POV from Tony Craddock, Director General of The Payments Association. The Payments Association are calling on the UK government for recognition of the critical role that the payments industry plays in determining technology investment in the UK, and for regulation that avoids... Continue Reading →
Walking to work on the 26 April 1993 My walk to work on the 26 April 1993 was like no other - the historic Square Mile had been attacked! A walk from Liverpool Street to Fenchurch Street this week brought back some very memories from early in my career. A career in London’s Square Mile... Continue Reading →
In this sixth round up of retail payments in 2023, for the 12 months to the end of May 2023, we continue to see double digit growth in the volume and value of Faster payments and double digit decline in paper clearing. The growth in volume and value for the UK's bulk clearing scheme have... Continue Reading →
Five benefits of open banking for accounting companies In today’s rapidly evolving financial landscape, accountants are acutely aware of the need to embrace technological advancements and digitalisation to remain competitive. A fact supported by a recent Sage study, revealed that 82% of accountants claimed their clients demanding a broader service offering. Since its inception in... Continue Reading →
