Weekly ATM value and volume figures 15 May 2022. Key observations for the week ending 15 May 2022: The volume of ATM Transactions decreased by 27% when compared to the final week before the first COVID lockdown. The volume of ATM transactions decreased by 1% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume... Continue Reading →
Podcast: Fraud Matters 2/4
In this podcast it was my privilege to join FICO's Sarah Rutherford, senior director, portfolio marketing, for a discussion about the global perceptions of fraud management and customer experience. In this second of four podcasts we: Discuss the impact of digital transformation on banking customer experiences.Ask are banks getting digitial transformation right when it comes... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 08 May 2022. Key observations for the week ending 08 May 2022: The volume of ATM Transactions decreased by 26% when compared to the final week before the first COVID lockdown. The volume of ATM transactions decreased by 7% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume... Continue Reading →
Podcast: Fraud Matters
It was my privilege to join FICO's Sarah Rutherford, senior director, portfolio marketing, for a discussion about the global perceptions of fraud management and customer experience. In this first of four podcasts we: Discuss the global perceptions of fraud management and customer experienceConsider what banks are getting right -and where there are opportunities to improveDiscuss the... Continue Reading →
With apologies to George Lucas and Margaret Thatcher
May the 4th be with you Clever, catchy and instantly recognisable “May the 4th be with you” is known to all as a Star Wars pun that launched a holiday. The phrase is, of course, an ingenious play on one of the most famous Star Wars quotes of all time - “May the Force be... Continue Reading →
Be sure who you pay
It has been my privilege to join SurePay at the 2022 Building Societies Annual Conference in Liverpool. The event was a great opportunity to think about the role of building societies in ensuring that the UK’s Confirmation of Payee service delivers “safer payments through (CoP) service ubiquity” or, as SurePay put it, “be sure who you pay”. Combating payment fraud In... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 01 May 2022. Key observations for the week ending 01 May 2022: The volume of ATM Transactions decreased by 21% when compared to the final week before the first COVID lockdown. The volume of ATM transactions increased by 12% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume... Continue Reading →
VRP APIs unveiled
TrueLayer has unveiled a recurring payments API capable of dealing with both sweeping and non-sweeping use cases. The Competition and Markets Authority(CMA) has mandated the UK’s nine largest banks to provide Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) that support the automatic transfer of money between two accounts belonging to the same person.VRPs allow customers to connect authorised payments providers... Continue Reading →
Current Account Switch Service hits eight million milestone as switching volumes increase year-on-year
196,964 switches took place between January and March 2022, a 41% increase on the same period in 2021 In this latest dashboard, we find out how many of us transferred our bank account in Q1 2022 and who the switching winners and losers were in Q4 2021. The number of switches during 2022 As previously... Continue Reading →
Payments Tracker
In this fourth round up of retail payments in 2022, we see the impact on the volume and value of payments processed in the UK following the easing of Covid restrictions, compared to the final weeks of Lockdown 3.0 conditions in 2021. Note: All data is publicly sourced and is the latest available: Pay.UK March... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 24 April 2022. Key observations for the week ending 24 April 2022: The volume of ATM Transactions decreased by 29% when compared to the final week before the first COVID lockdown. The volume of ATM transactions decreased by 3% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume... Continue Reading →
Mike Chambers joins CIP as Non-Executive Director
As part of its continued growth strategy, Card Industry Professionals (CIP) is delighted to have appointed Mike Chambers as a Non-Executive Director. Mike has a rich and varied career in the UK’s payment industry and brings a wealth of Fintech knowledge and experience. Mike was Chief Executive of Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs), the UK’s biggest... Continue Reading →
The great un-subscription
Source: Finextra. The pandemic fueled a mass subscription due to a shared feeling of all those stuck at home, boredom. As a result more people subscribed to Netflix with the streaming giant reaching 220 million subscribers globally. We clung to Netflix, our modern book club, as a way to connect with our loved ones. Our text... Continue Reading →
Is Britain ready to go cashless?
The rise of digital banking over the past decade has fuelled a lifestyle revolution. The emergence of chip and pin, contactless cards, digital wallets, online banking and mobile apps have made life more convenient for many. However, this digital transformation has also driven major changes to our cash infrastructure. Bank branches have closed at an... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 17 April 2022. Key observations for the week ending 17 April 2022: The volume of ATM Transactions decreased by 27% when compared to the final week before the first COVID lockdown. The volume of ATM transactions increased by 3% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume... Continue Reading →
Abusive transactions
NAB has becomes the latest Australian bank to automatically block abusive and threatening meassges in the description and reference fields of online payment transactions. More than 10,000 abusive transactions from 6,800 unique customers were blocked in March 2022. Payments in the NAB app on iOS and Android that feature offensive words and phrases won’t be processed... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 10 April 2022. Key observations for the week ending 10 April 2022: The volume of ATM Transactions decreased by 29% when compared to the final week before the first COVID lockdown. The volume of ATM transactions decreased by 3% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume... Continue Reading →
Payments industry and regulatory round up
A round-up of payment related developments at Pay.UK, the Payment Systems Regulator, the Bank of England, HM Treasury, the FCA and the Open Banking Implementation Entity. Period covered: 20 March to 6 April 2022. Pay.UK Current Account Switch Service annual report: continued progress in 2021 The Current Account Switch Service achieved all its regulatory KPIs in... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 03 April 2022. Key observations for the week ending 03 April 2022: The volume of ATM Transactions decreased by 27% when compared to the final week before the first COVID lockdown. The volume of ATM transactions decreased by 0.3% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume... Continue Reading →
Answer Pay: Officially a tech climber
Officially a tech climber I’m so pleased to share that Answer Pay (the UK’s first accredited Request to Pay provider) has made it onto the inaugural Tech Climbers Leeds City Region 2022 list! Tech Climbers is a regional list published with BusinessCloudthat showcases the top performing, IP rich, product led technology businesses. Quickly becoming known as a thriving tech destination, Leeds City Region is... Continue Reading →
It’s not perfect but in a world where Fagan has gone digital…
Fagan has gone digital The UK’s Confirmation of Payee (CoP) name checking service may not be perfect but in a world were Fagan has gone digital any initiative that thwarts the fraudster and protects our money has every right to be applauded. As Authorised Push Payment Fraud (APP Fraud) rises to eye-watering amounts it is surprising to... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 27 March 2022. Key observations for the week ending 27 March 2022: The volume of ATM transactions increased by 3% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume of ATM transactions increased by 19% when compared to the equivalent week in 2021. The volume of ATM transactions... Continue Reading →
Payment Systems Regulator Annual Plan
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published its Annual Plan for 2022/23. In publishing the annual plan the PSR have stated that, on the whole, the regulated payment systems work well. However, the PSR believe that the payments landscape is evolving and with this, there are issues that need to be addressed. The areas that the PSR... Continue Reading →
Ain’t no IOUs when you pay DD
After over 50 years of faithful service we are well versed on the subject of the Bacs Direct Debit. With 4.6 billion DD’s processed each year they are the pre-eminent form of collecting regular payments efficiently and cost effectively from our bank accounts. This week’s Payments:Unpacked archive video is a 1980’s advert extolling the benefits of paying by... Continue Reading →
Payments Tracker
In this third round up of retail payments in 2022, we see the impact on the volume and value of payments processed in the UK with the easing of Covid restrictions, compared to Lockdown 3.0 conditions in 2021. Note: All data is publicly sourced and is the latest available: Pay.UK February 2022, Link March 2022... Continue Reading →
Banks should compete over help with financial wellbeing
Banks and building societies should compete with each other to offer the best set of tools and services to help customers address financial problems that were worsened by the pandemic, a think-tank says. The Social Market Foundation said that new “consumer duty” rules being introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority should drive financial services firms to improve the way... Continue Reading →
7-Eleven stores in Japan trial holographic payment terminal
Customers at six 7-Eleven stores in Japan can now make contactless payments using a holographic screen projected from the self-checkout terminal. Developed by Toshiba, the Digi POS system creates the illusion of a touchscreen interface hanging in the air in front of a shopper.Customers scan the products in their cart and then select their preferred payment method and... Continue Reading →
Contactless payments soar as limit increase takes effect
The lifting of the limit on contactless payments to £100 in the UK has led to a surge in tap-and-pay transactions, as consumers use the touchless checkout method to pay for higher value items. December 2021 card spending data from UK Finance reveals that the average amount spent per contactless card transaction rose by almost 30 per cent... Continue Reading →
Answer Pay fuels European expansion with DIT funding arrangement
Answer Pay has announced that it has successfully received funding to extend its Request to Pay connectivity to European countries in the Single Euro Payments Area(SEPA). Digital payment technologies are evolving. Arguably, the biggest step-change in payments innovation in the UK and Europe comes in the form of Request-to-Pay (RtP). This is a relatively new message overlay service first... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 20 March 2022. Key observations for the week ending 20 March 2022: The volume of ATM transactions increased by 1% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume of ATM transactions increased by 18% when compared to the equivalent week in 2021. The volume of ATM transactions... Continue Reading →
Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs)
In the latest Payments:Unpacked podcast we discuss Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) with Sean Devaney https://open.spotify.com/episode/5OeaM9F1vyUOic0NrvczWe?si=tNKmlLmxR1mg_2pxpeu0Yw
The safe place with the nice face
“The safe place with the nice face - your money safe with The Woolwich” In this edition of Payments:Unpacked Payments Past we feature a once very common name on the ‘banking’ high street - The Woolwich. The Woolwich Equitable Building Society (later Woolwich Building Society or The Woolwich) was founded in Woolwich in 1847 and remained a local institution until the early 1900’s when... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 13 March 2022. Key observations for the week ending 13 March 2022: The volume of ATM transactions decreased by 4% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume of ATM transactions increased by 18% when compared to the equivalent week in 2021. The volume of ATM transactions... Continue Reading →
Sweeping possibilities with Variable Recurring Payments
Recurring Payments: 50 Years of faithful service After over 50 years of faithful service we are well versed on the subject of the Bacs Direct Debit. With 4.6 billion DD’s processed each year they are the pre-eminent form of collecting regular payments efficiently and cost effectively from our bank accounts. To date viable alternatives to Direct... Continue Reading →
My daily constitutional and nefarious activities
My daily constitutional It takes me 26 minutes to complete my daily “Village 360” walk. A daily constitutional equating to 1,560 seconds - a short walk through the village, a quick look at the boats in the canal, a wander along the estuary and, finally, across a field to return home - all enhanced by... Continue Reading →
Cash anytime of the day as easy as ABC
Cash anytime of the day as easy as ABC and other 1980’s adverts from the Griffin In this edition of Payments:Unpacked Payments Past we feature Midland Bank adverts from the 1980’s as told (mostly) by Richard Briers. https://youtu.be/Hy9RaZnevso
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 6 March 2022. Key observations for the week ending 6 March 2022: The volume of ATM transactions increased by 3% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume of ATM transactions increased by 21% when compared to the equivalent week in 2021. The volume of ATM transactions... Continue Reading →
How can banks stop Authorised Push Payment Fraud?
In this blog we are pleased to feature a guest blog from Sarah Rutherford at FICO - in her blog Sarah explores how banks can stop Authorised Push Payment Fraud. How can banks stop Authorised Push Payment Fraud? A cross-party Treasury Select Committee has called on the UK government to do more to ensure that the victims of authorised push... Continue Reading →
Can open banking payment solutions help charities increase fundraising revenue?
Like many organisations, many of the UK’s charities and social enterprises have been hit hard by the pandemic. Nearly two years of on-off lockdowns hit face-to-face fundraising events – a key source of revenue for many charities – and cash donations. Some struggled to retain volunteers, while others faced an increase in demand for their... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 27 February 2022. Key observations for the week ending 27 February 2022: The volume of ATM transactions increased by 10% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume of ATM transactions increased by 16% when compared to the equivalent week in 2021. The volume of ATM transactions... Continue Reading →
Unpacking Confirmation of Payee (CoP)
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6jivyFTJ5WASXnZ7mVCJjT?si=krXmhzGITdeEOV1QCTnaTw In this Payments:Unpacked podcast we are joined by Paul Simpson from Sure Pay – Paul helps us unpack the UK's account name checking service Confirmation of Payee (CoP). Paul explains: - Why Confirmation of Payee is so important. - The phased roll out process adopted by the UK. - Considers a non bank use... Continue Reading →
What are fastest rising subscription services?
A new report by Access PaySuite has revealed the fastest growing subscription services - with makeup and cinema subscriptions topping the list. Payments technology specialist, Access PaySuite, part of The Access Group, analysed Google search data to reveal which subscriptions categories have seen the biggest increase in searches over the course of 2021. Makeup subscriptions... Continue Reading →
Quick Summary: Regulatory Initiatives Grid
Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Forum In November 2021 the Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Forum published an updated version of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid which is intended to help regulators identify and manage peaks in demand and give firms a clearer idea of the major upcoming initiatives across the main financial services authorities. In this blog we provide... Continue Reading →
Unpacking card payments
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0z7s4zqeTqLVUE1NA2Q6CE?si=MK01YC1KTti7UVj6c1gJmw In this Payments:Unpacked podcast we are joined by Ciaran Savage from Card Industry Professionals - Ciaran helps us unpack card payments. Ciaran explains: - What are the noticeable shifts / trends within payments at a SME / SMB level. - Ciaran's view on what to expect over the next 12 - 18 months in... Continue Reading →
Payments Tracker
In this second round up of retail payments in 2022, we see the impact on the volume and value of payments processed in the UK now Covid restrictions are easing, compared to Lockdown 3.0 conditions in 2021. Note: All data is publicly sourced and is the latest available: Pay.UK January 2022, Link February 2022 and... Continue Reading →
ATM Tracker
Weekly ATM value and volume figures 20 February 2022. Key observations for the week ending 20 February 2022: The volume of ATM transactions decreased by 5% when compared to the previous week in 2022. The volume of ATM transactions increased by 13% when compared to the equivalent week in 2021. The volume of ATM transactions... Continue Reading →
Banking on the High Street
The most common street name in the United Kingdom is “High Street”. Did you know that it is derived from the Old English word “heah” which means “most important”? Social historian Juliet Gardiner explains that “it was in the 1860s and 70s that the High Street as we know it came about. Because of urbanisation,... Continue Reading →
The rise of the subscription payments model
Largely driven by Gen Z and millennials, the subscriptions market has gone from strength to strength over the last few years. This increase may have been driven by the pandemic and the new need for the ‘insperience’, and businesses who do not offer a recurring payments model may be losing out on potential custom. Access... Continue Reading →
Quick summary: Protected and Free-To-Use ATMs
In December 2021 the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published an extension to Specific Direction 8 (SD 8) which requires LINK to do all it can to fulfil its commitment to maintain the broad geographic spread of free-to-use (FTU) ATMs. In this blog we provide a quick summary of the Specific Direction with relevant links to the PSR’s website. Extending... Continue Reading →
Five facts about ATM use
New data published by LINK, the UK’s main cash machine network, shows a continuing decline in ATM use in 2021 as UK banking customers withdrew £79bn from cash machines compared to £81bn in 2020. Five facts about ATM use in 2021 £79bn was withdrawn from ATMs in 2021 (£81bn in 2020). The number of LINK... Continue Reading →