With the recent Brexit proposals hashed out at Chequers many in the Tech Sector say there was little to reassure them. Tech sector bosses have said that the proposed regulatory divergence in trade in services has done little to instil a sense of certainty and could spell disaster if rejected by the EU. The tech…

TSB’s recent IT meltdown resulted in no fewer than 93,700 complaints and a loss of 400 to 500 customers a day. TSB also admitted more than 1,300 customers had money stolen as a result of its IT problems, with some losing their entire life savings. Now, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority…

America’s Declaration of Independence, the proclamation written by Thomas Jefferson and made by the second American Continental Congress on 4th July 1776 declared the freedom and independence of the 13 colonies from Great Britain. Since June 24, the Liberty County Vindicator of Liberty County, Texas, a small community newspaper, has been sharing daily excerpts from the declaration…

What is FinTech (or fintech)?  Most of us have heard about fintech but do we really understand what it is. The Oxford English Dictionary has actually included the word “Fintech” onto its pages and defines it as “Computer programs and other technology used to support or enable banking and financial services.” Wikipedia defines “Fintech” as “Financial…

Recent news reports revealed that the Tier 2 visa system for skilled workers reached its cap for the first time in 7 years, and for a number of months in a row. This has prompted calls for a review after it was reported that vitally needed doctors had been refused visas. This also had a…

HMRC are facing an investigation by the ICO after complaints from the privacy watchdog ‘Big Brother Watch’ who say HMRC have secretly recorded the voices of 5.1 million people who have called the hotline and failed to ask for permission to store this data. The watchdog says that this may be illegal. Silkie Carlo, the…

As the International Business Festival in Liverpool opened its doors, the Business Secretary, Greg Clark gave the opening address. He made it clear that the UK’s services industry which accounts for 80% of the UK economy needed to maintain its rights to sell services as well as goods in as seamless a transition as possible,…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its latest analysis of its Financial Lives Survey. The survey reveals the financial experiences of people across the UK.  It shows that overall satisfaction with financial circumstances is particularly low in London. The aim of the survey is to shine a spotlight on the financial situations of people…

At a recent finance summit in Frankfurt, the Treasury’s director general of financial services in the UK, Katherine Braddock, warned that a second wave of bank moves from London was “likely after Brexit.” The UK’s loss of ‘passporting rights’, the means by which UK based institutions are currently able to trade freely with Europe, after…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are consulting on changes in the high cost credit market following an in-depth review. The organisation has announced new proposals designed to protect millions of people using overdrafts and high cost credit. Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority said: “High-cost credit is used by over three million…

Many news agencies are today reporting the effect GDPR is having as it came into force today. Some of the headlines:- “Sites block users, shut down activities and flood inboxes as GDPR rules loom” ‘Major websites offline as GDPR comes into force. “Major websites offline and Facebook and Google accused of breaching new GDPR rules…

Gapgemini’s Digital Transformation Institute which has its headquarters in Paris have published their report on the readiness of companies, across the world, for GDPR. According to their survey, 85% of companies across Europe and the USA have stated they will not be ready for the deadline, this Friday, 25th May 2018. Many companies are concerned…

Recent figures obtained by the Campaign for Science and Engineering (Case), show that more than 1,600 IT specialists and engineers offered jobs in the UK were denied visas between December and March. Dr Sarah Main, Case’s executive director, said that job offers in areas where there were clear shortages, such as science and engineering, should…

Earlier this month HSBC bank announced it had performed the world’s first trade finance transaction using a single blockchain platform. In a push to boost efficiency in the multi-trillion-dollar funding of international trade, the bank issued a letter of credit for U.S. food and agriculture firm Cargill. The trade finance transaction involved a bulk shipment…

The Bank of England’s Chief Economist, Andy Haldane, recently launched the Data Analytics for Finance and Macro (DAFM) Research Centre at King’s College Business School. As just part of his launch speech he said, “To get my punchline in early, I believe the application of data analytic techniques to the many pressing questions in finance…

GDPR is looming and is causing headaches for many companies, not just small businesses either.  Some experts believe GDPR could cripple a small or midsize organisation for non-compliance. Just the cost of making sure of compliance can be too much for small businesses and many are not ready. GDPR, which was approved by the European…