Making Tax Digital (MTD) is the Government's ambitious plan to transform the way taxpayers interact with HMRC. With only a few exemptions, VAT-registered businesses trading over the VAT threshold of £85,000 are required to keep records in a digital format, ensure that the transfer or exchange of VAT information is digitally linked and submit their VAT return information to HMRC using MTD compatible software.

HMRC estimates that 1.2 million businesses are subject to the MTD rules, which became law for VAT periods starting on or after 1 April 2019 (or 1 October 2019 for organisations which are deemed to be more complex). Depending on their VAT return stagger, a significant number of these will be required to submit their first quarterly VAT return to HMRC using software by the 7 August this year.

Yet figures just released by HMRC show that the financial sector has been one of the slowest to sign up, with 75% of firms yet to register.

Commenting on the new figures, John Forth, the head of RSM's financial services indirect tax practice said: “While it's not clear why financial firms have been so slow to sign up, these figures are pretty shocking.

“It is possible that HMRC have overestimated the size of the problem due to the complexity of the VAT regime. Alternatively, they may have failed to recognise that many financial services organisations will be regarded as complex and will therefore be subject to the 1 October deadline. As a result, we may see this figure come down rapidly over the next few months.

“While HMRC have stated that they won't issue filing or record keeping penalties during the first year, financial firms should not see this as a reason not to register. MTD represents a major change to the way businesses report and pay their VAT, and businesses need to make sure they are ready.

“Currently, HMRC are dealing with 10,000 registrations every day. Clearly there are tens of thousands of VAT-registered financial businesses that need to get their skates on and register at the earliest opportunity.”

(Source: RSM)

It is no secret that cybercrime continues to rise, due to a large extent from data breaches that have exposed our digital identity information, says Monica Pal, CEO of 4iQ.

Last year, 4iQ discovered 14.9 billion raw identity records that were stolen from companies and circulated across the web. The rate of identity breaches alarmingly increased by 424% since 2017, totalling 12,499 breaches. It’s no surprise that the likes of Google and Facebook made all the headlines—these tech giants have millions of consumers who were affected. However, one narrative that does not get enough attention, yet is vitally important, is that the businesses employing these consumers also suffer huge consequences due to the massive expansions in their risk profiles. Certain stakeholders (employees, customers, etc.) with poor cyber hygiene, or who have had their data exfiltrated in the past, are just as, if not more, threatening to an organisation than a cybercriminal with harmful intentions. The financial services industry arguably faces the most danger.

More than 25% of all malware attacks target the financial services industry - this is more than any other field, and to make matters worse, attacks are continuing to rise. The number of compromised credit cards increased by 212% in 2019 compared with the prior year, while credential leaks rose by 129% and instances of malicious apps increased by 102%.

Trojans are being used to attack financial services companies. ATM malware is being used to steal credit and debit card information. This issue isn’t exclusive to the United States, as we just saw a ransomware attack wreak havoc on Mexico’s major financial institutions. In February, a UK-based bank became the first public victim of SMS verification code interception. What’s more, cybercriminals can still leverage older methods such as DDoS attacks and phishing against the least prepared companies.

More than 25% of all malware attacks target the financial services industry - this is more than any other field, and to make matters worse, attacks are continuing to rise.

The increasing digitisation of financial services, via cashless payments with cards and mobile apps, has led to greater overall digital capital flow, and as more capital circulates in the digital marketplace, companies increasingly become more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Simultaneously, automation of cybercrime is more common. Crawlers can continuously and automatically sift through large amounts of data and search for vulnerabilities and exposed networks, sometimes even without user input, helping malicious actors acquire their targets more rapidly. And as these processes become more automated,  the ease with which it is done lowers the threshold of expertise required for operation, widening the opportunities to include bad actors with less technical expertise.

Aside from a reputational impact, data breaches incur high financial costs as well. Equifax’s infamous breach cost the company more than $600 million. JP Morgan Chase said it would spend $250 million annually to improve its digital security following its 2014 data breach. Estimates are that cybersecurity costs companies within the financial services industry, on average, about $2,300 per employee, while some firms pay up to $3,000. These numbers have tripled within the last three to four years – showing that companies are spending more on cyber and digital protection than ever before.

Yet, despite companies investing more to secure infrastructures, protect critical business data and assure customer privacy, cybercriminals remain undeterred and have responded to more sophisticated protections by rapidly evolving their method of attacks. What few companies consider, however, is the cumulative effects of other companies’ breaches which have already happened. An employee’s or partner’s personal information exfiltrated in one breach is often used subsequently to gain unauthorised access to another infrastructure, whether through password re-use or social engineering attacks. This is akin to locking the front door, turning on the alarm, yet leaving the garage open, and can be devastating to enterprise-level targets which stand to lose a trove of company IP, inside information about mergers and acquisitions, and more.

What few companies consider, however, is the cumulative effects of other companies’ breaches which have already happened.

Cybercriminals, clearly, possess a myriad of ways to outsmart and outpace normal security measures, so there needs to be an overhaul in this industry, placing more of an emphasis on thinking proactively and aggressively, unmasking bad actors’ identities and anticipating how our data could be at risk. Today, most leading companies understand the importance of executing traditional financial and criminal background checks for their employees. Too few leaders understand how to do this for the hygiene of employees’ digital footprints.

More and more, financial services companies are incorporating identity intelligence into their digital security. This involves tools and practices that are focused on scouring the Deep Dark Web for known exfiltration of identity-related data, from usernames and passwords to social security numbers and addresses. Identity intelligence helps large banks, credit card issuers and insurers understand and reduce what we call the “employee attack surface”, which is created by prior breaches.

These tools and practices can help companies avoid problems caused by:
Password Reuse: Criminals use credentials from prior breaches to access accounts on otherwise secure banking and credit card sites. A July study commissioned by 4iQ showed that nearly half of the consumers surveyed admitted to reusing passwords across multiple websites. Many financial services websites force regular resets – but some don’t, which is a glaring problem with a simple solution.

Weakest Link in the Chain: As we’ve seen in the news recently, third-party vendors play a key role in a company’s security. All players in the supply chain must be doing their very best to mitigate their risk profiles, and scarily enough, your company’s efforts can be all for nought if a “trusted” partner is not doing its part.

Employee Training (or lack thereof): Whether it’s a lack of training, willful negligence, or a bit of both, a company can invest millions of dollars on improving security measures only for an employee, no matter how high or low-level they may be, to make a costly mistake.

As cybercriminals have more tools at their disposal than ever before, technical threat intelligence about a company’s IT infrastructure is simply not enough. Organisations must adopt a more proactive, agile and strategic approach, beyond just playing “whack-a-mole” in response to an attack. Identity intelligence equips incident response and forensic professionals with the information they need to accurately anticipate attacks and catch warning signs even earlier, thereby avoiding a devastating attack for their company.

They're not called Zuckerbucks but Facebook just reinvented digital money. Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency that will launch early next year is more like PayPal than Bitcoin — it's designed to be easy enough for everyone to use. But it's still complicated to understand so I'm going to break it down for you nice and simple.

Here Sarah Jackson, Director at Equiniti Credit Services, reveals some surprising stats about millennials’ attitudes to credit and explores with Finance Monthly what it all means for lenders targeting this demographic.

According to Equiniti Credit Service’s latest UK research report ‘A three part harmony: how regulation, data and CX are evolving consumer attitudes to credit’, despite millennial borrowing increasing annually by a healthy 8%, three fifths of this age group will still only consider borrowing from a traditional, well-established lender, or one that they had dealt with before.

That’s weird

Right. Particularly when it’s clear that alternative lending is gaining traction across other age groups and showing strong overall growth of 15% in 2018. The same report revealed that some 62% of all UK consumers would consider alternative sources of credit (I.e. a non-bank, such as a retailer or car finance provider) the next time they apply for a loan. While consideration does not equal action, the figures about take-up also support the trend: over a quarter of consumers who borrowed over £1000 in the last year did, in fact, use an alternative lender over a traditional high street bank.

If both millennial borrowing and alternative lending are on the up, why is there a disconnect between the two?

So, while non-traditional lenders are not yet competing with banks in loan volumes, they have certainly established themselves within the market. Which begs a question: if both millennial borrowing and alternative lending are on the up, why is there a disconnect between the two?

Customer inexperience

The story, as usual, lies in the data. Although 70% of UK consumers are comfortable completing loan application processes digitally, this figure drops to 57% for millennials specifically. Considering this age group’s well documented digital literacy, this can only be chalked up to financial inexperience. Older generations have not only had more time to become comfortable with the credit processes involved with a loan application, but most have also had more opportunity. External factors play a big part here too. House prices are such that for many millennials, unlike previous generations, the prospect of buying a house and applying for a mortgage at a relatively young age doesn’t even feature on the radar. As such, this group has less exposure to credit processes.

Financial inexperience creates a need for more careful guidance and reassurance. This likely explains why over half (58%) of millennials would only consider borrowing from well-known or previously used lenders.

A helping hand

For lenders, this is both a problem and a huge opportunity. With many millennials now in their mid-thirties, their collective buying power is set to increase substantially over the next decade, making this an increasingly lucrative target market.

That this knowledge gap exists is a chance for the smartest non-traditional credit providers to differentiate themselves as genuine and credible sources of information and guidance for these nervy borrowers.

A great user experience (UX) will undoubtedly help, but will need to be far more than a facility for fast and convenient access to credit.

A great user experience (UX) will undoubtedly help, but will need to be far more than a facility for fast and convenient access to credit. This notion is given further weight by the same report which indicates that one in seven applicants cite clarity of the product’s documentation as the most important factor when deciding between lenders. Persuasive and confidence inspiring UX goes far beyond origination – it must resonate throughout the entire loan lifecycle.

To successfully target millennials, this means balancing investment in a slick digital user interface and the development of clear and simple documentation. Since this group values one-to-one guidance, the contact centre will be a key battleground for business. Here, engaging a specialist outsourcing partner may well be the way to go. These providers are trained and skilled in supporting the kind of dialogue that younger generations need to confidently apply for credit.

Here Finance Monthly hears from Andrew Hayden, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Winshuttle, who discusses the key accounting processes behind a successful digital transformation.

According to analyst group IDC, worldwide spend on the hardware, software and services that enable business process automation will surpass $2.1 trillion in the next four years.

Financial accounting is one business function notorious for manual and error-prone processes within Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable (AR) and General Ledger (GL). These functions are often targeted ‘low hanging fruit’ for companies to start their automation journey and prove the benefits of automation to other parts of the business.

1. Speeding up journal entries

Manually entering data through the SAP Graphical User Interface (GUI) is not only tedious and time consuming,  but it can also often lead to errors – and that means costly rework. SAP-enabled workbooks eliminate the need for manual data entry into SAP. This enables them to get their work done faster and with fewer errors and frees up more time to understand and describe anomalies or work on other high-value tasks.

2. Reduce invoicing traffic jams

At month end, AP and AR teams can usually be found with stacks of invoices on their desks, or furiously entering never-ending quantities of data into the ERP system. Creating and paying invoices is the kind of repetitive, high-volume, and time-sensitive activity that is ripe for automation.

Instead of manually entering supplier invoices or creating customer invoices via the SAP GUI, AP and AR clerks can use SAP-enabled Excel workbooks powered by Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to clear their invoicing backlogs and stay on top of incoming work. This will enable them to deal with PO and non-PO invoices more efficiently, leading to more on-time payments, fewer invoicing errors and supplier enquiries, and ultimately improved supplier relationships.

3. Improve master data accuracy

The timeliness and accuracy of financial accounting operations depend on the master data being correct. Errors or omissions in customer or supplier master records can delay invoicing or payments and lead to problems that are costly and time consuming to fix.

Automating this process enables the finance team to quickly create or update master data using SAP-enabled Excel workbooks or web forms.

4. Improve compliance across key business processes

The data entry process can be complicated if multiple people in an organisation need to supply or approve data, which can often be necessary to comply with strict business procedures. Automation can help here too. For example, it’s possible to build a capital expense request solution that routes a web form to the right approver based on the amount of the request and company code.

5. Spend less time preparing for audits

External and internal audits are a fact of life for any accounting team and preparing for them doesn’t have to be stressful or time-consuming.  An Excel-based solution can be created that can quickly extract any data from SAP that auditors may want to see—for example, invoices over £250,000. This type of automation not only reduces audit preparation time but can also reduce the time external auditors spend on site and consequently audit costs.

In addition to greater productivity and efficiency, organisations can expect greater data accuracy and improved compliance with internal and external procedures and regulations through automation.  And when staff no longer need to perform mundane, repetitive tasks and can instead focus on more strategic projects, morale improves, and more value is delivered to the business.

The quality and efficiency of financial management services have improved by leaps and bounds after the industry finally decided to embrace the Internet of Things. But as impressive as the changes are, there’s still a lot more to do to meet the expectations of a more demanding client-base. Thus, it doesn’t take much to figure out that future innovations need to focus on more inclusive and interactive models that make the most of available technology.

It’s too early to tell what the future holds for the industry. However, these trends give us a glimpse of how wealth management could look like in the years to come.

A More Digital Industry

Looking back at how “traditional” things used to be for the wealth management industry merely a decade ago, the rapid and strategic digitalization of most firms and companies is nothing short of amazing.

As big and small companies alike prepare for an influx of younger and hipper clients, automation and digital integration become even more essential aspects of their marketing efforts. In fact, industry leaders are already carrying out groundbreaking centralized digital marketing strategies that are pushing the rest to follow their lead.

To thrive, organizations have to rethink and reshape their approaches and decipher how they can use technology to their advantage.

Robo Advisors at Your Service

Witnessing how successful chatbots are at offering 24/7 customer support for many companies around the globe, the financial services industry strives to do the same – if not better – with robo-advisors.

While this can be a huge hit-or-miss situation, it’s a risk worth taking for many asset management firms. Aside from software-based solutions being more cost-effective than traditional investment management, this development has the potential to catch the fancy of millennials who are almost always fascinated with what technology can do.

You can’t deny that digital assistants enhance and empower customer experience. Be that as it may, it's too soon to tell for sure if robo-advisors will ever become competent replacements for human advisors, especially in offering customized and long term investments proposals.

Sustainable Investing Becomes an Even Bigger Hit

The growing interest in sustainable investing is expected to swell in the coming years as more people are encouraged to take socially and environmentally-conscious investments.

Millennials have been leading the awareness campaign towards sustainable investing and its principles; and the overall response has been positive, to say the least.

At the rate things are going, wealth managers will have to pay more attention to impact investments and find a way to incorporate the ESG philosophy into their management approaches, should they wish to attract the millennial market.

The Age of Better-informed Investors

There was very little interest in wealth management pursuits in the past few decades because the majority of the population basically had no idea what it’s all about. Thankfully, things have changed, and they continue to change for the better.

As information and resources on asset management and financial services become easier to access, people from all walks of life are opening up to the concept of investing and becoming more conscious of the state of their financial health.

The future shines bright for the wealth management industry.

Below Finance Monthly hears commentary from interactive investor cryptocurrency analyst Gary McFarlane on bitcoin passing $11,000 over the weekend.

The recommendations, as expected, from the global G7-instituted Financial Action Task Force, which will see crypto exchanges and others required to provide full know-your-customer (KYC) details on clients and all parties to crypto transactions, has done little to dampen bitcoin buying.

Other top altcoins – all other coins barring bitcoin – are struggling today.

Two notable exceptions are decentralised application platforms Ethereum (its Ether token is the second-most valuable crypto), and one of its many rivals, Tron, whose founder and chief executive Justin Sun recently won the auction for lunch with legendary investor and crypto sceptic Warren Buffett at a cost of $4.57 million.

Other factors in play behind the bitcoin rally

Geopolitical tensions, notably in the Middle East; the realisation that historically unprecedented loose monetary policy by central banks is not being reversed any time soon, the China-US trade war encouraging bitcoin’s use as a conduit to effect capital flight by some Chinese investors; record high trading in distressed economies such as Turkey and to a greater extent Venezuela and some other countries in Latin American; and talk of an outright ban on crypto by the authorities in India. These are all helping to propel the bitcoin price higher, providing, as they do, a range of examples of its use case as a store of value, no matter how peculiar that may sound for such a crash-prone asset.

Is the fourth parabolic bitcoin price upturn upon us?

Talk is now turning to the possibility of “the fourth parabolic”, which postulates a rise in the bitcoin price beyond the previous all-time high at $20,000 in December 2017.

With end of year targets of $40,000 from Wall Street analyst Thomas Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors and commodity trader Peter Brandt saying $100,000 for next year is a possibility, which would align to the run up to block rewards halving from 12.5 to 6.25 in May 2020 for bitcoin miners, it is starting to feel like 2017 all over again.

That might sound fanciful in the extreme but on past form it is a possibility – and so is a crash from wherever any potential new all-time high might form.

When bitcoin first surpassed $10,000 on 29 November 2017 it only took 17 days to reach its all-time high near $20,000, but past performance is of course not a reliable guide to future performance, especially where crypto is concerned.

New FOMO?

Judging by Google Trends, searches for ‘bitcoin’ haven’t surged yet in the way they did last time round: December 2017 scores is 100 and we are currently registering 16.

It suggests current buyers are those who have previously been in the market and were waiting on the sidelines for a new entry point. That could mean there is plenty of near-term oxygen to drive this market higher, but as always with crypto, it will be a high-risk rollercoaster ride. The fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) impulse for now is more in evidence among institutional buyers.

In this light, following increased pressure from digital banks, legacy banks have yet to follow Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier III and Danny O’Sullivan’s example. Here David Murphy, EMEA & APAC Banking & Insurance Lead at Publicis Sapient, explains that while newly created fintech companies have stepped into the ring and landed a few punches on traditional banks by being quick and nimble, they are by no means facing a knock-out.

Legacy banks shouldn’t underestimate the challenge of newly created digital banks. By relying on their tech, rather than reputation, digital banks have shaken up the financial sector in the last five years. Exploiting poor customer service and lack of innovation in many parts of the industry, tech-driven fintech startups such as Monzo and Starling Bank have won over customers with simple, low-fee, mobile-first products and services.

The market share for current accounts of the big four legacy banks (Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest, HSBC and Lloyds) has lost ground, from 92% of all bank customers a decade ago to around 70% today.

Challenger banks have proven themselves to be more flexible, quicker to adapt to user needs and more friendly and personal than traditional banks. In fact, according to a recent survey from Which?, challenger bank Monzo was ranked as the best bank in the UK with a customer rating of 86% (banks were rated out of a series of categories by real customers out of 10). Their ability to match up to some of the biggest and most established names in the business is a concern for many in the traditional banking sector.

With digital banks winning over consumers and raising a significant amount of funding in order to grow their services - Monzo raised £20m in two days last year and Tandem is expected to raise over £80m in its funding round this month this concern is being amplified – the fightback from legacy banks, which began long ago, is gearing up.

However, this is no easy fight. Compared to younger, more agile fintech companies building new services and platforms from scratch, banks have to work around their legacy systems to make any technological leap. They also have to deal with the issues of siloed workplaces and cultural backlashes in order to improve their services and products.

For example, the boards of major banks today are dominated by people with experience in finance, accounting, law and regulation. Given the enormous changes in regulation since the financial crisis, it is not surprising banks have sought out board members with skills relevant to the sector’s strategic agenda for the post-crisis years: regulation, risk management and compliance.

But the post-crisis environment is shaped by another set of strategic issues that grow steadily more pressing: digitalisation, mobile, automation and the emergence of big data analytics.

To overcome structural issues, legacy banks need to fight smarter against digital banks. While older boxers have to learn how to be strategic and take a punch when competing against younger more nimble fighters, banks need to also adapt their tactics against younger, digitally-enabled competitors.

The contrast between banks and leading technology businesses is clear: tech companies’ boards have large contingents of people from technology, customer insight and digital media backgrounds. As a result, they demonstrate a sharper focus at the top level on the strategic issues of the coming decade, the digital transformation of all businesses, including financial service. Legacy banks need to create a multi-pronged approach to the rise of fintechs from innovating internally to capitalising on their experience in the market.

As we have seen over the past few months with Revolut - the bank has been linked to multiple scandals and failed to block thousands of potentially suspicious transactions on its platform for three months last year - challenger banks come with risks. Legacy banks can therefore, capitalise on their stability by reflecting this in their advertising and marketing campaigns.

Most importantly though, banks need to innovate and adapt to new technology. Many legacy banks are recreating the dynamism of fintech startups within their organisations through innovation labs, as well as partnerships with external technology providers. Initiatives such as innovation labs allocate space to incubate ideas internally with considerable time and investment. They also overcome the cultural issues that big organisations create by building small teams in the company to develop new competing platforms.

Fundamentally, banks need to put customers at the center of the picture. In order to deliver a knockout blow to digital competitors, banks need to ensure that they have the time, investment and willingness to develop and improve their digital banking platforms, enacting digital transformation holistically throughout the organisation and embedding a culture of innovation in their business, underpinned by experience and knowledge built over years.

We are seeing an unprecedented shift in consumer spending habits. But this rapid growth is introducing new challenges. Fraud is rising, yet merchants are under pressure to deliver the seamless payment experiences that consumers increasingly demand.

Network tokenization is one of many technologies that online merchants are turning to in a bid to strike the right balance between high security and a frictionless buying experience.

But according to Andre Stoorvogel, Director of Product Marketing at Rambus Payments, we should not think of network tokenization as an optional add-on. Rather, it is a foundational technology enabling secure, simple digital commerce.

What is network tokenization?

With network tokenization, the payment networks replace a primary account number (PAN) with a unique payment token that is restricted in its usage, for example, to a specific device, merchant, transaction type or channel.

The question is, how is network tokenization different to existing third-party proprietary tokens?

The main (and crucial) difference is that network tokenization ensures that card details are protected throughout the entire transaction lifecycle. Non-network tokens don’t offer this end-to-end security, introducing weaknesses at various points for fraudsters to exploit.

Network tokenization also introduces improved credential lifecycle management to keep card details current, whereas proprietary tokens do not always have issuer permission to access and manage the underlying account data.

Finally, network tokenization opens opportunities for new, enhanced buying experiences across existing and emerging channels.

What are the benefits of network tokenization for online commerce?

To fully appreciate the unique value that network tokens bring to the payments ecosystem, we need to understand how they can address the key pain points for e-commerce merchants.

• Reducing the cost of fraud

We can’t get away from it. Online commerce has a fraud problem.

E-commerce fraud is growing twice as fast as e-commerce sales, with retailers set to lose $130 billion between 2018 and 2023.

We should not be surprised that one in two US merchants see fraud prevention as ‘an increasingly challenging task’. They are already spending $3.48 to combat every dollar of fraud (and this is set to rise with the global cost of fraud prevention increasing by 4% year-on-year).

And yet, the fraud rates keep on climbing. In a hyper-competitive industry where every cent counts, blindly throwing money at a problem is not a sustainable strategy.

The end-to-end security proposition of network tokenization significantly reduces the risk, and mitigates the impact, of malware, phishing attacks and data breaches. Put simply, tokenized card data is useless if stolen and for this reason, network tokenization should be the foundation on which a layered fraud management approach is built.

• Combatting false declines

Given the scale of the fraud challenge, merchants and issuers are understandably adopting a cautious approach. Transaction approval rates for digital transactions stand at around 85%, compared to 97% for in-store transactions.

This leads to a high prevalence of ‘false declines’, where a valid transaction from an authorized cardholder is rejected by the merchant. Often the cause is something simple, such as an outdated billing address, but the results can be incredibly damaging.

Globally, false declines cost merchants $331 billion. 66% of consumers stop shopping with a retailer after a false decline. Unnecessary declines outstrip actual fraud 13 times over. Most tellingly, US e-commerce merchants are losing a total of $8.6 billion to declines, compared to the $6.5 billion of fraud they are actually preventing.

Network tokens can increase approval rates to reduce instances of false declines. This is because card details are automatically updated and refreshed, making it less likely for an erroneous data point to raise a red flag. Also, tokenized transactions are inherently more secure so less likely to be viewed as risky.

• Enhancing the checkout experience

Despite the huge challenges posed by rising fraud, it is telling that 91% of merchants identify ‘minimizing the amount of friction introduced into the user experience’ as the main priority when evaluating their approach to securing payments.

Introducing additional friction into the checkout process, then, is a no-go. But as network tokenization reduces the value of the underlying sensitive data, it adds an invisible layer of security.

We must also remember that merchants want to focus on payment innovation, not fraud prevention. Network tokenization is more than just a security play, and can be used to enhance the buying experience.

For example, it enables consumers to see a fully branded card when checking out, rather than a mish-mash of starred credentials and the final four digits. This boosts recognition, familiarity and engagement.

It also enables payment details to be instantly refreshed when a card is lost, stolen or expires. Better still, it can enable consumers to keep track of where and when their payment credentials are being used. For example, card details could easily be push provisioned to merchant apps.

What is the industry roadmap for network tokenization?

Given the clear benefits, we are already seeing strong momentum for network tokenization for card-on-file transactions. And with EMV Secure Remote Commerce poised to debut in 2019, we can expect to see network tokenization extend to ‘guest checkout’ experiences.

There are options available for merchants and payment service providers (PSPs) looking to implement network tokenization solutions. For those with significant strategic resource, time and technical capacity, direct integration with the payment systems is an option.

Alternatively, for those looking to move quickly, qualified technology partners offer a fast-track to the immediate benefits of network tokenization (without the potential integration headaches).

During this time of financial uncertainty, many opt for emergency small term loans to cover the cost, however these are for financial emergency only and alternative funding will be needed. Here we are going to give you our top tips for saving money and avoid using your credit card.

Make A Shopping List

One of the main ways to avoid making payments on your contactless credit card is to have a shopping list and stick to it. In doing this, you can ensure that you have bought all the food that you need for the week at one time without spending large sums of money as a result. By having everything in the house that you could need, this reduces the need for you to travel to the shops and get tempted by a chocolate bar or other sweet treats that can be bought on impulse with your contactless card.

Avoid Fast Food

Although it may seem tempting to opt for fast food when you have had a long day in the office, it is important to avoid this temptation. One of the ways that you can do this is through making food the night before and freezing it. This not only helps you to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it saves you money as a result. This is ideal particularly for students as this will allow them to save excess money and maintain a healthy diet.

Don’t Use Mobile Banking

Mobile banking is something that you should definitely avoid if you are looking to save money. This is because applications such as Google Pay, and Apple Pay make it easy for you to pay for items with a fingerprint or simple passkey. This will not aid you in saving money as this makes it to easy to overspend and end up buying items that you do not need. One way that you can get around this is through travelling to the bank to look at your finances or even restricting your online banking to one desktop.

Pay By Cash Not Card

When going out for a night on the town or on a shopping trip, it is very easy to opt for a contactless payment to purchase items quickly, but what about just taking cash? By taking cash with you and leaving your card at home, you restrict yourself to the amount of money that you can spend. This is particularly important if you are limited on funds as this allows you to budget accordingly and ensure that you do not overspend at any point. If an item is out of your budget at this time, you must then wait till next month to afford it.

Buy Your Own Lunch

Although this may seem like an extremely small transaction per day, purchasing lunch can actually amount to a large portion of your spending per month. In order to combat this and save yourself more money, begin packing your own lunch. This could save you an average of £5 per day which can amount to a large amount at the end of every month. This can then be saved and placed within a bank account for a financial emergency or a treat later in the year.

Whether you are looking to completely avoid using your card on a daily basis or you are looking to limit the amount that you are spending in general, you can be sure to find the solution that works for you by following one of these top tips.

To put this into perspective, the U.S. banking system alone held an estimated $17.4 trillion in assets at the end of 2017, whilst it also generated a staggering net income of $164.8 billion.

Banks are set to become more profitable in the future too, with advanced technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) expected to introduce more than $1 trillion in savings by the year 2030. This highlights the impact that technology is continuing to have on banking, with this relationship growing increasingly intertwined with every passing year.

In this article, we’ll explore this further whilst asking how the most recent innovations are impacting on banking in the digital age.

1. It has Ushered in the Age of Digital and Mobile Banking

Whereas banking used to require standing in queues and liaising with tellers, most transactions are now completed through digital means. In fact, an estimated four out of every 10 UK customers now bank using a mobile app, and this number is set to increase incrementally in the years to come.

So, whether you want to make an instant payment, transfer funds or open a brand new account with a service provider such as Think Money, the quickest and most efficient way of doing this is through digital means.

Technology is also making digital banking increasingly secure, with methods such as 2-step authentication having transformed the space in recent times.

We’re also seeing a significant rise in the use of biometric security methods, including advanced techniques such as fingertip authentication and facial recognition. These options provide the ideal compromise between high security and a seamless customer experience, and this something that remains at the very heart of banking in the digital age.

2. It’s Using AI to Improve the Customer Experience

We touched earlier on AI, and how this will enable banks to make considerable savings and become more profitable in the future.

AI is also having a considerable impact from a consumer perspective, however, especially in terms of the banking experience that they enjoy.

Take the use of chatbots, for example, which can enhance the onboarding process when positioned as helpdesk agents. More specifically, they can answer the most basic and commonly asked questions and anticipate popular requests, enabling customers to resolve their queries as quickly as possible.

AI can also afford bankers a more detailed look at their customers’ behaviours and financial history, making it easier for them to provide real-time insights and offers that offer considerable value.

3. It’s Improved Data Protection in the Banking Sector

In the first half of 2015, it’s estimated that around 400 data breaches took place in the U.S. alone.

This number has fallen in recent times, as banks have identified the core issues that compromise customer details and introduced measures to provide more robust data protection.

Aforementioned biometric and 2-step authentication techniques have helped to secure users’ passwords, for example, whilst phishing scams and malware are also being combatted by 128-bit encryption and higher.

As a customer, you can also take advantage of secure wireless connections to safely access your bank accounts in the modern age, negating the risk posed by public networks and unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots.

This initiative is called Making Tax Digital (MTD) and is part of the UK’s plan for a more digital future, but not all businesses are ready. If you’re one of them, here Damon Anderson, Director of Partner at Xero explains what you can do to avoid huge fines.

1. Check your eligibility

If your business makes more than £85k each year in taxable turnover, Making Tax Digital for VAT will apply to you from April 1. After this date you won’t be able to complete a paper-based VAT return, or complete your VAT return online at the HMRC VAT portal.

If you suspect your business will soon fall within the VAT threshold, keep records digitally using HMRC-compatible software to stay within the rules.

2. Act now

If you’re eligible, first you need to find an HMRC-approved software vendor. Xero has bridging software to make it even easier to make the switch and it’s MTD tools are now live, are free for Xero users and allow you to:

• Know when VAT returns are due
• Keep a history of the VAT returns that have been filed
• Calculate how much VAT is due
• Identify the method of payment
• Post VAT returns in real time

MTD for VAT will change to the way businesses file their tax, so there’s no escape. If you’re not sure where to turn, speak to an accountant who can advise you. To help small businesses and their advisers to comply, we’ve also created Dexter the digital tax adviser who is putting a friendly face to the legislation.

Keep in mind that some VAT-registered businesses have a deferred start date of October 2019. You can find more information on eligibility here.

3. Know your penalties

HMRC can charge a maximum penalty of £500 for failure to keep the required VAT records. But don’t panic: HMRC understands Making Tax Digital is a big step, and while penalties will apply to record keeping requirements, it is expected to be sympathetic where the trader has made reasonable efforts to comply.

There’s no doubt that businesses are dealing with a lot at the moment and HMRC has said they will not pursue record-keeping penalties when businesses are doing their best to comply with the law. However, eligible businesses should still make the effort to comply by 1st April.

4. Embrace it

Millions of businesses already do so much of their business online, from banking, paying bills to interacting with their customers or suppliers, and many already using accounting software and are seeing the huge benefits. By moving to digital tax, many of the existing paper-based processes will be put to bed, allowing businesses and their agents to devote more time and attention to growing and nurturing their business.

Making Tax Digital will make tax filing simpler and more accurate. The sooner you get used to digital tax filing the more time you’ll have to grow your business.