The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued new guidance to companies operating a remote or hybrid working model.

The new directive states that firms will be evaluated by us on a case-by-case basis and should be able to prove that the lack of a centralised location or remote working does not or is unlikely to affect the company’s ability to meet the threshold for the for the regulated activities it has or will have permission for.

 Bitcoin Latinum, the secure next-generation, insured, asset-backed cryptocurrency with high transaction processing capacity, is announcing a partnership with

Atom bank, the Durham-based fintech, is celebrating hitting £1bn in lending to SMEs. 

The milestone, which was reached on 15 October, includes all completions originated through Atom’s own secured lending and also the bank’s ongoing partnership with Funding Circle to provide unsecured loans to UK SMEs. 

This latest milestone comes after the UK’s first app-based bank reached several other significant customer and commercial highpoints. 

• Employees at Shawbrook Bank select PAPYRUS as their chosen charity for 2021/22
• Shawbrook partners with PAPYRUS at a time when the charity’s lifesaving support is needed more than ever due to Covid-19
• The bank’s initial £10k donation will be boosted by colleague-inspired fundraising and volunteering events throughout the year

Shawbrook Bank has announced its employee chosen charity partner for 2021/22 as PAPYRUS, a charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide. 

The third annual Russian Islamic Economic Forum “Russia – Guarantor of Partnership” is being held in the city of Grozny (Chechen Republic) on 14-15 October. The event has been organized with support from Sberbank and is aimed at promoting business cooperation between Russia and the countries of the Islamic world. The International Association of Islamic Business and KPMG are also co-organizers of the forum.

21Shares AG (“21Shares”), the Swiss pioneering issuer of cryptocurrency ETPs, today announced that its Polkadot ETP (ASOL) has reached the key milestone of $100M in assets under management (AUM), which makes it the 5^th 21Shares ETP reaching more than $100M in AuM.

"The decision to increase contactless payments to £100 from today is another clear landmark in the journey to the land of ubiquitous, seamless, frictionless digital payments. While card payments continue to lead, we are also observing a definite trend to direct account payments, which are gaining momentum through the accelerated use of tokenization, open banking, and instant payment schemes.

After a successful launch in April 2021 and several projects already on track, the AURA Blockchain Consortium, is delighted to welcome the OTB Group as a new and fourth founding member. Since April, each brand has developed its own experience according to its specificities and customer expectations. Brands such as Bulgari, Cartier, Hublot, Louis Vuitton, Hennessy and Prada are already active on the platform.