Getting paid online by a customer’s credit/debit card is as simple as getting paid by a bank transfer, and even faster. What – and, more importantly, who – is involved?

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) could play a key role in supporting retirees with the initial stage of equity release planning and help prepare them for conversations with an adviser, new research has suggested.

In this article I thought I’d explore the world of payments and the recent activities aimed at tackling the Covid-19 crisis. I’m not focussing on the pre-existing technologies and products that can be deployed to help, but rather the actions and decisions taken since the outbreak of the pandemic. I’m sure that I have captured only a small subset of what is being done, but it gives a flavour of the way that the payments world is reacting to fight Covid-19.

Avoiding the use of Cash

EIS Group announced the launch of an intelligent digital insurance ecosystem initiative in collaboration with PwC. The new ecosystem will combine agility with insights to enable market differentiation and deliver best-in-class customer experience. This will allow insurance companies taking a greenfield approach to get closer to their customers and better understand their needs as people, rather than policy numbers.

 Mobile device and app security leader Trustonic has extended its partnership with LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, which will see Trustonic Secured Platform (TSP™) deployed on LG’s smartphones.

Tech talent specialist, mthree, has appointed Justin de Ferry as head of client services, to cover its global operations.

Justin has more than 20 years experience in recruitment and executive search, working in both London and New York during his career, where he founded and established Boundary Talent International, before joining mthree.

MuchBetter, the award-winning payments company, has today announced a partnership with TrustPay to develop innovative bank transfer solutions. The collaboration will give MuchBetter the ability to seamlessly combine electronic wallets with conventional banking flows. This will allow customers to create individual, single-purpose IBANs within the MuchBetter ewallet, enabling outbound and inbound payment flows to designated recipients.

Curve, the banking platform that consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one smart card and app, now allows customers to move past payments onto a different card for up to 90 days after the payment has been made.

More than half (57 percent) of UK IT decision makers still believe that remote workers will expose their organisation to the risk of a data breach, according to an annual survey – conducted between 25 and 27 March 2020 – commissioned by Apricorn, the leading manufacturer of software-free, 256-bit AES XTS hardware-encrypted USB drives. This figure has inclined steadily from 44 percent in 2018 and 50 percent in 2019.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the multinational body charged with setting the global approach to fighting money laundering and terrorist financing, has backed a call by leading Regtech firm SmartSearch for businesses to employ digital customer onboarding processes.