Wise interim revenue gains by a third as money transfer customers surge November 30, 2021 Shares in Wise surged as much as 14 per cent today, after the money transfer fintech said this morning that its first half revenue jumped by a third to £256.3m, driven by increasing customer numbers as it invested in faster transaction processes. The company, which specialises in cross-border money transfers and is one of the [...]
It’s a match: Dating app introduces minimum salary of £60k and unlimited holidays for all staff November 25, 2021 Dating app Feeld said today it will introduce a minimum salary of £60,000, or $80,000, for all of its employees around the world. The new salary announcement will give close to 40 per cent of Feeld’s full time staff a pay rise. Moreover, the fully remote company will also offer all of its staff unlimited [...]
Exclusive: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ no longer applies as tech-daring UK companies are hungry for risk November 25, 2021 Enthusiasm for experimenting with new technologies is growing fast across UK businesses, largely because many companies are increasingly prepared to take more risks. Given the increased risk appetite and firms embracing tech, organisations are pumping more cash in new technological applications and platforms. In fact, 77 per cent of businesses with headcounts over 250 said [...]
After Amazon’s dramatic move to block Visa credit cards, businesses sound the alarm: Card fees are out of control November 20, 2021 E-commerce giant Amazon confirmed to Morning Wire yesterday that it intends to stop accepting payments made using UK Visa credit cards from early next year. The online retailer said that Visa credit cards issued in the UK will be blocked from use on its site from January 19. The move sent shockwaves through Britain’s consumer [...]
China hands out new fines to tech giants in anti-monopoly crackdown November 20, 2021 Chinese tech giants including Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings have been fined for failing to report corporate acquisitions, adding to an anti-monopoly crackdown by the ruling Communist Party. The companies failed to report 43 acquisitions that occurred up to eight years ago under rules on “operating concentration”, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation. [...]
Exclusive: Deloitte reveals the UK’s fastest growing tech companies November 19, 2021 London firms came out on top in Deloitte’s annual ranking of the UK’s 50 fastest growing technology companies. The country’s top 50 tech firms achieved an average growth of 3,337 per cent and saw combined revenues of £2.92bn this year, up 33 per cent compared to last year’s total of £2.2bn. The final score sheet [...]
Bitcoin cashback announcement ends in controversy for UK fintech Mode November 18, 2021 Major retailers Boots and Ocado have distanced themselves from an announcement claiming they would offer customers cash back in Bitcoin. Today London-listed fintech Mode announced it would be adding more than 40 UK retailers including Boots, Ocado and Homebase to its crypto cashback rewards scheme. However, in comments to Morning Wire both Boots and Ocado [...]
Post-Brexit payments space is ‘breeding ground for financial crime as Wild West culture’ looms, warns rising City star November 16, 2021 After the UK left the European Union, a range of payment providers reported so-called IBAN discrimination as a number of companies across Europe began to refuse Euro account bank details if they contained the country code ‘GB’. As a result of Brexit, sending a payment to Eurozone countries resulted in additional charges. Whilst the fee is [...]
Ron Kalifa: UK’s fintech pole position could be jeopardised by skills gap November 15, 2021 Ron Kalifa, who delivered an independent review of UK fintech on behalf of the Treasury earlier this year, has said that the UK has a skills deficit when it comes to technology and data that needs to be addressed so that the country maintains its world-leading position in the sector. Speaking at an industry event, [...]
CEO of IWF warns a ‘tidal wave’ of child abuse material is flooding the internet November 13, 2021 The amount of child sexual abuse material being found online by expert analysts is fifteen times higher than a decade ago, according to Susie Hargreaves, the CEO of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). The boss of the online safety organisation said its analysts are facing a “tidal wave” of abuse material, as it called for [...]