Editor's Blog

The new Payment Systems Regulator has set up a Strategy Forum, aimed at suggesting payment system innovation in the non-competitive arena. An obvious innovation which has been consistently blocked is the creation of a bank account numbering system which allows customers to keep the same account number, as and when they choose to move their account from one bank to another. The term " ....

Last week saw yet more hype from those trying to tell us - the British Public - that Contactless Cards were soon going to replace cash as the preferred means of payment for small retail purchases. This is, of course,total nonsense. In July 2015, 3% more cash was dispensed from UK ATMs than in July 2014. This year-on-year growth has been achieved against a backdrop of over £180 Billion in cas....

Greece is in a mess. With a population of around 11 Million and a national debt of roughly 320 Billion Euros, every Greek (man, woman & child) would have to give their exchequer 30,000 Euros to pay back the country's creditors. Now the UK's national debt per person is broadly similar to that of Greece. The difference is that the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person is about twice that....

So often, those who are seemingly well on the road to winning, throw it all away by over-stretching in an attempt to cross the line early. Mostly, the result is that they seize defeat from the jaws of victory and NEVER end up breaking the tape. Take Iceland's anti-cash lobby. For a long time, the noises emanating from Iceland were telling the world " Clever Iceland doesn't need cash. Hardly a....

Kevin Jenkins runs the Visa Card Scheme in the UK.  Kevin is a very honest man. He honestly wants Visa to become bigger and bigger each year. For Visa to grow, use of cash must decline. Therefore Kevin has predicted that cards will account for 95% of all transactions in the UK within 10 years, up from a current more healthy 50%. Since over 90% of all cards in the UK carry the Visa brand....

More disturbing news yesterday that charities trying to provide international aid to the needy are finding it difficult to transfer funds abroad or, in some cases, even to accept donations. Banks are apparently concerned they might face fines for assisting money laundering or acting as a conduit of funds to terrorists. The same issue is putting many legitimate money transfer organizations out of ....

There was a surprise news item on Christmas Day to the effect that " charging ATMs at corner stores and petrol stations are to be phased out". The same news report indicated that  retailers would be offered Business Rate incentives to persuade them to switch ATMs from Pay-To-Use to Free-To-Use. Giving gifts at this time of year is, of course, traditional. However, unwrapping this particu....

The world has been held to ransom by OPEC since the 1970's. 50 years of having to be nice to countries which often have despicable human rights records. NO MORE. The power of the oil producers has been broken forever ( by which I mean, at least 50 years). From now on, the oil price will be low. If OPEC ( or any other vested interest) attempts to increase the price, the "taps" will simply be tur....

George Osborne is clearly very bright. You don't get to where he is today without having a good sized brain, along with a massive amount of political astuteness. In his time at Number 11, Mr Osborne has persuaded UK workers to accept a 10% decline in real wages. Employment is up ( there are more people working in our country today than ever before); inflation is low; interest rates are low. Most ....

The fuss about the 2 Billion Euro extra payment to the EU is all about political positioning. Does anyone really believe that the UK Government was surprised by the bill? The same formula has been used to calculate such payments for years. George Osborne claims to have a good grasp of our countries finances - and who are we to disbelieve him? - so it seems highly unlikely he would have failed to....