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In a statement on Thursday, trading app Robinhood confirmed that a “limited number” of customer accounts had been targeted by cybercriminals, though the Robinhood service itself had not been compromised.

Though Robinhood did not specify exactly how many accounts had been affected, it had been previously reported by Bloomberg that almost 2,000 customer accounts had been infiltrated, citing a person with knowledge of Robinhood’s internal probe.

The attacks prompted a backlash on social media, with several users failing to contact the company, which does not list a customer service phone number. Bloomberg’s report noted that Robinhood was considering adding a phone number in addition to other tools.

Robinhood said that the accounts may have been compromised after cybercriminals breached personal email accounts outside of their service.

"The security of Robinhood customer accounts is a top priority and something we take very seriously," the company said in a statement. “We always respond to customers reporting fraudulent or suspicious activity and work as quickly as possible to complete investigations.”

Robinhood is now working with affected customers to secure their accounts, advising that users use two-factor authentication to better protect their data. "2FA adds a strong layer of protection for your account, even if your password is weak, reused, or becomes compromised,” the company said in a push notification sent to customers last week to mark National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

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Robinhood is a California-based company that offers financial services to 13 million customers through its mobile app and website, enabling them to invest in stocks, ETFS and cryptocurrencies.

Liberty Global and Telefonica, the respective owners of Virgin Media and O2, have announced their intention to merge, converging their services into a single telecommunications giant likely to present a major challenge to BT.

O2 is the UK’s largest phone company, with 34.5 million users on its network that covers Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile and Giffgaff. Virgin Media has around 3 million mobile users and 5.3 million broadband and pay-television subscribers.

The combination of O2’s 4G and 5G infrastructure and Virgin Media’s ultrafast cable network will create a joint venture worth upwards of £31 billion.

Liberty Global’s chief executive, Mark Fries, emphasised the potential that the merger could hold. “Virgin Media has redefined broadband and entertainment in the UK with lightning-fast speeds and the most innovative video platform. And O2 is widely recognised as the most reliable and admired mobile operator in the UK,” he said in a statement.

Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallette, chief executive of Telefonica, described the coming partnership as “a game-changer in the UK, at a time when demand for connectivity has never been greater or more critical.

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Analysts have begun to speculate on other possible motivations behind the merger, and its likelihood of success. Professor John Colley, Associate Dean at Warwick Business School, suggested that the move may be “opportunistic”, stemming from the focus of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) shifting its focus towards business survival during the COVID-19 crisis rather than the protection of competitive markets.

However O2 and Virgin Media are businesses that are benefitting from the present covid-induced state of affairs”, Colley continued. “One suspects that the CMA will take a keen interest in this merger.

Mike Kiersey, Principal Technologist at Boomi, a Dell Technologies business, commented that the success of the merger will likely hinge on the two companies’ ability to bring their respective infrastructures into harmony with each other:

To establish an efficient operating state, a clear integration framework must be put in place, whether that means the entities remain separate or embrace a purely integrated approach. In most cases, a symbiosis of both IT departments will be the likely result.

This week Revolut launched what it’s calling an ‘Open Banking’ feature in the UK; an additional function within its mobile application that allows users to see their bank accounts form other providers.

Revolut partnered with TrueLayer to deliver the new feature, which has already had plenty of encouraging press. The challenger bank has made full use of the open banking environment that exists in today’s banking sphere to offer its customers something beyond the usual.

The new Open Banking feature means Revolut’s mobile banking customers can see other accounts they have, see balances and transactions and set budgeting controls that include their other accounts as well as their Revolut account.

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Joshua Fernandes, product owner at Revolut, said: “With the launch of our new Open Banking feature, UK customers can now view and manage multiple external bank accounts, enabling them to interpret their day to day spending across all of their accounts, with the added benefit of making our offering even more relevant, user-friendly, faster and more cost-efficient for our customers,” according to Finextra.

Visit the Revolut site for more information on how it works and what an API is.

Luckily, thinkmoney have uncovered the unspoken benefits for businesses if Britain were to ditch cash.

In addition, their research has also revealed which UK regions are the most prepared for the ‘death of cash’.

1. The Average Business Would See a £23,145 Boost

Research has revealed that businesses lose out on £23,145 when they only accept cash transactions.

2. Lower Risk of Illness Due to ‘Dirty Cash’

In its 113-month lifespan, the average £20 note is exchanged 2,238 times.

A single average banknote carries up to 3,000 different types of bacteria – some of which are known to spread skin infections, food poisoning and stomach ulcers.

3. Safer Workplaces for Staff in Retail and Hospitality

Since 2012, crime within the food/ retail businesses has fallen by 9% - which could be attributed to fewer establishments handling cash.

4. Your Money is Safer With Banks

In the past year, UK banks have successfully prevented £1.66 billion in fraud.

5. A Potential £80m Increase In Charity Donations

A lack of Brits carrying cash has led to UK charities losing a staggering £80 million every year.

However, another organisation that relies heavily on donations, the church, has seen a 97% increase in donations since accepting contactless payments.

6. The Government Could Save £35 billion – Which Could be Invested in Businesses

Every year, the HMRC loses a staggering £35 billion to tax avoidance.

If Britain were to go cashless, this saving could be invested in businesses.

As there’s been a notable drop in the number of people using cash machines, thinkmoney have also uncovered which regions have seen the biggest decline over the past year. The results suggest which regions are the most prepared for a cashless society.

The Decline in ATM Withdrawals Between 2017 vs. 2018
UK Region Reduction in the number of ATM withdrawals
London -8.5%
South East -7.7%
South West -7.0%
East of England -6.0%
North East -4.6%
Yorkshire & the Humber -4.4%
East Midlands -4.3%
West Midlands -4.0%
North West -3.3%
Scotland -3.3%
Wales -3.3%
Northern Ireland -2.0%

 

From this research, it is clear that Northern Ireland is the least prepared for a cashless society. It’s also worth noting that last year, N.I. was the only region that saw an increase in the number of bank branch openings. Every other region saw a clear decline.

Smartphones may be our first introduction to 5G, but it's most significant impact may be felt in how it connects us to everything else. Tom Chitty reports from Mobile World Congress.

Industry experts CACI forecast that 2019 could very well see mobiles usurp PCs as the main appliance for internet banking. It’s even predicted that by 2023, 72% of Brits will use apps as their main financial management source.

But mobile banking has already transformed how we spend money. Let’s explore how.

  1. Average Spending

Thanks to banking apps, it’s easier than ever to access money. Access to phone signal granted, you can transfer money, anywhere, at any time. However, with this comes the risk of overspending.

And many people can’t resist the temptation to buy more than they need. In fact, a recent report by Bain & Co. revealed that on average, mobile payment users spend twice as much as those who don’t.

Therefore, what we’re spending money on – as well as how we’re spending it - has already been hugely affected by mobile banking.

  1. Budgeting Apps

Very often, with the risk of overspending comes an increased demand for easy money-saving tactics. Unsurprisingly, banks have been quick to jump on this need by bringing out budgeting apps.

Although increased spending remains common among mobile bankers, these apps could help to provide a remedy. Because managing finances is a priority for most people, they have been quick to take off.

So, mobile banking hasn’t just influenced how we spend — it’s changing how we save, too.

  1. All-Inclusive Banking

Banking apps make it more straightforward to exchange money and make purchases, therefore they are particularly valuable for people who struggle with traditional methods of money management.

For wheelchair users, visiting a local bank or an ATM can often be inconvenient. But thanks to these apps, financial affairs can be managed from home. The need to venture into town to take out cash or pay for goods is now a thing of the past — and this is transforming lives.

Likewise, this has revolutionised how people with specific learning differences monitor their money. Features like colour-coding are ideal for users with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and ADHD, for example.

For people who live far from the town or city, driving to an area with a hole in the wall or bank is no longer necessary as banking can be done from home. Using this kind of app could even reduce your carbon emissions.

Mobile banking isn’t just benefitting its users — it’s helping the environment.

How we spend, save and manage our money has been completely transformed by mobile banking. No wonder its set to rise in popularity over the next four years. This is an exciting time for the financial world. How will it affect your finances?

Merchant account and card payment fee comparison service Merchant Machine have carried out a study to look at the extent of these economic changes to find its true value in the world we live in. The research uncovers the impact cashlessness has had on specific industries, personal spending and how much different countries have adopted the payment method. Some of the key findings are outlined below:

Cashless Countries

Revenue from cashless payments has become hugely significant for a number of nations across Europe, but who is yielding the most in recent years? Below are the EU countries with the highest revenue from card payments.

Big in the Industry

Contactless forms of payment have created a new level of convenience for people around the world, and this has provided a real boost for certain industries. Below are some of the biggest winners:

Home and Away

In years gone by, using a card on foreign shores would be a frightening prospect for many, but in 2018, it appears that is no longer the case. Our study has traced the value of cashless payments back to 2006, and show how people have started to adopt card payments abroad and on home soil.

Ian Wright from Merchant Machine stated that: “The popularity and preference towards cashless payments appears evergrowing. While so many are aware of the decline of cash usage and increase in card transactions, but this study helps to break down where these changes are most felt.”

(Source: Merchant Machine)

 

However, dipping into an unarranged overdraft can have costly consequences.

Did you know that dipping into an unauthorised overdraft could incur a number of fees from debit interest, transaction fees to monthly and even daily fees? Usually these fees and charges combined can mean finding yourself in more debt than anticipated, which you may later find more difficult to get out of.

According to Sunny, the consistent use of an unauthorised overdraft can negatively impact your credit score which could affect your chances of getting a mortgage, credit card or loan in the future.

Learning to manage your money is crucial, particularly when it comes to avoiding unauthorised overdrafts and all of the potential consequences that come with it.

Discover more about unauthorised overdrafts and exactly what charges you could face for spilling over into an unarranged overdraft. This handy guide is full of tips and tricks that will help you avoid any money mishaps.

Are you a savvy saver
Provided by Sunny Loans

This ground-breaking reform changed previously rigid rules to make the financial services sector more competitive and focused on the customer. 

Cloud-based digital banks have taken advantage of this initiative by offering better services to customers, as 8 out of 10 Millennials say they would switch banks for personalised service. Such fintech players and challenger banks now account for 20 per cent of the banking and payments market in Europe.

However, acquiring these new customers is not enough for digital banks to stay competitive, according to customer relationship marketing experts at the customer data platform Optimove. Challenger banks need to find new and personalised marketing strategies to keep brand-agnostic customers loyal – or else they will be made irrelevant by other agile providers with better product offerings.

Roni Cohen, Director of Data Science at Optimove, comments:  “In the age of Open Banking, the best way for these agile technology driven banks to effectively implement personalisation is to make the most of the available customer data, which is now also available to their competitors.

“A customer-centric approach using advanced technologies can help create a long-term competitive advantage. This can be done by looking at customer data to find out what value means to each person, and communicating with customers in an emotionally intelligent way to create value for each and every customer. By using AI, banks’ marketers can gain actionable insights and build effective campaigns and strategies that will target customers at the right time, the right channel and with the right offer for a fully personalized experience.”

Roni concludes: “As consumers see an increasingly personalised experience, challenger banks will be able to distinguish their brands with promotions and rewards tailored to each individual – just like retailers do.”

(Source: Optimove)

Fortunately, Viktoria Ruubel, Chief Product Officer at IPF Digital, is here to help you stay ahead of the curve, looking forward to 2019 and the top trends that will dominate the industry over the coming year.

  1. Banking in your back pocket

Mobile banking has been around for barely five years, but now it is ubiquitous. In the next five years, 72% of the UK population is expected to be banking via their phones. Paper money is dated – new transactional experiences define our daily spending, with contactless cards sharing a crowded market with mobile tech like tap-and-pay.

2018 saw millennials flocking to digital wallet providers like Monzo and Revolut. In 2019, this sort of tech will go mainstream, with a wider range of providers and services, all targeting improved customer experience, financial inclusion, and digital service.

  1. The global fintech opportunity

The global payments industry processed over $1bn per day in 2017. In Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa, where traditional institutions shied away from investing, fintech firms have plugged the gap in the market.

The restrictions enforced by old-fashioned lenders have catalyzed the development of mobile banking. Mobile payments enabled by technology grant financial inclusion to users who wouldn’t meet the criteria for traditional banks

Smartphone adoption lies behind the accessibility of mobile banking – with a smartphone and internet access you can be part of the financial system without a bank account. More people than ever can contribute to the movement of money around the world, resulting in more opportunities for individuals to improve their financial situations, and for business to leverage credit for growth.

In 2019, fintech companies will recognize the massive markets that await outside of the traditional financial ecosystem.

  1. Open Banking matures

Open Banking has won over its early sceptics and now has a strong place in the market, driven by the adoption of PSD2 regulation, new strategic partnerships, and increased customer expectations. 2019 will see open API reach maturity, with new products, customer experiences, business models, and opportunities created along the way.

Stripe, Mint, N26 – these are just some of the players using open API to offer products to both banked and unbanked segments. Meanwhile companies like Alipay and WeChat are building exciting new infrastructure which could drive the financial services revolution globally.

  1. Applying artificial intelligence

The rapid advances in AI-enabled customer intelligence will drive the great leap forward in the 2019 financial industry, notably consumer lending. Chatbots and virtual assistants grew in popularity over the last two years, and consumers are increasingly comfortable using them to request information. Advances in voice tech mean that virtual assistants could soon submit loan applications on your behalf with a vocal signature.

Meanwhile, digital devices and pay for each other, to each other. Lending will become ‘real-time’ and AI learning will allow credit products to be personalized to each customer’s behavior.

For example, AI technology could analyse customer spending, and then suggest saving plans, helping consumers budget and borrow more sustainably. AI would then remind customers when they might need to borrow, how much to borrow and the schedule they should follow for repayments.

  1. Securing data with biometrics

In developed global markets with high levels of smartphone use, biometrics are the next big step for financial services, in 2019 and the medium term as well. Biometrics will soon be integral to verification processes and payments - mobile banking apps already allow users to log in and pay with facial recognition, voice recognition and fingerprints.

The more financial institutions rely on digital, the more data security becomes a concern. Biometric technology one solution, maintaining the transactional security crucial to any sound financial environment.

Travel tops the table

The top four areas that consumers ranked were travel focused. Cultural holidays overseas now receive the biggest injection of cash, with respondents across the world spending an average of $1,537 a year on them – almost double what they spent on luxury items. Coming second were staycations, with 41% of consumers regularly holidaying at home. This was followed by wellness and spa holidays abroad (18%). While, overseas city breaks and weekends away were ranked forth, with almost a quarter (23%) respondents stating they’d put a gift worth $300 towards a short break.

Going out for a meal was ranked fifth by respondents, followed by solo travel abroad (particularly popular amongst the over 55s), catching a film at the cinema, attending live events, sporting holiday overseas and lastly, buying luxury items. Beyond expenditure, social media provides a good barometer for how we value things – and once again experience comes out on top, with 31% sharing posts about travelling for leisure and only 11% sharing new purchases.

Consumers are looking more for ‘meaning’ in what they do: possessions are proving less meaningful than experiences, and the memories and learnings they gain from them.

Getting underneath the skin of the trends

The statistics show that experience is well and truly king. So, why are we seeing this?

According to the Next Big Thing consumer futurist, Will Higham, the value of experiences over things is set to grow. Consumers are looking more for ‘meaning’ in what they do: possessions are proving less meaningful than experiences, and the memories and learnings they gain from them. Tomorrow’s consumer, citizen and employee will increasingly look for fulfillment from the experiences they have, share and remember. In future, what we do will matter more – to us and to our peer network – than what we buy. We’ll care more about status updates than status symbols.

As consumers start to value experiences more, Higham also says they’ll care more about how they feel during them. As a result, customer experience (CX) and customer service will become increasingly important. PwC predict these factors will become tomorrow’s key brand purchase differentiators. In its recent poll, 73% of consumers in 12 countries say CX is important factor in purchase decision making.

So, what does this mean for the finance brands looking to capture consumers’ hearts and wallets in this new age of experience?

Consumer behaviour is changing, and card providers and banks alike can’t ignore this.

Rethinking banking loyalty options

Across the globe, we’re seeing more and more challenger banks and payment options enter the market, underpinned by digital and mobile which are delivering a seamless, simple and engaging digital experience that’s ‘always on’. And they’re rivalling traditional players – Which? Recently announced that Monzo came first in its annual survey of the bank accounts that customers love the most. Traditional card providers and banks are being forced to shake-up their strategies, not only in terms of technologies to match the services delivered but also to look at ways in which to boost brand loyalty. After all, with consumers savvier than ever and providers making it easier for them to switch accounts and cards, what will make them choose one over another?

As we’ve seen from our global research, traditional offerings such as money for switching banks, a voucher or a product freebie just won’t cut it anymore. Consumer behaviour is changing, and card providers and banks alike can’t ignore this. Those companies that are able to offer products and services that respond to the shift towards experiences will reap the rewards when it comes to driving customer loyalty.

Experience is king, and it won’t be dethroned anytime soon.

Website: https://www.prioritypass.com/

Below, Rune Sørensen, at Nets, explores with Finance Monthly the impact that sophisticated card infrastructure can have on mobile-led banking.

All this innovation is pushing and pulling card infrastructures in ways no-one could have predicted a decade ago. Mobile banking, ecommerce integration, loyalty and rewards schemes and even IoT payments all link to cards. That’s a lot to ask of a back-end system.

So the question is: how can issuers balance a need to be perceived as innovative with providing a reliable, compliant and fit-for-purpose payment infrastructure?

Payment revenue is falling, so issuer’s profit margins are being squeezed. Technological change is advancing faster than internal systems can be updated, and the demand for developers with the skills to design and implement back-end solutions is growing faster than supply. As a result, the most forward-thinking banks are taking a critical look at their go-to-market strategies, and questioning if a business model where they design, implement and maintain their own systems is still feasible.

Technological change is advancing faster than internal systems can be updated, and the demand for developers with the skills to design and implement back-end solutions is growing faster than supply.

Take payment gateways as an example. Banks need a payment gateway to the card schemes as they are the backbone of broad e-commerce payment acceptance for their customers, thereby enabling banks to benefit from the international e-commerce market - set to grow to $4.5 trillion by 2021[1]. To avoid locking themselves in with a single scheme, these gateways must also be card scheme agnostic. Issuers now have the choice of whether to develop and maintain these gateways themselves, or to prioritise reliability and time to market by working in collaboration with a trusted partner.

The debate around outsourcing infrastructure has been simmering under the surface for the last few years, and was brought into focus by the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). Open banking is bringing huge opportunities to banks because the importance of national borders in the provision of financial services is diminishing. This opens up the market and benefits consumers, and enables banks to target whole new countries of potential customers. However, these opportunities come hand in hand with two significant challenges.

Open banking is bringing huge opportunities to banks because the importance of national borders in the provision of financial services is diminishing.

First, banks must ensure that their payments infrastructure is compliant not only with EU and their own national regulations, but the domestic regulations of any other international markets they intend to enter, as well as the complex and constantly evolving requirements of the card schemes. Card scheme compliance alone is a great responsibility, demanding increasingly more resources as the service portfolio diversifies and becomes more complex, predominantly driven by mobile payment enablement. This is an enormous undertaking – and one difficult to justify when there are dedicated providers of back-end systems offering full compliance for less than it would cost a bank to create and maintain it themselves.

Second, scalability is key. In the increasingly globalised world of financial services, exciting new products must be made available to all customers at the same time, without any of the downtime associated with launching new products and systems. Stability and security are fundamental to banks; innovation alone means nothing.

It’s clear that, in an era where banking and financial services are evolving faster than ever before, banks need to put their money where it counts. A flexible and reliable card infrastructure will be crucial to a successful transition as more and more financial services move to being predominantly mobile – and in the future, maybe even mobile-only.

Although most consumer-facing financial institutions now offer mobile applications, that doesn’t mean that they are ready for a world where smartphones are the primary point of contact with their customers. This is a new reality, and as the industry changes issuers must evolve too. Those that survive and thrive will be the banks that focus on their delivered customer journey and value-adding core business areas – and it’s time to ask if this really includes developing and maintaining back-end systems.

So, put your cards on the table. Is your infrastructure up to the challenge?

[1] https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/global-ecommerce-statistics

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