IT for financial services

Singapore updates model AI governance framework

Second edition of Singapore’s artificial intelligence governance framework includes new guidance, use cases and a self-assessment guide Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

IR35 private sector reforms: Blanket bans ‘devalue’ IT contractor contributions to digital projects

James Poyser, CEO of contractor-focused online accountancy firm InniAccounts, claims large firms that are failing to assess contractors fairly will lose out in productivity, reputation and talent retention Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Lloyds Banking Group to create digital workplace with Microsoft

Bank is transforming how its staff work as part of a multibillion-pound digital transformation Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

TSB signs up IBM Services and announces Edinburgh tech hub

TSB has contracted IBM to provide hybrid cloud services as part of its £120m digital transformation plans, which will see more tech jobs in Scotland Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Travelex warns customers to be alert to phone scams

Under-fire forex provider warns that criminals may try to take advantage of its predicament to scam customers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Gates Foundation mobile money projects in developing world to go live this year

Mobile money projects aim to give millions of the world’s poorest people access to financial services Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Government distances itself from Post Office decisions in Horizon IT litigation

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy says it did not make decisions in the Post Office’s recent court battle Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Royal Bank of Canada gives Mencap a ‘leg-up’ in automating processes

UK charity gets help from Canadian bank in a collaboration aimed at creating a robotic workforce Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Travelex to begin restoring foreign exchange services two weeks after ‘Sodinokibi’ attack

Travelex says it is making “good progress” in its recovery and is to begin restoring electronic foreign exchange services, but is silent about whether it has agreed to pay hackers a $6m ransom to decrypt computer files Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Learning from the Travelex cyber attack: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail

The key lesson to take from the Travelex breach is that an effective response to a breach is a critical business function and no longer the sole province of the IT department Continue Reading

By

• Brian Honan, BH Consulting

Travelex hackers threaten to sell credit card data on dark web

Sodinokibi cyber gangsters have threatened to sell Travelex customers’ private data on a Russian underground cyber crime forum if it fails to pay a $6m ransom Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Don’t become the next Travelex: Get ready for ransomware

With Travelex’s IT still in disarray and banks and travellers left without access to funds more than a week after it was hit by a ransomware attack, we ask what others can learn from the foreign exchange services company’s response to the incident Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

PowerTrick backdoor used to target high-value businesses

Threat actors are exploiting a PowerShell-based backdoor called PowerTrick to go after high-value targets, warns SentinelLabs Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Can fintech succeed where schools and parents have failed?

Young people in Britain are unprepared to manage their finances when they leave home and, as a result, many run into serious problems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Why the banking industry needs an IT makeover

UK banks face huge challenges keeping their service availability levels at 99.99% Continue Reading

By

• Sascha Giese

Cyber gangsters demand payment from Travelex after ‘Sodinokibi’ attack

Cyber criminals are demanding payment to decrypt Travelex’s computer files after a devastating malware attack. New questions have been raised about the security of Travelex’s computer network after it emerged the company waited eight months to patch vulnerable VPN servers Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Holy grail of digital banking is, at first glance, a new channel, not a new concept

Details of Google’s plans in the financial services sector have emerged with nothing groundbreaking so far, but the sector is guessing what comes next. Continue Reading

Suspected ransomware attack causes worldwide disruption for Travelex

Travelex switches off computer systems and resorts to cash-only currency sales after malware attack. Insiders claim the currency exchange chain has been hit by ransomware which has left critical files containing customer data encrypted Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

How to optimise remote workforces while tackling loneliness

Remote working is very common in tech companies and IT departments. How can it be managed to optimise productivity and keep employees socially connected to their companies? Continue Reading

By

• Cath Everett

Top 10 enterprise IT in the Benelux region stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top enterprise IT stories from the Benelux region over the past year Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 financial services IT stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 financial services and fintech stories of 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 enterprise IT in the Middle East stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 enterprise IT in the Middle East stories of 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 enterprise IT in the Nordics stories of 2019

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 Nordic enterprise IT stories of 2019 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Top 10 storage deployment stories of 2019

Here are ComputerWeekly’s top 10 storage deployment stories for 2019, which see quite a move away from traditional SAN and NAS to hyper-converged, software-defined storage and object storage Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Has Y2K windowing been addressed by banks or is Y2.02K a risk?

Big banks that haven't replaced legacy systems or fixed temporary windowing solutions to Y2K could have problems at the beginning of 2020 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How Saudi Arabia plans to become the Silicon Valley of the Middle East

With its young and educated population, Saudi Arabia has the potential to become a hub for tech innovation Continue Reading

By

• Alicia Buller

CW Europe: Deutsche Bank creates innovation division

German banking giant Deutsche Bank is opening a division focused on innovation which will be led by former SAP executive Bernd Leukert. It will create agile teams with business and infrastructure divisions leading teams of technologists, using agile principles. Also read why China’s Huawei has offered governments an anti-industrial espionage commitment, and how software robots are helping social workers in Sweden. Continue Reading

Lloyd's of London secures £300m for digital transformation

Lloyd's of London has secured funding for a modernisation programme that will start next year Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

How can CIOs in Europe turn innovation into a competitive advantage?

CIOs across Europe are under pressure to innovate to help businesses grow and must think differently as a result Continue Reading

By

• Mark Samuels

Building enterprise-grade AI: Sberbank and AI Telekom

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are growing beyond adolescence to prove business value. Practical applications at Sberbank and AI Telekom suggest getting machine learning data in one place, where data scientists can experiment Continue Reading

By

• Lindsay Clark

Cloud computing surges in the UAE in 2019

Cloud computing take-up saw a significant acceleration in the Middle East throughout this year Continue Reading

By

• Alicia Buller

Barclays opens large tech operation in India, hiring thousands

Barclays opens tech centre in Pune as part of its global delivery network Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dutch government must facilitate and coordinate a broad eID system

The Dutch government should push for an electronic ID system for its citizens that works across the public and private sectors, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Kim Loohuis

Two Russians indicted over Dridex and Zeus malware

The US Department of Justice has indicted two Russian citizens over their alleged role in the distribution of the virulent Bugat, or Dridex, and Zeus banking trojans Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK financial services regulators tell banks to own their IT disasters

Financial services regulators propose tighter rules for firms to reduce the adverse effects of operational problems, such as IT outages Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cyber Girls First volunteers encourage girls to think high-tech

More than 80 schoolgirls spent a day learning about computer hackers and rocket science – Cyber Girls First hopes they will become the next generation of technologists Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Survey finds most firms don’t respond to GDPR requests in time

Most organisations do not respond to requests for GDPR data in the one month allowed, while many return incorrect data. The education sector does best, but the public sector lags behind Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

Insurtechs help traditional players differentiate

Traditional insurers are harnessing the agile development techniques of the tech startup community through partnerships with insurtechs Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Klarna uses AWS cloud as it moves from startup to global fintech force

Swedish fintech cements its relationship with Amazon Web Services to speed up product development and support its global expansion Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Private sector warned off delaying IR35 reform prep as Conservative Party promises review

The Conservative Party has followed in the footsteps of the Liberal Democrats, The Labour Party and the Scottish National Party by committing to a review of the IR35 reforms Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Goldman Sachs reins in cloud-based retail challenger in UK

Bank does not want rapidly expanding Marcus to breach deposits threshold at which UK banks have to ring-fence their retail operations Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

TSB neglected to assess capabilities of main IT provider in its failed system migration

TSB failed to properly assess and manage the internal service provider that lead its botched IT migration Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NatWest digital bank goes live

NatWest has announced the availability of its standalone digital challenger bank, known as Bó Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Finnish tech firm aims to create scalable general-purpose quantum computer

University spin-off is attempting to take quantum computing capabilities to multiple business sectors Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Finland’s OP Financial Group accelerates open banking push

Finnish banking group is working with a Danish fintech to add open banking functionality to its offerings Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Tandem and TrueLayer partnership shows how fintech can support fintech

TrueLayer and Tandem partnership demostrates the power of collaborative ecosystems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The super-resilient IT function

IT functions don’t have to continue taking the blame for organisational failures, they can take the lead in transforming the business Continue Reading

By

• Ade McCormack, Auridian Consulting

Revamped HMRC IR35 status checker tool still lacks key functionality, contractor groups claim

HMRC releases an updated version of its IR35 tax status checker tool, CEST, to accommodate the onset of the tax avoidance reforms being rolled out to the private sector, but contracting stakeholders claim it still lacks basic functionality Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Nationwide building society opens up systems through mortgage API

Nationwide Building Society is trialling an application programming interface that will enable its mortgage brokers to link directly to some of its systems Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

TSB tech woes continue with overnight systems failure

TSB customers have experienced problems receiving money into their accounts due to an IT error, just days after the bank was slammed in a report on its IT problems last year Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Some 29,000 UK web domains suspended for criminal activity

Domain suspensions for criminal activity over the past year has dropped for the first time since 2014 Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Labour pledges review of NCSC in UK security overhaul

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre may get expanded powers under a Labour government Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Has Amazon dropped its plan for a bank account?

Has Amazon decided against launching a bank account? Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Life under the loan charge: An IT contractor’s story

Thousands of IT contractors are being pursued by HMRC for “life-changing” tax bills for work they did up to 20 years ago, as part of a disguised remuneration clampdown known as the loan charge policy. One of those affected anonymously shares his take on what it’s like to live with a six-figure tax demand hanging over you Continue Reading

By

• An anonymous IT contractor

HSBC builds API digital platform with MuleSoft to forward open banking

At Dreamforce 2019, HSBC announced the building of a digital platform with Salesforce MuleSoft to forward open banking opportunities Continue Reading

By

• Brian McKenna, Senior Analyst, Business Applications

Western Union transfers to AWS cloud

Western Union is the latest financial services form to set out a future in the Amazon Web Services cloud Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

CW Nordics: Automation pays off for Sweden’s social workers

Software robots are freeing up time for social workers in Sweden to help benefits claimants find employment and to receive the money they are entitled to. Also in this issue, read how Sweden’s SEB bank is using a Google-inspired, cloud-native core banking platform, and why India is leading the pack when it comes to IT outsourcing from the Nordic countries. Continue Reading

Sweden’s SEB explores core banking in the cloud

 Continue Reading

Mimecast blocked 99 billion suspicious emails in third quarter

Latest threat intelligence report reveals the scale of the threat posed by malicious emails, with the transport, legal and financial sectors hit hardest Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Massive increase in fraud attacks on TSB customers during IT meltdown

There was a massive spike in attempts by fraudsters to steal from TSB customers when the bank’s IT systems failed in 2018 Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Holy grail of digital banking is, at first glance, a new channel, not a new concept

Details of Google’s plans in the financial services sector have emerged with nothing groundbreaking so far, but the sector is guessing what comes next Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Macy’s Magecart breach presages Christmas fraud spike

US retailer Macy’s admits some customer data was accessed by unknown actors during a week-long Magecart attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Azimo opens doors at Brexit-proof Dutch arm

Cross border payments fintech Azimo has opened the doors to its European headquarters in Amsterdam Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

TSB programme pulled apart in report on IT meltdown

City law firm tears into TSB’s management of botched core banking platform migration Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Australian bourse to overhaul technology infrastructure

The Australian Securities Exchange is embracing digital ledger technology, microservices and DevOps to modernise its core systems Continue Reading

By

• Stuart Kennedy

Loan charge under review: The 20-year retroactive tax policy pushing IT contractors to the brink

Thousands of IT contractors are at risk of financial ruin as HMRC pursues them for tax it claims they owe on work they did up to two decades ago and were reimbursed for via loan remuneration schemes. Computer Weekly investigates Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Cyber criminals tool up for Christmas fraud season

Organised criminals are trying to cash in on the festive retail boom with both brand new and tried-and-tested techniques Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google to launch bank accounts in 2020

Google is launching bank accounts in the US in 2020 as tech giants continue to deepen their activities in the financial services sector Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Wagestream gives staff alternative to payday lenders: Fintech interview 30

Wagestream is enabling workers to access their pay in real-time, reducing the need for overdrafts and payday loans Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

PCI DSS payment security compliance drops again

Worldwide, barely one-third of companies are maintaining full compliance with the PCI DSS security standard – and the numbers are falling Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Major report on TSB IT disaster expected soon

A damning report into the 2018 IT disaster at TSB is expected to heavily criticise executives when it is published in November Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Goldman Sachs probed over alleged Apple Card gender discrimination

US financial services regulator is investigating allegations that Goldman Sachs’ credit decisions for its Apple Card offering show gender bias Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

IBM's financial services cloud offers developer opportunity

IBM hopes to bring developers to its new financial services cloud that runs on the IBM Cloud platform and uses Red Hat OpenShift as its Kubernetes environment. Continue Reading

By

• Darryl K. Taft

GoCardless and TransferWise create global network for direct debits

Fintechs’ network will make it easier for small companies to expand their customer bases internationally Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Zopa opens testing for its banking products to customers

Zopa's move into the banking sector is gathering pace as customers test out its savings product Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Co-operative Bank extends mortgage service deal with Capita

Co-operative bank has extended a contract to outsource its mortgage platform in a deal with Capita Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Dutch banks to work together in fight against money laundering

 Continue Reading

CW Benelux: Dutch banks fight money laundering

Dutch banks are sharing expertise and resources to help reduce money laundering through their accounts. Also read in this issue how companies could lose loyal IT staff because salary rises do not match those at rival employers, and why a Dutch province is pioneering a no-code software development platform. Continue Reading

Tandem Bank embarks on international expansion

UK chanllenger bank embarks on international expansion in Hong Kong Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Abu Dhabi AI university is key to UAE’s future as the oil dries up

Abu Dhabi’s fledgling artificial intelligence university is part of a highly ambitious 30-year plan to transform the UAE’s economy and culture Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Cloud native core banking enables consumers to personalise what they buy

Google inspired core banking platform could help banks offer personalised products to millions of people. Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Nordic private equity groups drive paytech investments as global actors hover

Private equity companies in the Nordic region are stepping up M&A activity as international tech firms eye acquisitions in the region Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O’Dwyer

Goldman Sachs lends billions of dollars through Apple partnership

Apple Card issuing bank Goldman Sachs has already given billions of dollars in credit to iPhone users since Apple's credit card was launched Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

The benefits of API-first software development

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how organisations are using an API-based approach to software development to boost digital initiatives. We examine the potential pitfalls in using cloud storage. And we talk to the Department for Work and Pensions about its four-year project to move from outsourced IT to the cloud. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Brits moving to digital banking channel faster than people in the US

Digital banking services rapidly gain popularity, but digital banks face major challenges to make deeper inroads into traditional banks’ customer bases Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Banks let customers down with mixed approaches to security

Treasury Committee report recommends new measures to tackle financial fraud Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nordea brings fintech for women by women

Bank’s female-only hackathon comes up with new ideas for financial services aimed at improving women’s financial wellbeing Continue Reading

By

• Jane Hamrin

TrueLayer set to expand its services through Visa network

Open banking specialist fintech will offer its APIs through payments giant Visa Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Salesforce Financial Services Cloud adds mortgage tools

Salesforce pushes deeper into financial services with tools to make mortgage data collection easier, and to find upsell opportunities for customers looking for home loans. Continue Reading

By

• Don Fluckinger, Senior News Writer

Reykjavik: An IT ecosystem beyond the ice

Iceland is a small island between Europe and the US, and that is one of several reasons why it is attracting tech startups to its capital Continue Reading

By

• Matthew Staff

IR35 reforms – the difficult decisions facing IT contractors

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine the difficult choices facing UK IT contractors from the controversial IR35 tax reforms. Social engineering is a major source of cyber security attacks – we look at mitigation strategies. And the IT chief at Mercedes F1 explains what it takes to support a world championship team. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Stronger regulations needed to fix banking IT problems, say MPs

Regulators need to use more potent tools to get banks to sort out problems with their IT systems, as customers become more reliant on digital channels Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

P27 pan-Nordic payments system moves a step closer

Six regional banks sign shareholders’ agreements, agree business plan and make financial commitments to payments platform Continue Reading

By

• Alex Cruickshank

Refinitiv appoints first female CTO after IT leadership shake-up

Alex Cesar steps up to be chief technology officer at financial service data provider Refinitiv, after previous CTO Phil Wellard took over as global CIO in September Continue Reading

By

• Bryan Glick, Editor in chief

Banks move to contain impact of Samsung biometric flaw

NatWest and Nationwide have moved to lock down their mobile banking apps after Samsung warned of a biometric security flaw on its Galaxy and Note S10 devices Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft vs Google – who’s winning the cloud email race?

In this week’s Computer Weekly, there’s a two-horse race for dominance in the cloud email market between Microsoft and Google, but they are not alone – we examine the runners and riders. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at governance, risk and compliance solutions. And we assess the progress of public cloud in the banking sector. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Equifax lawsuit offers more evidence against passwords

Equifax’s internal security policies were a mess and directly led to one of the largest recorded data breaches in history, according to a lawsuit, demonstrating fundamental insecurities inherent in the use of passwords Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Two-thirds of UK financial services firms are using machine learning

The use of machine learning in the finance sector is set to increase as obstacles to its take up are not seen as being insurmountable Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Huge rise in rogue banking apps driving fraud attacks

Fraud perpetrated through fake mobile apps purporting to be from legitimate banks has seen a statistically significant spike, says RSA Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Barclays demonstrates proof-of-concept quantum clearing algorithm

Barclays and IBM researchers publish paper on a quantum computing algorithm for securities transaction trading Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor