Over the last few years the rise of digital banks has posed an interesting challenge to the UK bank industry – can traditional players keep up with consumer demands for digital products and services?

But over a year on from the pandemic, the mood has shifted. Where digital disruptors were once eating into traditional banks’ customer pools with new app-based smart banking solutions, now they are having to work harder to hold onto customers. 

The banking and finance industry is changing quickly. As consumers become more comfortable with ecommerce through smartphones and epayments, so too have they begun to expect the same level of service from their banks. This has fuelled the rise of disruptive digital competitors in retail banking –  who put user experience first –  and put older institutions, burdened with legacy systems, at a disadvantage. 

Customers Bank, a subsidiary of Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:CUBI) a bank holding company, and Tassat, a global provider of blockchain technologies for digital payments, today announced that Customers Bank will use Tassat’s proprietary platform TassatPay® Network, which features real-time B2B payments and integration of digital and legacy payment rails. The partnership will deliver enhanced payments functionality for the bank’s business clients and low-cost core deposit growth for the bank.

In the middle of the 20th century, the “race to space” was nosed out between  nations, and no investors were able to engage commercially in this highly sensitive political affair.  Nowadays, space technology offers various ways for investors to invest their money, from satellite  technology to space tourism, with the latter currently standing on the verge of a breakthrough.  Investment pioneer Vontobel now launched an index certificate that tracks the performance of companies  active in space technology.

Blackhawk Network, a global payments provider, today announced product management and payments executive, Cory Gaines, has been named its Chief Product Officer.

Banking has gone through radical changes in the past few years, in step with technology and the sheer amount we can now do online. This revolution in how we bank or pay for goods isn’t just for the retail sector, it’s also having a positive knock-on effect for the lettings industry. Just as online-only challenger banks disrupted the inconvenient process of visiting physical branches, Open Banking is making the process of tenant reference checks and payments quicker and smoother than ever.

Don't Let These Fears Stop You From Investing

Fears make a person think about the correctness of their actions and change their choices. But we should not be swayed by unfounded fears that cause more harm than good. By abandoning your plans to avoid losses, you may lose much more than you intended.

Investing seems like a simple process. It is enough to choose an appropriate option, invest your funds and get the benefits. But in reality, the process is somewhat more complicated, which gives rise to certain fears among investors.

Curve, the fast-growing financial super app, announces it’s going live with its crowdfunding campaign on Tuesday May 25th, following a surge in demand from customers. Since Curve announced its crowdfunding on May 11th, more than 35,000 individuals have expressed an interest in investing. 

In just 12 months the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation trend by almost half a decade. Tech businesses have had to scale rapidly, and many are looking for investment to meet the market demand. Tech businesses have also proved their resilience during the market shocks of the last year, meaning that investor interest in growing tech businesses is strong. 

Ignition, the global provider of advice technology, has launched into the UK market offering digital advice solutions to enable its financial services clients to help people make better financial decisions. The Ignition engine is a white-label, multi-currency, bank grade digital financial advice platform that is compatible with the current legacy and migrating technology environments of large financial institutions.