IT for financial services

IR35 private sector reforms: HMRC reminds firms to use ‘reasonable care’ when applying new tax rules

As the countdown to the IR35 reforms being rolled out to the private sector continues apace, HM Revenue and Customs issues compliance guidance for firms in-scope of the new rules Continue Reading

Digital investments will add £232bn to UK economy by 2040

The UK economy could grow by £232bn over the next two decades if investments in digital technologies continue Continue Reading

Post Office to offer digital ID services to customers

Post Office partnership with Yoti is intended to expand customer choice as to how people prove their identity when accessing services Continue Reading

Goldman Sachs reopens UK digital savings account

US banking giant resumes online account for UK savers after temporarily withdrawing it in response to high demand Continue Reading

Nationwide Building Society kicks off search for tech apprentices

Nationwide is working with local organisations to boost tech skills Continue Reading

CW Benelux: Is reluctance to report cyber crimes in the Netherlands helping the criminals get away?

According to an academic study in the Netherlands, only one in seven Dutch people report a cyber crime to the police when it happens - feeling it is better to sort the problem out themselves because they don’t think the police will do anything. This is storing up trouble as cyber crime is an increasing problem in the country. Also in this issue, read why Dutch bank ABN Amro is selling its head office. Continue Reading

Société Générale adopts work-from-home policy

French bank formalises remote working policy after discussions with labour unions Continue Reading

Century-old insurer uses low code as digital demands increase

Lloyds of London insurance and reinsurance broker Miller breaks from the past by adopting low-code software development platform Continue Reading

Russia’s Sber launches international AI contest for children

Children from across the world invited to take part in artificial intelligence competition launched by Russian bank-turned-tech business Continue Reading

Revolut rewrites policy to include permanent remote working

Challenger finance firm Revolut is redesigning its office spaces and introducing permanent remote working policies Continue Reading

Fraud and cyber crime still vastly under-reported

The scale of digitally enabled crime in the UK is dramatically under-reported, new statistics indicate Continue Reading

Has Covid-19 made bank branch closures easier to sell?

Big banks continue to close branches and invest more in technology as the Covid-19 pandemic makes a case for digital banking Continue Reading

Google grows cloud sales as parent’s profits top $40bn

Alphabet announces massive overall profits and increased Google cloud sales Continue Reading

Nordic countries dominate European online banking take-up

Nordics dominate online banking take-up in Europe, but the UK is not far behind Continue Reading

Financial services giants form EU-focused coalition to boost sector’s public cloud adoption pace

A dozen or so European financial institutions have joined forces to stimulate the pace of public cloud adoption in the sector Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: Zurich Insurance under fire over contractor blanket ban

Zurich Insurance is the latest high-profile financial services company to declare contractors can only continue to engage with it via umbrella setups from April 2021, ahead of the IR35 rules coming into force Continue Reading

Commerzbank announces big job cuts and branch closures

German bank is closing hundreds of branches and cutting thousands of jobs as it reshapes for the digital age Continue Reading

JP Morgan Chase hires for UK digital bank launch

US banking giant hires in the UK in preparation for digital consumer bank launch Continue Reading

Contactless payment limit could rise to £100 as FCA seeks industry views

UK financial services regulator is considering raising the contactless card payment limit to £100 Continue Reading

Yorkshire Building Society migrating application development to improve customer satisfaction

Yorkshire Building Society is moving to new application development platform to support the creation of customer-friendly online services Continue Reading

Customers turn to cash as IT issue hits card payments at major supermarkets

IT problem at payment processing company has forced shoppers to resort to cash in Morrisons and Co-op stores Continue Reading

Cyber fraud a national security issue, says Rusi report

A report from the Rusi think tank calls for fresh approaches to how we think about fighting fraud Continue Reading

Are banks overburdened with responsibility for money lost to online scams?

Bank boss calls for cross-industry cooperation to reduce scams that trick people into making instant payments online Continue Reading

Nine out of 10 UK card payments in 2020 were contactless

Contactless cards payments accounted for around 90% of card payments in the UK in 2020 Continue Reading

UKtech50 2021: Vote for the most influential person in UK technology

Our judges have picked a shortlist, and now we invite readers to tell us who should be chosen as the most influential person in the UK tech scene for 2021 – submit your vote now Continue Reading

HSBC closing more branches as customers turn to digital channel

Bank announces branch closures as it reshapes its network for the digital age Continue Reading

Questions raised by New Zealand central bank boss, following cyber attack investigation

The governor of New Zealand’s central bank said the organisation must answer questions about its security following a ‘significant’ attack Continue Reading

UKtech50: The 2021 longlist

Each year, Computer Weekly launches its annual search for the most influential people in UK IT, where the tech industry nominates who it thinks should be in the top 50 – here is the longlist for 2021 Continue Reading

Tech partnership to drive Finland’s quantum computing project

Organisations in Finland are developing quantum computing capabilities through a state and private sector partnership Continue Reading

Experian calls for less bureaucratic data regulations

Open banking requires cross-industry collaboration, but sharing personal data requires explicit consent, which can become a bottleneck Continue Reading

Numbers stack up for UK open banking three years on

Three years have passed since open banking regulations came into force and momentum is gathering Continue Reading

Three-quarters of finance firms report more potentially criminal activity in their networks

Fears of failing to comply with strict regulations grow as financial services firms identify more suspicious financial activity on their networks Continue Reading

European IT outsourcing spend up in 2020 after cloud boost

IT outsourcing sector growth is an indication that businesses are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic disruption it has brought Continue Reading

Retail giant Walmart to launch a fintech

Fintech will be geared towards offering the services Walmart’s customers and employees want Continue Reading

IR35 private sector reforms: Research highlights lack of preparedness ahead of April 2021 start date

As the private sector start date for the IR35 reforms looms large, research suggests some companies are still dragging their feet with their preparations Continue Reading

Bahrain hopes 5G roll-out will attract more tech firms to its shores

Bahrain has completed its 5G roll-out, which will support its IT infrastructure in creating the right environment for technology firms Continue Reading

Jobs in fintech bounce back after brief lockdown lull

Fintechs and payments companies need to make staff recruitment a priority as talent pool shrinks Continue Reading

New Zealand central bank IT system breached in cyber attack

Bank is responding to a cyber attack after hackers breached the system of a third-party supplier Continue Reading

Which? online banking investigation reveals ‘worrying gaps’ in security

Consumer rights organisation has ranked the security of UK online current account providers Continue Reading

Trump bans Chinese payment apps

US president signs executive order banning the use of Chinese payments app, citing national security risks Continue Reading

DBS opens tech academy in skills training drive

The DBS Future Tech Academy will focus on training the bank’s technologists in three disciplines for a start – site reliability engineering, data processing and analytics, and application security Continue Reading

Why Jack Ma might be too good a tech entrepreneur for China's leaders

Tech pioneer Jack Ma is facing new regulatory pressure from the Chinese authorities – is this some ideological spat, or simply that he's too good at what he does compared to the state-owned financial system? Continue Reading

Huawei battles for market access in Nordics

Chinese networking equipment supplier Huawei fights to retain access to potential 5G contracts across the Nordic region Continue Reading

Banking trade body calls for increased contactless payment limit

UK Finance proposes an increase in the limit on spending using contactless cards Continue Reading

AAT calls on government to re-think the Making Tax Digital exemption threshold

The Association of Accounting Technicians calls for improvements to HM Revenue and Customs’ Making Tax Digital programme, and says the exemption threshold, currently at £10,000, should be raised Continue Reading

The tech sector cannot build back better from the kitchen table

While technology has supported the lockdown economy by allowing millions to work from home, the in-person collaboration and shared experience on which the tech sector thrives will need to return soon Continue Reading

Pandemic heroes dominate New Year Honours List 2021

The New Year Honours List 2021 is remarkable for its recognition of those who have excelled during the Covid-19 public health emergency, including digital and data professionals Continue Reading

Top 10 financial services stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 financial services IT stories of 2020 Continue Reading

Top 10 Middle East stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Middle East stories of 2020 Continue Reading

Swedish central bank moves e-krona project to next stage

Riksbank takes digital currency project to the next phase with Accenture building a platform to test the concept Continue Reading

Top 10 enterprise IT in the Nordics stories of 2020

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Nordic enterprise IT stories of 2020 Continue Reading

Prepare for bringing people back to the office with the Nordic tech startup blueprint

Business can learn lessons from Nordic tech startups to prepare employees to return to the office after Covid restrictions Continue Reading

Post Office suffers latest court defeat in Horizon IT scandal

Court of Appeal indicates subpostmasters can pursue appeal route that could do more damage to Post Office’s reputation Continue Reading

How 5G is going to transform digital banking in 2021

Covid-19 has accelerated digital banking this year and 5G promises to have an even bigger impact next year Continue Reading

Danske Bank fights money laundering with AI

Danske Bank is using artificial intelligence to help it prevent a repeat of the huge money laundering scandal that hit one of its operations in Estonia Continue Reading

Covid-19 sparks boom in Middle East digital payments sector

Stubborn cash use could fall in the Middle East after an acceleration in the take-up of digital payments amid the coronavirus pandemic Continue Reading

Interview: Sudaman Thoppan Mohanchandralal, chief data and analytics officer, Allianz Benelux

The financial services firm is demonstrating the value of the chief data officer role Continue Reading

Agility key to pandemic recovery, say APAC CFOs

Chief financial officers in the Asia-Pacific region call for financial transformation to bring about the agility that their organisations need to tide over the pandemic Continue Reading

Challenger banks hindered by lack of customer confidence

Despite an acceleration in the use of digital banking services, challenger banks face the obstacle of winning customer trust Continue Reading

CW Europe: Tour de France fans get a virtual experience

The organisers of this year's Tour de France worked with technology services company NTT in partnership with Amaury Sport Organisation to provide what they described as an “enhanced experience” for race fans who could not be at the roadside because of Covid restrictions. Also read why Deutsche Bank has agreed to sell its retail banking IT operation to one of its main IT suppliers for a token €1. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Societe Generale latest banking giant to cut costs and increase digital investment

French bank Societe Generale is merging two retail brands and increasing investment in its digital offering to meet its ambitious customer acquisition plans Continue Reading

Singapore government to boost blockchain adoption

Singapore government unveils S$12m programme to promote development and adoption of blockchain applications beyond financial services Continue Reading

What next for the now-profitable app-based Starling Bank?

Starling bank is the first of the new breed of UK digital banks to make a profit, so where next? Continue Reading

Allied Irish Bank prioritises digital services as it cuts workforce

Bank is cutting its operating costs by 10% with job cuts and facility closures, but will continue to invest heavily in technology Continue Reading

Bank of England enlists development partner to unlock cloud

Bank has agreed a two-year deal with a cloud development platform provider as it seeks to take its cloud journey to the next level Continue Reading

Lax Android app developers putting millions of users at risk

Eight months after Google patched a critical vulnerability, developers have failed to update their apps, putting millions of users of apps such as dating services Bumble and Grindr at risk Continue Reading

CIO interview: John Davison, First Central Group

For the last nine years, John Davison has provided an IT strategy to drive business operations. Automation is the next phase of that strategy Continue Reading

ABN Amro to sell head office as it focuses on enabling remote working

Dutch bank is selling its head office and redesigning another facility to facilitate increased home working Continue Reading

22,000 malicious .uk domains suspended in past year

Nominet has suspended just over 22,000 domains in the 12 months to 31 October 2020, continuing a downward trend, and with less impact from Covid-19 than might be expected Continue Reading

Government covers its ears as complaint by victims of Post Office abuse heads to ombudsman

Government denies responsibility for the abuse inflicted on subpostmasters by the Post Office over faulty IT system Continue Reading

$60m Middle East tech fund targets 120 startups

Venture capital fund expects rapid regional technology growth in the post-Covid-19 world Continue Reading

CIO interview: Simon Bateman, Allica Bank

Challenger bank has built its entire core banking system from scratch using the Azure public cloud and an API ecosystem Continue Reading

Data safes will give users control over their data

Belgian computer scientist tells Computer Weekly how people can regain control of their online personal information Continue Reading

Robots taking jobs, but creating careers

Robotic process automation developers tell Computer Weekly about the job they never expected to be doing Continue Reading

CW Nordics: Bank branch closures continue as digital banking grows

Sweden’s Handelsbanken is cutting its branch network by nearly half, which means more money will be invested in IT. But it’s not just Sweden and the Nordics – banks across the world are watching the fintech industry demonstrate to consumers what banking can be like if the right technology is in place. Also in this issue, read about the Norwegian government’s decision not to implement an outright ban on the use of 5G equipment supplied by China's Huawei. Continue Reading

Securing UK’s critical national infrastructure is a 2021 priority

Government outlines the UK’s strategic cyber security policies for the coming 12 months, with critical national infrastructure a clear priority Continue Reading

Swedish bank cuts branches and jobs, increases IT spend

 Continue Reading

Fintechs take stock amid economic shocks

Survey reveals that the top priority for 10% of UK fintechs next year will be to survive the double blow of Covid-19 and Brexit Continue Reading

Finnish finance giant pilots fingerprint payments

OP Financial introduces biometric security technology to enable higher-value payments to be made safely using contactless cards Continue Reading

HMRC warns over uptick in Self Assessment tax scams

HMRC issues updated warnings as 2021 Self Assessment deadlines loom Continue Reading

Financial services data volumes heighten risk of insider breach

Financial services organisations hold so much data that it is becoming virtually impossible to safeguard properly against data breaches caused by malicious or careless employees Continue Reading

Mastercard: Looks like a tech firm, acts like a tech firm, is a tech firm

Financial services giant finds itself in a prominent position as the volume of digital transactions increases Continue Reading

How Mastercard is taking digital payments into a new era

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we talk to Mastercard about how the credit card giant is using new technologies to take digital payments into a new era. After months of unprecedented uncertainty, we ask CIOs how they are planning for the next 12 months. And we examine how the growth in remote working will affect IT salaries. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

IT Priorities 2020: European IT budget share reflects home-working challenges brought by Covid

European organisations are being forced to redivert more limited budgets during the pandemic Continue Reading

Ticketmaster fined £1.25m by ICO for failing to protect customer data

Ticket website’s customer data was exposed through an attack on a third-party chatbot Continue Reading

UKtech50 2021: Help us find the most influential people in UK IT

Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK IT is on – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year’s list Continue Reading

Financial Stability Board says it’s time to talk about IT outsourcing risks

International organisation that monitors the finance sector asks for the industry to discuss the risks that IT outsourcing brings to the sector Continue Reading

CW Benelux: Dutch Alzheimer’s app helps dementia patients

An app aimed at helping dementia patients and their families has been developed by the Alzheimer Society in the Netherlands. Also in this issue, read about a Belgian startup's app based on blockchain technology to help container handling at ports, and why Rabobank ditched its legacy backup. Continue Reading

TCS acquires Prudential Financial tech operation unit for free

Hot on the heels of its €1 acquisition of Deutsche Bank’s Postbank Systems IT unit, TCS has taken on 1,500 people from the insurance giant’s Ireland-based IT unit Continue Reading

Tim Berners-Lee startup releases decentralisation tech to enterprises

Roll-out of Inrupt’s decentralised privacy technology to four large organisations is helping the startup to develop explicit use cases, which it hopes will prove the tech and lead to faster adoption Continue Reading

Norway has lowest physical cash use in the world, says report

Norway claims to use less cash as a proportion of total spending than any other country across the globe, according to a study by its central bank Continue Reading

Lack of openness on Horizon errors remains as Fujitsu refuses to explain latest outage

Subpostmasters are being kept in the dark about errors in the branch computer system they use, despite the Post Office and Fujitsu being slammed in court over their lack of openness Continue Reading

Deutsche Bank to sell retail banking IT unit to TCS for €1

Deutsche Bank has agreed to sell its retail banking IT operation to one of its main IT suppliers for a token €1 Continue Reading

Tampere’s perfect storm triggers a startup revolution

Previously a hub for Nokia and Microsoft, Finland’s second-largest city is capitalising on a wealth of technical knowhow to become the dark horse of the Nordic startup scene Continue Reading

Consumer rights organisation warns of computer takeover scams

Consumers warned to be on guard against criminals pretending to be IT support staff to gain access to personal banking information Continue Reading

BBVA creates market information infrastructure on AWS cloud

Spanish bank BBVA is using Amazon Web Services to give its traders better access to market data following a project which also involved data provider Bloomberg Continue Reading

Mastercard: Looks like a tech firm, acts like a tech firm, is a tech firm

Financial services giant finds itself in a prominent position as the volume of digital transactions increases Continue Reading

Nordic countries to develop common digital system

Common digital platform will help small and medium-sized enterprises across the Nordic region with data sharing Continue Reading

Contractors claim IR35 reforms pose ‘bigger threat’ to their livelihoods than Covid-19 or Brexit

Latest poll by contractor tax consultancy Qdos suggests freelancers are less concerned about the threat the coronavirus and Brexit pose to their businesses than the havoc the IR35 private sector reforms might cause Continue Reading

Robot lawyer gets Sberbank role

Russia's largest state-owned bank creates a robot lawyer to reduce the time taken to process documents and make decisions based on them Continue Reading