The week in brief February 9, 2014 McVitie’s in “family of brands” £12m relaunch United Biscuits has announced a relaunch of its McVitie’s brand, unveiling a £12m multi-media advertising campaign as part of its efforts to accelerate growth for its sweet biscuits category. The food group will introduce updated packaging as part of the campaign, which begun last week with the broadcast [...]
Upgrade work shuts out some Boris Bike users September 9, 2013 CASUAL users of Boris Bikes will not be able to use the cycle hire scheme on Saturday night or Sunday, as TfL upgrades the docking sites ahead of expansion in south and west London. TfL said the work will make it easier for members to view all the journeys they made in the past year [...]
Exclusive: Utilities firms to roll out mobile payments via bank app Zapp September 4, 2013 MAJOR utilities firms will this month announce plans for consumers to pay bills using new mobile app Zapp, City A.M. understands, in a new drive to consolidate a fragmented industry. From next summer customers will receive bills with QR codes attached, which they can scan to pay the bills with the app. Zapp, set up by [...]
London buses set to stop accepting cash fares from next year August 19, 2013 TRANSPORT for London wants to axe cash payments on the city’s buses from next year, though user groups and politicians have sought assurances that the proposal will not leave passengers stranded. TfL estimates that less than one per cent of journeys, or 60,000 a day, are paid for in cash. Yesterday it asked the public [...]
London buses go contactless cards December 12, 2012 BUS passengers will from today be able to use contactless debit or credit cards to pay for journeys, as Transport for London begins its long-awaited rollout of the new payment method. Anyone with a contactless Visa, American Express or MasterCard should be able to tap the yellow Oyster pay point on the capital’s 8,500 buses, [...]
Coming Soon: The death of paper money June 24, 2013 BRITONS did 10 per cent less of their shopping with cash last year as people turn their backs on coins and notes – leading some analysts to predict a cash-free future. Only eight per cent of consumers believe that traditional coinage will be the payment method of choice by 2020, with contactless cards and new [...]
The year in preview: Our in-depth guide January 5, 2014 City A.M.’s journalists take a wide-ranging look at what 2014 has in store for the world of finance and business BANKINGRestoring faith means costly overhaulsA CAUTIOUS optimism pervades the British and European banking system at the start of 2014. The incoming economic recovery is at last improving customers’ creditworthiness, while the hard work running down [...]
Everything Everywhere teams up with MasterCard on digital wallet August 28, 2012 MASTERCARD yesterday announced a five year deal with the UK’s biggest mobile phone operator Everything Everywhere to develop contactless mobile phone payment systems for the network’s 27m customers. The duo will kick off the deal by launching a pre-paid digital wallet, allowing customers to transfer money from a bank account to a mobile phone for [...]
Boris goes Bond for Poppy Day as he speeds down The Thames October 30, 2012 THE Capitalist, and presumably most of London, simply cannot escape Mayor Boris Johnson these days. Fresh from his appearance at the NFL game at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening, Boris was cruising down the River Thames on a Royal Navy RIB yesterday morning. Pointing his trigger finger at onlookers, Bozza arrived at Canary Wharf in [...]
Shops look to new payment methods to escape card fees July 22, 2012 RETAILERS are shunning credit cards as shoppers embrace mobile phone and contactless payments, research released today shows. Shops are rushing to fit tills with the technology and online sellers are using e-payment methods such as PayPal to avoid costly credit card processing fees, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Just under 30 per cent [...]