These big banks are working on a digital currency together August 24, 2016 Several of the world's biggest banks are working together to create a digital currency to speed up settlements with the ambitious goal of putting the blockchain-based system into practice by 2018. UBS has been working on the Utility Settlement Coin (USC) since last year and is now being joined by Santander, Deutsche Bank, BNY Mellon and the broker Icap on [...]
Shoreditch tech startup LoopUp to float on London Stock Exchange junior market today August 24, 2016 Shoreditch conference call startup LoopUp floats on the London Stock Exchange’s junior market today. The initial public offering (IPO) values the company at £40.8m and has raised gross proceeds of £8.5m at a placing price of 100p. The startup makes software to streamline the process of conference calling for businesses, reducing muffled noises and allowing [...]
Elon Musk just revealed a “ludicrous” move for Tesla’s product range August 23, 2016 Tesla has today announced revamped versions of its Model S and Model X, which will take advantage of a more powerful battery pack. Chief executive Elon Musk has revealed the upgraded vehicles will take advantage of a feature called "Ludicrous mode" to offer the fastest acceleration among Tesla's offering so far. "I think this is going to send a [...]
Apple is said to be planning three new iPhones for next year August 23, 2016 Beyond the upcoming iPhone 7 due to be unveiled soon, Apple is said to be planning three new smartphones for next year, including a premium device with a bold new design feature. The tech company will make a radical overhaul of the iPhone design with a curved screen on one of the models due in 2017, [...]
Watch out Carney: Here’s what Japan’s central bank just said about fintech August 23, 2016 The Bank of England made history this summer with the launch of the first ever fintech accelerator by a central bank. But, forward-thinking Mark Carney is not the only governor eyeing the potential of the fintech sector and its future role in monetary policy making and central banking. Haruhiko Kuroda, the governor of the Bank of Japan, has indicated [...]
Here’s where Trump sits on the psychopath scale August 23, 2016 Is Donald Trump completely nuts? It's a question asked by a fair few people as the race to the White House heats up and the Trumpster's comments, on everything from immigration to his rival Hillary Clinton, elevate to ever more absurd levels for a Presidential candidate. Now academics at Oxford University have analysed Trump's tendencies toward the extreme, ranking him [...]
The mobile payments battle just intensified in the UK August 23, 2016 iZettle is likely a familiar sight if you frequent small coffee shops or market stalls across the capital. The tiny card reading machine has sprung up across the UK, making it easier for shops to offer customers the option of paying by card without having to invest in the pricey systems offered by the big tech companies. [...]
E-cigarette tax should be zero: IEA think tank August 23, 2016 Excise taxes for e-cigarettes and other healthier alternatives should be set to zero, according to the influential Institute of Economic Affairs think tank. In a report the group argues a lower tax on e-cigarettes would improve public health and consumer welfare. The report author, economist Carl Philips, slammed policy makers for refusing to take into [...]
Uber’s former rival Didi launches car rental service August 22, 2016 Not satisfied with winning the ride-sharing wars with Uber after merging in China, Didi is now expanding into other car services. It's launching an online car rental service in the country to capitalise on the billions of domestic tourist trips made throughout the country, which is expected to grow to 5.8bn by 2020. Read more: Uber [...]
How one simple tech trick saved HSBC customers millions August 22, 2016 It may be all about open banking APIs and blockchain in the geeky world of fintech right now, but banking giant HSBC used one incredibly simple piece of technology that's been around for years to save its customers millions of pounds. The humble text message, first devised in 1984 with the first message making its [...]
