Every Wednesday, we delve into the latest fintech updates from across the UK. This week brings updates from Moneyhub, The Banker and Pay.UK.
Moneyhub powers Leukaemia Care donations in Bristol
Bristol-based leading open finance and data payment firm Moneyhub is supporting a fundraising campaign in support of Leukaemia Care UK, in which a herd of 60 unicorn sculptures have been placed across the city of Bristol and its surrounding areas.
To help boost fundraising efforts, payment methods powered by Moneyhub’s advanced technology will make it easier and quicker for donations to be made through the simple act of scanning the QR codes attached to each of the 60 unicorn sculptures.
Ingrid Anusic, marketing director at Moneyhub, said: “We’re passionate about supporting local initiatives and using our technology for the greater good. As the cost-of-living crisis continues to spark widespread concern, new and cost-effective ways to donate are essential for fundraising engagement and success.
“All of us here at Moneyhub have been excited for Unicornfest to commence and showcase how open banking payments can benefit the charity sector.”
UK unis set to implement AI principles for students and staff
UK universities are creating guiding principles to ensure students and staff are AI literate. Staff will be trained so they are equipped to help students, many of whom are already using ChatGPT in their assignments. New ways of assessing students are planned to reduce the risk of cheating.
Vice-chancellors at the 24 Russell Group research-intensive universities have signed up to the code. They explained this should help universities to capitalise on the opportunities of AI while also protecting academic rigour and integrity in higher education.
Dr Tim Bradshaw, the Russell Group chief executive, said: “The transformative opportunity provided by AI is huge and our universities are determined to grasp it. This statement of principles underlines our commitment to doing so in a way that benefits students and staff and protects the integrity of the high-quality education Russell Group universities provide.”
Signs of growth for UK banks
The Banker‘s latest Top 1000 World Banks ranking has revealed that the aggregate number of employees at the six largest UK banks increased by 0.6 per cent, the largest increase in the last decade. Despite this, the ranking reveals that the number of bank staff in the UK fell from 766,636 in 2013 to 591,435 in 2022 – a 23 per cent reduction.
The Banker also found that the UK recorded $52.7billion in aggregate pre-tax profits (PTP) in 2022, beating France’s total of $46.5billion for France.
The UK generated 18.93 per cent of total PTP in Western Europe, more than France (16.70 per cent), Spain (12.96 per cent), Italy (8.6 per cent) and Germany (6.24 per cent).
Joy Macknight, editor of The Banker, said: “Despite general declines, the UK banks have generated more profit than their European rivals. With the exception of HSBC and Standard Chartered, which report in US dollars, the downward trend can be mainly attributed to the strong US dollar, the currency in which The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks ranking is denominated. The dollar appreciated 12 per cent against the pound in 2022.”
Pay.UK partnerships to tackle fraud
Pay.UK, the operator and standards body for the UK’s interbank retail payment systems, has partnered with Visa, Synectics Solutions and Featurespace to create a new overlay service for UK banks and building societies.
The new service will safely and securely analyse money flows and use predictive intelligence to proactively detect fraud and help prevent crime before it occurs.
The standards body explained that it plans to build the service into its New Payments Architecture, an upgrade to the UK payments system.
Kate Frankish, chief business development officer and anti-fraud lead at Pay.UK, said: “Fraud is one of the biggest challenges we face today, with more people than ever feeling its devastating financial and emotional impact. Fraud losses exceeded £1billion last year, which is equivalent to around £2,300 being stolen every minute.”
“To outpace the scammers, we will need to work together, with better collaboration and knowledge sharing. That’s why Pay.UK is bringing the payments industry together to share data and resources.”
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