Data released in Creditsafe’s Prompt Payment Premier League has revealed Huddersfield FC takes on average 53 days beyond payment terms to pay invoices for its suppliers, the worst of any team from England’s top division.

Meanwhile Brighton & Hove Albion, who like Huddersfield are playing their first season in the Premier League, top the rankings, taking only two days beyond payment terms on average to pay suppliers. None of the current Premier League clubs pay businesses within the agreed payment terms however, with the average time to pay suppliers across all the clubs standing at 12 days.

Swansea City, who alongside Brighton takes only two days beyond terms on average to pay invoices, have the highest average value of unpaid invoices at £11,304. This is almost £7,000 above the league average, which stands at £4,385.

Liverpool are the only club in this season’s top six to better the overall league average, taking seven days to pay suppliers, with runaway league champions Manchester City ranking 16th overall at 12 days. Last year’s champions Chelsea have the second worst record of prompt payments, taking on average 30 days beyond terms to pay.

Last year’s worst offenders to still be playing in the Premier League, Manchester United, have only improved their ranking slightly, rising two places from 19th to 17th.

Chris Robertson, UK CEO said: “It’s still surprising to see that even in the Premier League, where the clubs have never been wealthier, late payments are becoming a growing problem for businesses of all sizes to deal with.

“It’s also striking to see the gap between two of the newest clubs to enter the Premier League, each having totally different attitudes to paying suppliers promptly. It’s clear that being a new club in the league, such as in Huddersfield’s case, is no excuse for paying businesses significantly later than their agreed terms with suppliers, especially when Brighton were able to pay their invoices much more promptly.

“The money Premier League clubs receive through the new television rights deal will total more than £5bn over the next few years, so we can only hope the clubs become better in paying their invoices on time with this additional revenue.”

(Source: Creditsafe)

Despite a well-developed electronic payment infrastructure, cash remains a dominant payment instrument in Singapore with 58.7% of transaction volume made at POS terminals in 2017, according to leading data and analytics company GlobalData.

In addition, more than 75% of transactions made at hawkers and wet markets are carried out in cash. This can be primarily attributed to the limited acceptance of electronic payments among small-sized merchants such as street vendors, food stalls and hawkers due to the high cost associated with POS terminals.

Singapore has for a long time been at the forefront of the payments innovation. Acceleration of electronic payments in the country has been one of the key objectives of the government’s Smart Nation Vision and in this regard, the country has invested substantially in building long-term infrastructure for cashless payments. Overall, the POS terminal penetration (number of POS terminals per thousand inhabitants) in Singapore stands at 35, compared to its Asian peers: Australia (39), Hong Kong (22), Japan (18), China (21), Indonesia (4) and India (2). In Singapore, card-based payments accounted for 32.8% of total payment transaction volume in 2017, increasing from 24% in 2013.

Singapore has a very high concentration of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to the Department of Statistics, Singapore, there were 220,100 business enterprises in the country in 2017, with 99% of them being SMEs. To encourage adoption of electronic payments among SMEs in particular, the government along with other payment participants is increasingly considering QR-based payments as a viable alternative for cash.

Kartik Challa, Payments Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The economic rationale for QR codes is stemmed from the difficulty banks had in persuading smaller merchants to begin accepting payment cards. The QR-code based payment acceptance eliminates the need for a significant expenditure, as merchants can now either display a printed QR code on their stall or download the merchant app on their mobile phones to accept electronic payments.”

In November 2017, the Singapore Payments Council announced the development of a common standard for Singapore Quick Response Code (SG QR) payments, designed to work across all schemes, e-wallets and banks. Unlike the existing NETS QR system, which focuses on domestic market, the new system will accept electronic payments through both domestic and international payments. The SG QR, developed by an industry taskforce co-led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Infocomm Media Development Authority, will be deployed throughout 2018. Furthermore, as part of the process, the existing NETS QR will also be integrated into the new system and will be replaced with SG QR at all merchant locations.

Singapore's banks have also agreed to update their mobile payment apps/wallets to support SG QR. To expand the scope for SG QR, the Association of Banks in Singapore agreed to bring in banking P2P service –PayNow under the purview of SG QR. All seven participating banks of PayNow service, Citibank Singapore, DBS Bank, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and United Overseas Bank – enable their customers to transfer funds via SG QR.

Challa concludes: “The SG QR system is an important milestone, and to win over merchants, payment solution providers need to support the large number of e-wallets, offer quick payment settlement process and pricing benefits. Similarly, incentivizing consumers is a key factor to pique consumers’ interest in the new payment system. With the SG QR making a good headway, cash payments in Singapore are likely to soon become passé. Once again Singapore is at the forefront of innovation in payments, and other markets in Asia and globally are likely to follow the suit.”

(Source: GlobalData)

Most conversations about doing business in Africa will include words such as “challenges,” “instability” and “risk.” Nat Davison, Partner at foreign exchange and international payments firm, Frontierpay, explains for Finance Monthly the promises and pitfalls behind payments across the African continent.

The same three words are often applied to managing currency risk and making payments throughout Africa. Costly transmission fees, unestablished banking systems, central bank restrictions and market volatility are all obstacles keeping treasury managers and payroll teams up at night.

That said, Africa also has a lot to offer from a payments perspective. The continent is becoming a hub of new payments technology, same-day payments are possible in countries such as Nigeria and there is a booming mobile payments landscape.

In short, while there is some volatility, if payroll teams are aware of the potential pitfalls and how best to avoid them, there are plenty of rewards to be reaped in the continent.

Finding the right supplier

When looking at currency markets, risk is a constant. Before even considering how currency fluctuations could affect your business though, you first need to gain access to any of Africa’s local currencies; a process which isn’t always as straightforward as it might sound.

In an ideal world, a single supplier would be able to meet most, if not all, of a business’ currency requirements. The reality though, is that many high street banks have a limited or restricted offering and are unable to provide a solution that covers multiple African nations. It’s important, therefore, when preparing to do business in the continent, to find a partner who can cover as many currencies as possible. Not only will this help to smooth internal processes, but it will also enable more effective currency hedging.

Companies often try to get around liquidity limitations in Africa by making payments in US dollars instead. The problem in doing so is that unless the beneficiary bank account is denominated in USD, the payment will be converted to the local currency before crediting at an arbitrary and more than likely unfavourable rate of exchange. Furthermore, it’s impossible to pay a supplier or employee a fixed amount using this system.

Currency volatility

Markets can be fickle beasts and to use even a commonly traded currency such as the South African rand can require a thick skin and heightened awareness of risk. Last year, the currency dropped 7.5% in the last four days of March, only to rise by the same amount in a nine-day stretch in April. Shifts of this nature are more than capable of affecting your payment costs and can hit with little warning.

On the flip-side, anyone with the nerve to have played the rand over the long term will have seen a downward slide of more than 50% in its value between 2011 and 2015, only for it to rise by 13% in 2016 and outperform every EM currency except Brazil’s real and Russia’s rouble.

To remove a degree of the uncertainty from trading the rand, I would advise anyone who hopes to do business with South Africa to have an understanding of the carry trade; a strategy that involves borrowing a currency with a low interest rate in order to fund the purchase of another with a higher rate.

Payment risk

As a result of the combined political and currency volatility in the region, knowledge and experience of South Africa’s local markets are key to successfully negotiating the pitfalls that could cost you time and money.

Where possible, work with partners who can demonstrate a strong track record and broad network within the region, to speed up the delivery of payments and avoid overblown fees. Some banks and payment partners may be able to deliver funds to Nigeria, for example, but not all will have access to local banking systems. Having this capability would open up the possibility of naira crediting bank accounts within hours rather than days.

Pricing is affected in the same way. A deeper knowledge of local market conditions, parallel markets and FX volatility will allow you access to much more favourable currency rates and the most efficient processes available within the rapidly developing continent.

Banking requirements are also fluid, with differing beneficiary data needed in different countries – in stark contrast with the EU and Single European Payment Area. Specialist experience when it comes to making payments in less-developed regions, such as Mozambique or Lesotho, will help to avoid lengthy delays, payment rejections and administration charges.

Volatility in Chinese economy

Africa’s prosperity increasingly depends on China. Over the past 20 years, China has become its largest trading partner and a significant source of investment and lending, paving the way for deep economic ties between the two countries.

As a result, recent signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy are likely to be a very bad omen for Africa, which is massively dependent on China to not only purchase its natural resources, but also to upgrade its decaying national infrastructure.

Ultimately, a slowing China will hinder Africa’s ability to grow. However, as a decelerated China is looking ever more like an inevitability than a possibility, any business with exposure to Africa must ensure they are monitoring the landscape in China just as closely.

In conclusion

As a market to do business in, Africa is gathering global interest. Widespread urbanisation is fostering large cities in which to set up shop and readily available workforces to recruit from. New consumer markets, such as a growing middle class, are presenting previously untold opportunities to trade and the region is seeing strong growth, both economically and from a perspective of technological innovation.

However, for any new business, success on the currency and payments front needs to be an immediate concern. Failure to manage currency risk can fundamentally jeopardise your business, while holes in your liquidity provision may even leave you unable to pay suppliers or employees. Familiarise yourself with your required currencies and the local banking infrastructure, and invest time in finding a partner with the knowledge to keep any potential risk under control.

You may think cash has come to an end, or maybe you’re on the other side of the fence, where cash is king. However, a balance is to be struck. Below WeSwap CEO Jared Jesner explains why travellers will also need cash, despite a predominantly digital economy.

Trailing closely behind Sweden and Canada, the United Kingdom is the world’s third most cashless society. According to UK Finance, cash will be used for a mere 21% of all payments by 2026. Increasingly, countries around the world are making definite moves towards a futuristic economy based on fully digital transactions for goods and services, with cash often portrayed as obsolete. In Sweden, 80% of all transactions are made by cards via the mobile payment app, Swish.

According to a report in Reuters citing the Bank for International Settlements, the study found that the use of cash is actually rising in both developed and emerging markets. “Some of the breathless commentary gives the impression that cash in the form of traditional notes and coins is going out of fashion fast,” said Hyun Song Shin, BIS economic adviser and head of research “despite all the technological improvements in payments in recent years, the use of good old-fashioned cash is still rising in most, though not all, advanced and emerging market economies.” Furthermore, the Bank for International Settlements found that in recent years, the amount of cash in circulation has increased to 9% of GDP in 2016 from 7% of GDP back in 2000. That said, the same study stated that debit and credit card payments represented 25% of GDP in 2016, up from 13% in 2000.

Cash’s resiliency comes at a time when the odds are seemingly stacked against its historically ubiquitous presence, with the critical mass of consumers owning more credit and debit cards today than ever before, using them for smaller transactions than in years past. Moreover, thanks to new technologies, consumers are able to use contactless payments via their mobile devices to pay for things in record numbers. These now societal norms have led to predictions that cash is dying as the world moves to digital payments. WeSwap asserts this prediction as flawed.

Jared Jesner, CEO of WeSwap, founded his company on the notion that cash remains indispensable across the majority of countries around the world: travelers will inevitably need to access hard currency beyond UK borders, and the method with which to do so, should be fair and transparent. As the key driver of a uniquely positioned digital banking revolution sweeping the nation, Jesner demystifies the notion that cash is moving closer towards extinction, instead recognizing its unwavering importance to society in 2018.

In just three years since launching its core product, WeSwap has rapidly risen to become the world’s largest peer-to-peer currency conversion platform, also enabling users to buy-back excess currency and receive cash delivered straight to their door. Its promise to streamline the travel budgeting process, empowers tourists and business travelers to make the most of their money abroad, with users loading funds onto the WeSwap card and swapping currency directly with each other at the interbank rate with no hidden fees. The service is unique and currently used by over 400,000 UK travelers, all of which appreciate and use the notes in their wallets, coins in their purses and contactless pings of their MasterCards.

CEO of WeSwap Jared Jesner states: “Our nation loves to travel and although we are moving closer towards becoming a cashless society within our own borders, when we go abroad this all changes.”

Jesner is optimistic about the enormous potential to change the landscape of payments, having founded WeSwap to make currency exchange cheap and fair for ordinary people: “I’m incredulous to the fact that we still 'buy' money when we should just be swapping with each other.”

With Futurologists long predicting cash will one day become obsolete, contextualised by the advent of blockchain technology, mobile money and similar innovations, a transition towards a more cashless society is inevitable, but not to the extent where notes are no-more. For all the convenience that digital payments offer, many remain reluctant to fully part with their notes and coins. WeSwap believes that an emotive and security-based connection – similar to our attachment with photographs, films, books and other things of tangible value – secure the role of hard-currency in our lives, inevitably.

Kristo Kaarmann, TransferWise Ltd. chief executive officer, discusses the company's new multicurrency online account and the growing demand for its services. He speaks with Bloomberg's Selina Wang on "Bloomberg Technology."

Online research from Equifax, the consumer and business insights expert, shows that using a debit or credit card with a pin number is still the preferred method of payment for 42% of people in the UK. Contactless methods followed at 34%, with the vast majority of these respondents (31%) preferring a contactless card to using their phone or wearable technology (3%).

The survey, conducted with Gorkana, also highlighted that the majority of consumers (66%) are happy with the current £30 contactless payment limit and only 16% think it should be increased. Of the people keen to see a higher limit, 13% would like to see it increased by a maximum of £10, and 39% would like the limit to be set between £40 and £50.

When asked why they would use contactless rather than cash, 34% see the speed of the transaction as the main advantage and 21% said it’s more convenient than making a trip to a cash point. Only 16% of people feel that contactless payments are more secure than carrying cash.

The research found that 45% of consumers withdraw cash just once a month or less, yet 28% of people surveyed said they would never choose contactless payments over cash. Despite the rising popularity of using wearable technology like watches to make payments, 36% of Brits don’t expect this payment method will ever overtake cards.

Sarah Lewis, Head of ID and Fraud UK at Equifax, said: “The rise in popularity of contactless and wearable payment methods is a hot topic right now but our research shows that retailers and service providers are going to have to accept a variety of payment types for some time to come. Many consumers have been early adopters of contactless and wearable payments, and really value the convenience of these options, but others remain wary and prefer the more traditional means.

“Contactless payment is not without its risks and these results show that consumers are well aware of this. There has been talk about increasing the contactless payment limit but this would simply increase the incentive for criminals to steal contactless cards, resulting in higher levels of related fraudulent activity. Contactless and wearable payments will continue to grow in popularity, but the financial services industry has a lot of work to do to make customers completely comfortable with these options.”

(Source: Equifax)

Banks and card companies prevented £1,458.6 million in unauthorised financial fraud last year, equivalent to £2 in every £3 of attempted unauthorised fraud being stopped, the latest data from UK Finance shows.

In 2017, fraud losses on payment cards fell 8% year-on-year to £566.0 million. At the same time, card spending increased by 7%, meaning card fraud as a proportion of spending equates to 7.0p for every £100 spent – the lowest level since 2012. In 2016 the figure stood at 8.3p.

For the first time, annual data on losses due to authorised push payment scams (also known as APP or authorised bank transfer scams) has also been collated. A total of £236.0 million was lost through such scams in 2017.

The unauthorised fraud data on payment cards, remote banking and cheques for 2017 shows:

• Combined total losses fell by 5% to £731.8 million.
• Losses due to unauthorised transactions on payment cards fell 8% year-on-year to £566.0 million. The industry helped prevent £984.9 million in attempted unauthorised card fraud.
• Losses due to unauthorised remote banking fraud totalled £156.1 million, a 14% rise on 2016. Banks prevented £261.4 million of unauthorised remote banking fraud, 27% more than last year.
• Cheque fraud losses fell 28% in 2017 to £9.8 million. This is the lowest annual total on record. £212.3 million of attempted unauthorised cheque fraud was prevented.
• There were 1,910,490 reported cases of unauthorised financial fraud, a rise of 3% compared to the year before.

The new authorised push payment scams data, collected for the first time in 2017, shows:

• There were 43,875 reported cases of authorised push payment scams with a total value of £236.0 million. 88% of this total were retail consumers, losing an average of £2,784, and the remainder were businesses who lost on average £24,355 per case.
• Financial providers were able to return £60.8 million (26%) of the authorised push payment scam losses in 2017.

Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, said: “Fraud is an issue that affects the whole of society, and one which everyone must come together to tackle. The finance industry is committed to playing its part – investing in advanced security systems to protect customers, introducing new standards on how banks respond to scam victims, and working with the Joint Fraud Taskforce to deter and disrupt criminals and better trace, freeze and return stolen funds.

“We are also supporting the Payment Systems Regulator on its complex work on authorised push payment scams, providing the secretariat for its new steering group. It’s a challenging timetable, but it is important that we get it right to stop financial crime and for the benefit of customers.”

The finance industry is responding to the ongoing threat of all types of fraud and scams by:

• Helping to prevent customers being duped by criminals by raising awareness of how to stay safe through the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign, in conjunction with the Home Office.
• Working with government and law enforcement to deter and disrupt criminals and better trace, freeze and return stolen funds, while calling for new powers on information sharing to allow banks to share data to detect and prevent financial crime better.
• Implementing new standards to ensure those who have fallen victim to fraud or scams get the help they need, including around-the-clock availability of fraud teams, to make it easier and better for the customer, and, where possible, improve the likelihood of their funds being recovered. UK Finance will also be the secretariat for the PSR’s new steering group on authorised push payment scams².
• Working with government on making possible legislative changes to account opening procedures to help the industry act more proactively on suspicion of fraud and prevent criminals from accessing financial systems.
• -Rolling out the Banking Protocol – a ground-breaking rapid response scheme through which branch staff can alert police and Trading Standards to suspected frauds taking place – to every police force area in the UK. In 2017, while it was still being introduced across the country, the Protocol prevented £13.3 million of fraud and led to 129 arrests.
• Sponsoring the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit⁵, a specialist police unit which tackles the organised criminal groups responsible for financial fraud and scams. This has led to a combined value in savings and disruptions in criminal activity of close to £30 million in 2017.
• Exploring new ways to track stolen funds moved between multiple bank accounts.

To help everyone stay safe from fraud and scams, Take Five to Stop Fraud urges customers to follow the campaign advice:

• A genuine bank or organisation will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, full password or to move money to another account. Only give out your personal or financial details to use a service that you have given your consent to, that you trust and that you are expecting to be contacted by.
• Don’t be tricked into giving a fraudster access to your personal or financial details. Never automatically click on a link in an unexpected email or text.
• Always question uninvited approaches in case it’s a scam. Instead, contact the company directly using a known email or phone number.

Tony Blake, Senior Fraud Prevention Officer at the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit, said: “With criminals using social engineering to target people and businesses directly, it’s vital that everyone follows the advice of the Take Five campaign. Always stop and think if you are ever asked for your personal or financial details. Remember, no bank or genuine organisation will ever contact you out of the blue and ask you to transfer money to another account.”

Unauthorised fraud

In an unauthorised fraudulent transaction, the account holder does not provide authorisation for the payment to proceed and the transaction is carried out by a third-party.

Authorised fraud

In an authorised push payment (APP) scam, the account holder themselves authorises the payment to be made to another account. If a customer authorises the payment themselves, current legislation means that they have no legal protection to cover them for losses – which is different for an unauthorised transaction.

Banks will always endeavour to help customers recover money stolen through an authorised push payment scam but customers typically only approach their bank after the payment has been processed, once they realise they have been duped. By this time the criminal has often withdrawn the stolen funds and the customer’s money has gone. Alongside the extensive work already underway through the Joint Fraud Taskforce, UK Finance is also currently working with the Payment Systems Regulator on its proposals to tackle these scams.

Behind the data

Fraud intelligence points towards criminals’ use of social engineering tactics as a key driver of both unauthorised and authorised fraud losses. Social engineering is a method through which criminals manipulate people into divulging personal or financial details, or into transferring money directly to them, for example thorough impersonation scams and deception.

In an impersonation scam, a fraudster contacts a customer by phone, text message or email pretending to represent a trusted organisation, such as a bank, the police, a utility company or a government department. Under this guise, the criminal then convinces their victim into following their demands, sometimes making several separate approaches as part of one scam.

Data breaches also continue to be a major contributor to fraud losses. Criminals use stolen data to commit fraud directly, for example card details are used to make unauthorised purchases online or personal details used to apply for credit cards. Stolen personal and financial information is also used by criminals to target individuals in impersonation and deception scams, and can add apparent authenticity to their approach.

(Source: UK Finance)

Cryptocurrency has been arguably the big financial breakthrough of the past few years and in 2017 it really took off, led of course by bitcoin. The potential of such digital currencies and the technology which powers them has created the Internet of Value. But when does control lie within these spheres?

While both have created a lot of buzz and interest, the future of cryptocurrency remains unclear. Changes introduced buy them both have offered many fresh opportunities for businesses as RSM reports, with the middle market especially holding  a lot of power to take advantage of these developments and improve their futures.

Introducing the Internet of Value

The Internet of Value essentially refers to the allowance of value transactions (such as sending a foreign currency overseas) to be made almost instantly over the internet. It aims for value to be transferred across the internet at the same rate as information and such a goal is being worked towards and slowly met thanks to the development of blockchain technology.

Most cryptocurrencies use blockchain to power their transactions. This is the first technology which allows one asset to be transferred from person to person directly, without having to use a middleman such as a bank, marketplace or third-party service. Therefore, nothing is standing in the way to slow the process down or disrupt such financial transactions.

It’s not just cryptocurrencies that are adopting blockchain technology, Nasdaq are using it to enable firms to manage shares, the Estonian government has used it for looking after healthcare records and more. These all help support the Internet of Value’s mission though there is still work to do. Few blockchains are connected which means not all information can be exchanged, let alone instantly, so greater adoption is required which the middle market could provide.

The Middle Market’s Influence

Referring to those growing businesses that occupy the space between start-ups, small firms and SMEs and giant global corporations, it is the middle market which needs to innovate to take that next step up. Already some ecommerce companies are beginning to integrate cryptocurrencies within their model as they help with fraud prevention, are quick and secure.

There are many start-ups using such technology and involved in the Internet of Value. While this does provide some uptake and investment in cryptocurrency, in order for it to really take off much more is needed. Middle market companies can offer this, using the benefits of the Internet of Value to speed up their payment processes and increasing the security through cryptocurrency acceptance and usage.

Given there is no middleman required, this can help cut the budgets for many, allowing this money saved to benefit these businesses while providing investment in cryptocurrency and its technologies. If there is no uptake from the middle or upper market then the Internet of Value and cryptocurrencies may just remain an interesting concept, used only by smaller investors and businesses.

Unless there is great investment from another source then the middle market does look like it could control the future for the Internet of Value and cryptocurrency as a whole.

The majority (80%) of organisations have expressed interest in using cryptocurrencies - such as bitcoin - for business transactions, despite widespread fears of being compromised by associated DDoS attacks, according to new research from the Neustar International Security Council (NISC).

While 48% highlighted alternative forms of currency as a way to generate income through potential increased value, 26% of businesses also pointed out the heightened risk of currencies being used as an alternate form of ransom.

This ongoing fear has encouraged the majority of organisations to focus heavily on increasing their ability to respond to DDoS (41%), ransomware (40%) and targeted hacking (39%).

This new data has been revealed as part of a bi-monthly research series from the NISC, which has polled 255 IT security CTOs, VPs, senior directors, business managers and other professionals with a security remit across Europe.

The NISC research findings have also been used to calculate a unique Cyber Benchmark Index, which measures the level of concern in the NISC community of security professionals about the current international cybersecurity landscape. Based on the latest set of data, the index figure has reached 10.5, a considerable increase from the 6.5 rating in May last year, and 0.4 points higher than the last report in November.

From November to December, DDoS was seen to be the greatest concern to businesses at 22%, with financial and ransomware following close behind. However, ransomware was most likely to be perceived as an increasing threat to organisations, with 45% listing it as their greatest concern moving forward.

Rodney Joffe, Head of NISC and Neustar Senior Vice President and Fellow, commented on the findings: “Ransomware and DDoS attacks continue to be seen as the leading threat to companies due to the sheer volume, complexity and potential severity of an attack. That said, not too far behind as the second greatest concern to businesses moving forward is financial threat,” he said.

“Armed with plenty of tools, such as compromised IoT devices, it’s likely that we’ll see hackers make use of ransomware and DDoS attacks to cause major distractions. At the same time, we’ll likely see them put a focus on stealing large amounts of financial data, which may include traditional currencies, or the increasingly popular cryptocurrencies - such as Bitcoin. By developing a more cohesive security strategy, organisations can hone in on their most vulnerable data, processes and models, protecting their critical information in the short and long term.”

Participants also noted that - due to the quickly evolving cyber-threat landscape - increasing their ability to respond to DDoS, ransomware and targeted hacking was a main priority, with 9 out of 10 (90%) agreeing that a WAF (Web App Firewall) was an essential component of their company’s security infrastructure, a figure that increased the survey average by a significant margin.

(Source: Neustar International Security Council)

Price comparison experts Money Guru conducted a survey of 1,000 UK credit card holders. This uncovered a deep-rooted misunderstanding of credit card agreements.

The majority of credit cards can now be signed up for online. This means with no one there to talk you through each point, the agreement needs to be detailed and cover every legal aspect. But does anyone really read the fine print? And if not, why not?

The national survey revealed that 64% of people don’t read their credit card agreement before signing on the dotted line. They also uncovered the banks with the worst readability score for credit card agreements.

Other shocking stats include:

• 60 % of people don't read any updates to their credit card agreements
• 64% of people think credit card agreements are lengthy
• Only 9% of people understand their credit card agreements
• 48% of Brits don't know when they are liable for charges made on their card by someone else
• 50% of people don't know when they must be notified of any changes to their credit card agreement
• 33% of Brits don't know that their credit card score can be affected after just one missed payment

The majority of credit cards can now be signed up for online. This means with no one there to talk you through each point, the agreement needs to be detailed and cover every legal aspect. But does anyone really read the fine print? And if not, why not?

In this age of digital consumerism, when virtually anything you want is just a click away, it’s worrying that we could be agreeing to things we don’t understand. Skipping the terms and conditions page is something we’ve all done. So, we decided to dig deeper and find out if our fears were unfounded or just the tip of the iceberg.

We conducted a survey of 1,000 credit card holders in the UK. Combined with research on the most popular credit card providers and their most popular offerings from our comparison website, we were able to find out more about the level of understanding from the British public.

How readable is your credit card agreement?

The Flesch Kincaid score is a readability test, commonly used in education. It uses word length and sentence length to determine how easy a piece of text is to read, equating it to the US school grading system. The lower the number, the easier the content is to read. We ran both standard credit card agreements for each provider through this test, as well as the card specific information on their website, given before you apply. The results were disappointing. In our research not one of the agreements was rated below 6th grade, which equates to the reading level of 11 and 12 year olds. Not bad, you may think. But the national average reading age for the UK is 9 years old.

The Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease score also takes into account syllables within a sentence and is based on a score of 0-100. The higher the score, the easier the text is to read. The UK Government advises to aim for an average sentence length of 12 words and a reading ease score of 60 or over. A higher number of syllables within a sentence indicates more complicated wording.

How complicated is the text?

In the graph above, we can see that standard agreements contain far more complicated wording, which could prove problematic for those trying to read and fully understand the text. With the exception of the Vanquis credit card, the information contained in the pre-apply pages appears less complex. While this might be great for helping you to understand the product before you sign up for it, it’s not the official document you actually agree to.

Out of 22 agreements and information that we ran through this test, only two fell below the average 12 words per sentence.

Are you bored reading it?

If you are able to understand the agreement, one thing that might still might make you skim it or not read it at all, is the length.
The reading time for standard agreements is generally much longer than the pre-apply information and it’s not surprising, given they are on average 16 times wordier than their pre-apply counterparts.

What our research told us

Our research was pointing us towards the following;

Both credit card standard agreements and the pre-apply information available on websites is not easy enough for the average UK person to read and understand well.

Pre-apply information usually contains less complicated text and is longer overall, taking more time to read.

Sentence length for both standard agreements and pre-apply information was over and above the recommended number of words.

The British public had their say

This paints a picture much like the one we thought might emerge. Credit cards agreements, terms and conditions and pre-applying information is often difficult to read for many reasons. But is this reflected in real life?

We conducted a survey of 1000 UK people. The results showed that;

• 64 % of people don't read a credit card agreement before signing up for one.
• Only 9% of people understand their credit card agreements.
• Almost half of all Brits could be paying too much on their credit card because they don't know how to dispute a charge.
• 48% of Brits don't know when they are liable for charges made on their card by someone else.
• A third of all Brits are unaware of how their credit score can be affected after missing a payment.

64% of people surveyed admitted that they didn’t read the full agreement when signing up for a credit card. 60% also said they don’t read any updates to their agreement and simply click accept.

This can be explained, in part, by how Brits view those agreements. When asked to describe their credit card agreement in one word, 12% said “confusing”, 15% thought “unreadable” and 64% called them “lengthy!”

The survey also found that 45% of people didn’t know how to dispute a charge on their credit card, which could mean that they are paying unnecessary fees. If you’re unsure of any recent charges or fees, it’s advisable to check, especially as your agreement can change at any time. 13% of our respondents didn’t know this.

When it comes to knowing how and when you’re protected from someone else using your card, almost half of those asked didn’t know their rights. In fact, if you have compromised your own security, such as losing your card and not reporting it or not using your providers authentication portal during a purchase, you are liable for any costs made to your card under those circumstances.

Your credit score or credit report details your financial history. Its purpose is to inform potential lenders how reliable you are likely to be when it comes to paying money back. If you forget to make a payment on your credit card one month, do you think it affects your credit score? Even if you’re successfully paying rent or a mortgage and other bills on time? The answer is yes! And a third of all Brits are unaware of this, thinking that missing a payment will either not affect your score or will only affect it if you miss payments repeatedly.

Data released in Creditsafe’s Prompt Payment Formula 1 Standings, has revealed that, on average, Formula 1 teams pay 16% of their invoices late by an average of 10.5 DBT (days beyond the agreed payment terms), despite a combined turnover of over £3.6 billion.

Red Bull was found to be the worst offender, paying almost a third (31%) of its invoices to suppliers late by as many as 16 days beyond agreed terms. This is despite the team’s success, coming third in last season’s constructors’ standings, the exciting team rivalry between Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, and a turnover of close to £200 million.

In comparison, despite a disastrous 2017 season ending in ninth place and multiple engine failures affecting the team’s performance, McLaren was found to be the most prompt payer of the group, with 93% of its invoices paid on time. Of the 7% paid late, McLaren had a DBT of nine days.

Similarly, Torro Rosso, which came seventh in last season’s standings, was the second most prompt payer of the group, paying less than 10% (9.02%) of invoices late with a particularly low DBT of five days. While Ferrari joined Torro Rosso with the joint lowest DBT, 22% of its invoices were paid late, dragging it down the standings.

Led by Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes topped the F1 Standings in 2017, but in terms of late payments, the team sat firmly in the middle of the table with 11% of invoices paid late and a slightly below average DBT of 11.

Rachel Mainwaring, COO, Creditsafe Group said: “In recent years we have seen the emergence of a late payment culture in the UK. Even in Formula 1, with the huge amount of money that is available to teams, late payment is rife and noticeably, none of the teams pay their invoices on time.

“Late payments can be a huge problem for businesses, whether dealing with the huge sums of money in F1, or smaller amounts of daily business expenses. It can leave companies with a potentially dangerous financial shortfall and all businesses, particularly those at the top of the podium should be fulfilling their obligations to suppliers.

“However, it is interesting to see the lower performing teams, such as McLaren and Torro Rosso, beating out competitors when it comes to prompt payment. There’s no doubt that if McLaren’s reliability last season had been as good as its prompt payment rate (97%), Fernando Alonso would have been a happier driver!”

Creditsafe’s Prompt Payment Formula 1 Standings

Data not available for: Force India, Haas and Sauber.

(Source: Creditsafe Group)

From the $20,000 mark back down to $7,000 Bitcoin is generally on the low, and with Google, Facebook and Twitter's decision to ban all ads related to ICOs, it's clear the world isn't on cryptoculture's side.

What are your thoughts on the future of crypto investment/bitcoin and the rise of other currencies? Are you confident the cryptowave will continue to reach the shores of new investors? Find out in this week’s Your Thoughts.

Andrew Pritchard, MD Blockchain, 10x Growth Account:

It’s been a tough time for Bitcoin and crypto investors as the markets continues to go backwards. The bears have continued to win the battle against the bulls pushing the price of BTC and most altcoins further downwards. But, what is causing the drop in the markets?

There are several influences that are helping the bears as the cryptomarket struggles to gain any forward momentum.

Firstly, increasing regulatory framework (this is a short term negative issue but will ultimately be a very positive outcome) as each time the SEC/FCA, or any regulatory body for that matter, announces new regulations, even if supporting crypto, the markets react negatively.

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney called for greater regulation of cryptocurrencies and in Japan, punishment notices were issued to several exchanges while forcing some to halt trading entirely.

Secondly, the Mt Gox Bitcoin dump has been affecting the market for a few weeks as thousands and thousands of Bitcoins have been put on the market to be sold. This increased supply and cooled demand has led to further downward pressure on the price of Bitcoin. Basic economics of supply and demand has reduced the price. I.E Supply increases and demand remains constant or reduces, then price will fall.

However, as a positive supporter of the Cryptomarket, it is only a matter of time before the bulls return. Yes, Bitcoin’s price has taken a beating the past ten days due to major events negatively impacting market sentiment. However, one thing remains exceptionally clear. Blockchain technology is here to stay.

The next 6 months for major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, is likely to be very, very bullish, as the public start to enter market with easier routes such as Coinbase and Barclays collaboration on faster payment methods.

Savva Kerdemelidis, Legal Adviser, LegalEdge:

The technology and protocol behind cryptocurrencies brings an exciting method to transact in a new and more efficient way. So long as cryptocurrencies can achieve mainstream adoption beyond simply being a "store of value", then there remains a significant potential for growth. As with the dotcom era, we’ll see winners and many losers. In my view, the potential for cryptocurrencies is just beginning. I expect to see new applications and use cases, particularly around governance or decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs).

Although there’s been a lot of hype, cryptocurrency has not reached mainstream retail investors. Technological barriers have led to a lack of access and the risk of losing your investment, for example, by losing your password or transferring funds to an incompatible wallet. At the same time, regulatory risk has been a real factor in terms of curbing take-up. Both investment and adoption will increase once these barriers decrease and are better understood, with the availability of user-friendly applications.

If you look at investors, most of them have taken over 50% losses since the new year. Naturally this has impacted the appetite for ICOs and other investments. However, many will likely ride it out until June or July when the market is expected to recover.

Samuel Leach, FX Trader and Founder, Samuel & Co. Trading and Yield Coin:

With the recent news of Facebook and Twitter banning cryptocurrency adverts and Google potentially following suit in June 2018, it cannot be denied that there is a negative feeling around crypto.

Regulatory bodies such as the ICO, FCA, and GBX are also becoming more vocal; with new regulations being created and set to be enforced in the coming months. This is causing unease among potential investors as they are reluctant to invest in a market that currently doesn’t have widespread regulation, and which could risk them becoming uncompliant in the future. As such, crypto is in a limbo stage where current investors are cashing out and potential investors are hesitant to part with their money.

In reaction to the continuous stream of negative feeling surrounding the crypto market, cash outs are increasing at an unprecedented rate. This won’t recover until governments and regulatory bodies align and have a consistent strategy and overall view point on the crypto market. Therefore, it is possible we could see Bitcoin bottom out to $6,500. However, I believe we will see the markets hover around $9,000 in the short term, until there is more clarification around the wider view of the market.

Kevin Murcko, CEO, CoinMetro:

Prices between various cryptocurrencies are linked to an extent; when Bitcoin goes up, Ethereum or XRP, for example, will often follow suit. This is no different to how company stocks tend to follow the direction of the general market, their sector or industry rivals. For instance, a negative financial report for one retail stock often drags down other retail stocks as “guilt by association” turns things bearish for the whole sector. Cryptocurrencies are just as exposed to this effect if not more given the fact that the money flows currently are mainly from retail investors, who are much more susceptible to following the trend.

It is unlikely that 6-11k is the new range for BTC. The simple fact that it has existed far above these ranges for prolonged periods is an indicator that the floor and ceiling have not been set at all yet. Rather, BTC is still free-floating, and until the market as a whole becomes more regimented, a stable floor and ceiling won’t exist for any of the assets.

Increased stability is important for the future of crypto, as well as for overcoming the sector’s perceived reputation for being a poor store of value. In part, price stability will come from the introduction of more national and harmonised global regulatory oversight. This will allow for more institutional involvement and the creation of liquidity by way of synthetic instruments like futures, ETNs, ETFs, etc. It will also come from the realization amongst the general public that, like all investments, crypto does carry risk. As with other securities, prices are liable to go up or down.

Corrections have occurred, but it’s important not to think of crypto prices myopically: the price of bitcoin, for example, is today roughly 700 percent of what it was this time last year. Long-term, cryptocurrencies remain viable multitrillion-dollar assets.

Drew Bell, Chief Developer, Ethercoin:

The future is bright for crypto investment, as eventually the market will stabilise and become a more manageable platform. The market has a lot of potential for development and it’s about time businesses started accepting it, rather than ignoring it as sooner or later, their customers will catch on the trend and look for businesses that support the crypto industry.

There will always be an air of skepticism around digital currency, because it is not a tangible product, and people have a hard time understanding its true value.

I really believe that cryptocurrency will replace more traditional forms of currencies in the next 10 -15 years, especially with the growth and adoption that Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple has already seen. If that growth continues and we see more currencies reaching these heights, who knows just what the future holds for this new era of payment and investment.

The key to cryptocurrency breaking through to the mainstream and reaching new investors is all about trust. If you don’t build a relationship with your investors that is centered around trust and transparency, you can’t expect them to believe in your project. At a time when it seems the world is against a new form of payment, cryptos have to be on top of their game more so now than ever before.

Even though cryptocurrency is built on blockchain, the volatility of the market is clear and can therefore deter some investors. It can be extremely difficult for cryptos to instill trust in potential investors, especially as tech giants Google, Facebook and now Twitter have banned cryptocurrency ads, making it even harder for currencies to secure investment and appeal to potential customers.

It is clear there is a lack of understanding from key players in the financial industry about this new disruptive technology, therefore highlighting the need for more mainstream education so the market can continue to grow and develop for the future.

Kerim Derhalli, CEO, Invstr:

Cryptocurrencies are here to stay but, as with any emerging market, they must undergo a transition that will eventually attract the mainstream investor.

In my opinion, that transition will entail a few important steps, firstly, in regards to scalability, which will see blockchain evolve to handle more throughput. Currently, sharding techniques have increased transactions per second from seven in traditional blockchain to 3,000 in alternative blockchains. This still falls well short of the typical 20,000 or more credit card transactions per second.

Security is critical too. Digital exchanges and wallets are secure until they are not. Anonymity and the lack of a custodian make the operational risks far greater in cryptocurrencies that in traditional financial assets. Improvements in security will be needed before cryptocurrencies represent a serious challenge to other financial assets as a store of wealth. With a July deadline set by the G20 for unified regulation of cryptocurrency, coming alongside the launch of a dedicated UK task force, things are moving in the right direction.

Fundamentally, there is still also a lack of education around cryptocurrencies among investors. The number of currencies, tokens and assets is growing at a far faster pace than our collective comprehension and most people are still struggling with the basic concepts. Once the currency starts to achieve some real, commercial utility and we are more easily able to earn, spend, save and invest in cryptocurrencies, understanding and overall acceptance will increase.

Ivan Gowan, CEO, Capital.com:

The cryptowave is only going to build more momentum in the next 12 to 18 months. Just two weeks ago Barclays announced a partnership with a leading crypto company to facilitate payments to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin, the most established crypto assets. This may reflect a trend of major financial institutions moving away from outright denunciation of cryptocurrencies to a cautious participation, marking a significant shift in their approach and making these assets much more accessible to new investors.

Cryptocurrencies are seeing a remarkable increase in transparency, further improving trust. There are now a number of companies specialising in interrogating the blockchain of Bitcoin, establishing whether the currency has been used in any potentially illegal transactions on the dark web. This could make a huge difference to the willingness of those new to the market to invest in the currency. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies still labour under a perception of being used for dodgy dealings in dark corners of the internet, but with the increase in transparency, investors will feel much more comfortable putting their money into this market.

Of course, there are many ICOs that do not go through the proper regulatory procedures before launching, and it is these less-than-scrupulous organisations that are prompting Facebook and Google banning ICO advertising. However, there are many players in the market, backed by some of the biggest venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, that are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees to ensure that they align completely with whichever regulatory environment that they operate in. We are increasingly seeing leading regulators, such as FINMA and the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, embracing this innovation, issuing guidance and frameworks to companies looking to issue an ICO to ensure they do so responsibly and effectively. Smaller investors, who could be priced out of investing in exciting tech stocks like Amazon and Facebook, can access fantastic opportunities with ICOs, either getting in on the ground floor in the initial offering, or when the coin is listed on an exchange.

The ICO industry is currently something of a Wild West scenario. However, we are also at the early stages of what will be a transformative asset class. There is no doubt that we will see a number of new investors in cryptocurrencies and assets increase as the market matures, as regulators get up to speed with the technology, as the big banks begin to adopt more open-minded positions and as the transparency of cryptocurrency transaction history continues to improve.

Zafar Kanani, Network Manager, Forbury Investment Network:

It is difficult to predict the future path of cryptocurrencies, though it would be safe to say that they will likely continue to proliferate, and that regulation will increasingly become a consistent feature of the landscape.

With an ever-increasing pool of choices – there are now over 1,000 cryptocurrencies – anyone considering an investment should take the time to conduct thorough diligence and invest only what they can afford to lose, especially given the growing evidence of fraudulent activity. The likes of Twitter, Google and Facebook have gone so far as to ban cryptocurrency and ICO related ads due to concerns of reputational damage resulting from users unwittingly investing in fraudulent cryptocurrencies advertised on their platforms.

Despite Bitcoin, the best-known cryptocurrency, now trading at less than half its peak in December, there is no shortage of demand from investors across all cryptocurrencies. Many cryptocurrencies have and continue to be endorsed by celebrities, further fuelling interest and growth.

Alongside these developments, the increasingly disparate range of cryptocurrency applications is engaging a broader set of stakeholders than ever. The emergence of a ‘civic’ cryptocurrency, for example, has gained momentum as a mechanism to crowdfund capital for local projects for the public good. The city of Berkeley, California, has plans for such a cryptocurrency to generate funding for affordable housing amongst other public needs.

Daniel Wolfe, CEO, Tradingene:

Personally, my confidence in crypto is undiminished, despite the recent losses. I am confident that investors will have ample opportunity to ride the cryptocurrency wave up. However, they shouldn’t expect to generate quick returns and they need to be prepared for potential extended periods of volatility before we see a consistent upward trajectory.

There is always hysteria surrounding cryptocurrencies, but many fail to grasp that it is the transformative and disruptive nature of Blockchain which will ultimately bring rewards to those who invest wisely. Investors who follow the settled rules of investment, especially diversification, will be the big winners.

However, liquidity may be hard to come by and severe losses are a possibility.

Cryptocurrencies currently consist around 0.3-0.4% of the global fiat money supply. Therefore, if you believe, as I and many other experts do, that crypto will rise over the next five years to at least five percent or so of M2, then that is a tremendous return for investors.

They will just need to be prepared to stomach the turbulence.

Adrian Daniels, Corporate Partner, Yigal Arnon:

The cryptowave will continue to reach the shores of new investors. This is not to say that there will not be changes in form, size and type of cryptocurrencies, but the wave is now a tide and it's only going in one direction. But let's go back to some basics. The "cryptowave" is based on what is known as blockchain protocols, which is a kind of software that allows data to be stored digitally on a record that is held on the computers of 1000’s of people (or nodes) across the world. This allows people who do not know each other to complete transactions without fear of being cheated. This is so, because those nodes will hold a record of each transaction in an encrypted manner on the blockchain which cannot then be undone. As a result those transactions cannot be falsified without hacking 1000's of computers simultaneously and altering their records. Consequently, there is no centralized authority and no simple way to fake transactions. Bitcoin introduced the blockchain technology almost a decade ago, since which time the technology has become vastly more versatile and sophisticated, with smart (or self-executing) contracts capable of allowing the transfer of data, goods and services in a secure and verifiable manner without any "middle-men" like banks, ad-agencies, internet traffic aggregators, and a whole bunch of other third parties which make online commerce far less efficient and much more expensive. What does all this mean, it means the technology has uses that we have only just started to imagine. Since the blockchain can store any data and each block cannot be changed, any activity can be recorded on the blockchain. This means that the blockchain can ensure that people can be incentivized for contributing to the chain, which will have enormous knock-on effects on commerce, politics, regulations and science, among others. The blockchain will also likely change how or even if we bank – we will be able to keep all of our banking records on the chain, to which each of us will be the only one with the encryption key. Our medical records will be held exclusively by us, and will be shared only with whom we wish.

ICO’s are all supposed to be based on blockchain technology. The problem has been that a lot of them were fraudulent from the get-go, and others were pipe dreams with nothing behind them. A smaller number have related to companies offering great blockchain and smart contract ideas. As the number of ICO's has grown, the regulators have become increasingly involved, to the point where the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has largely put the brakes on public ICOs (as opposed to sophisticated investors, who in theory have the wherewithal to look after themselves) in the US. As the regulators untangle the knot, public ICO's will slow down and private ICO’s to sophisticated investors will take their place. This somewhat undermines the whole “democratization” of the investment process that the ICO’s were supposed to have brought us, but it may only be a phase before clearer regulations are adopted to safeguard the public in general. Additionally, we will see larger numbers of companies offering cryptocurrencies that look much more like a token you can use for a purpose (utility token) than a share. However, as the result of increased oversight will be fewer chancers bottling air and making millions, I think we will see an increasing numbers of offerings by brilliant entrepreneurs with profoundly disruptive, highly innovative and world changing products. To hijack Winston Churchill’s famous phrase: “This isn’t the end, it isn’t even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning. But what the end will be, I think is hard for us to yet imagine.”

If you have thoughts on this, please feel free to comment below and let us know Your Thoughts.