UK workers will spend a year and a half of their lives commuting May 5, 2015 Workers in the UK will spend a year and 212 days (that's about seven months) on their daily commute, a new study has found. According to the research, from Japanese technology manufacturer Toshiba, Britons spend 13,871 hours of their lives commuting to and from worth – you could get 1,734 decent nights' kip in that [...]
As Blackpool’s donkeys are embedded with Barclaycard contactless swipers, are they being taken for a ride? August 21, 2014 Are the donkeys of Blackpool beach being exploited by big business? Yesterday, the noble steeds hit the headlines because Barclaycard was helping the donkey business to go cashless. Yes, no more do Real Donkeys have to fiddle with change – the donkeys’ saddles have Barclaycard contactless swipers embedded. A novel idea or a publicity stunt? [...]
Five key takes from the Google IO conference 2015 May 28, 2015 Internet giant Google today unveiled its latest products, software and projects to an audience of developers at its annual I/O developer conference in San Francisco. Here are five key takes: Google challenges Apple Pay Google unveiled Android Pay which will let users pay in stores as well as online using their mobile phones. Android Pay will [...]
Google I/O 2015: From Projects Vault and Brillo to smart jeans and cardboard virtual reality, the impossibly advanced technologies unveiled in San Francisco June 3, 2015 BRILLO Essentially an operating system for the Internet of Things (IoT), Google’s Project Brillo is an adapted version of Android designed to manage a number of connected devices from a central management console. It’s Google’s attempt at standardising the way we control devices, from household appliances like Nest (which, incidentally, Google owns) to wearables [...]
Barclays rolling out contactless payment wristband next month June 9, 2014 BARCLAYS will launch a contactless payments wristband for consumers in 2015, called bPay, with trials of the wearable technology starting at sponsored events this year. The company hopes that the device will encourage cash-free payments as consumers increasingly turn to card and contactless payments. The British Summer Time music festival in Hyde Park will be [...]
Barclays rolling out contactless payment wristband next month June 9, 2014 BARCLAYS will launch a contactless payments wristband for consumers in 2015, called bPay, with trials of the wearable technology starting at sponsored events this year. The company hopes that the device will encourage cash-free payments as consumers increasingly turn to card and contactless payments. The British Summer Time music festival in Hyde Park will be [...]
London should embrace new technology to make car ownership pointless April 8, 2015 London could lead a revolution in car use and car ownership over the next decade, by divorcing the two. It may soon be unnecessary to own a car to secure the full benefits of car ownership, due to a combination of continued improvement in public transport, the surge in app-based car hire services, and the [...]
Now Gmail lets you transfer money via email in the UK January 29, 2015 Gmail users can now transfer money via email with a new feature from Google. With a simple click of a button and using Google Wallet, Gmailers in the UK can now transfer cash to anyone- even if the recipient doesn’t use Gmail. Rolling out over the next few weeks, users can also use the feature [...]
TfL seals Tube map sponsorship deal with MBNA December 3, 2014 When it first emerged Transport for London (TfL) was seeking a sponsor for Tube maps back in June 2013, many jokes were made about the possibilities for stations like "Oxoford Circus" and "iPaddington". But now the sponsored Tube map is here: TfL announced today MBNA, the contactless card provider, will have its logos plastered across [...]
Why FinTech is the key to a much-needed makeover in African aid February 10, 2015 Aid in Africa is big business, but one that is often mired in scepticism. Global companies pour money in through corporate responsibility programmes, alongside government aid, which can be accused of supporting private sector ambitions too closely. Some estimate that every £1 in aid costs the same to administer. This means that the sector is [...]