The Bank of England, blockchain and the future of the payments industry: Innovation, resilience or both? February 23, 2016 The Bank of England's principal objective is clear: to maintain monetary and financial stability. It is, therefore, almost by definition, a risk averse institution. Yet in a speech to leaders in the payments industry delivered last month, the Bank’s deputy governor for markets and banking outlined the need to modernise the UK’s real-time gross settlement system (RTGS). This [...]
Chinese government restrictions failing to curb Bitcoin use March 12, 2015 China is going mad for Bitcoin, according to a new report by Goldman Sachs. Despite the government's measures to restrict use of the currency 80 per cent of Bitcoin volume is now driven by the Chinese Yuan. The next biggest driver of transactions is the US dollar, followed by the Euro. The bank isn’t alone [...]
Fraud with Problems: Ravelin boss Martin Sweeney talks Hailo, fake credit cards and machine learning May 23, 2016 "There’s a real tension at the heart of fraud detection: if you want to stop online fraud, just switch everything off.” Martin Sweeney is, of course, being facetious. But fraud, he impresses, has become an accepted fact of the on-demand economy. “We as consumers are accepting that most of the things we buy have a premium [...]
The blockchain payments app: How Circle plans to change the way we spend – and think about money May 9, 2016 You don't pay to send someone an email – to send information from one place to another. And merchants typically pick up the cost of actually making the transaction when you buy something online. And the founders of Circle – the free, blockchain-enabled payments app – don’t think you should pay to send money, either. [...]
Central banks could create cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin February 25, 2015 Cryptocurrency Bitcoin could revolutionise the way Britons pay for goods and services, in much the same way as the internet shook up access to information, the Bank of England has said. Bitcoin “potentially combined with mobile technology, may reshape the mechanisms for making secure payments”, the Bank said. The Bank could itself create digital currencies, [...]
Could the Bank of England one day embrace Bitcoin? February 25, 2015 Cryptocurrency bitcoin, in combination with mobile technology, could revolutionise the way we make purchases, which has prompted the Bank of England to conduct more research into the area. The bank said it could defunct banks' roles as middle men by allowing secure payments to be made directly. "This has potentially profound implications for a financial [...]
Will the blockchain turn your washing machine into a philanthropist? December 16, 2015 The blockchain, the hyped technology that digital currencies like bitcoin build upon, is already changing the way banks work. Now it could be about to change how charities raise money. The distributed ledger technology is set to revolutionise how we give money to our favourite charities, argues the Charities Aid Foundation in a new report [...]
Banks warn that Bitcoin could help terrorists January 18, 2015 CRYPTOCURRENCY Bitcoin could make it easier for terrorists to evade the intelligence services, according to Britain’s leading banks. In a document sent to the Treasury, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) warned that the partial anonymity Bitcoin provides, and its structure as a peer-to-peer currency provide opportunities for criminals. The BBA said banks “need to be [...]
British banks warn Bitcoin could help terrorists January 18, 2015 Cryptocurrency Bitcoin could make it easier for terrorists to evade the intelligence services, according to Britain's leading banks. In a document sent to the Treasury the British Bankers Association (BBA) warned the chancellor that partial anonymity Bitcoin provides, and its structure as a peer-to-peer currency provide opportunities for criminals. The association said banks “need to [...]
Dell accepts Bitcoin in the UK and Canada becoming biggest in the world to take digital currency February 19, 2015 Computer maker Dell has one of the first major businesses to accept Bitcoin in the UK, and the biggest retailer in the world to accept the digital currency. After success in the US, Dell will now accept payment by Bitcoin from UK customers, making it the largest retailer to do so in the UK, and [...]