Every Wednesday, we delve into the latest fintech updates from across the UK. This week brings updates from Alveo, BT, Barclaycard, Intergiro, Klarna and Tandem Bank.
London has seen largest decrease in ATMs since 2018
Swedish Banking as a Service provider Intergiro reveals which areas of the UK have seen the biggest cash machine decline since 2018. The study looks at how the UK moves towards a future of digital banking, reducing traditional services.
Since July 2018, the UK has lost 21 per cent of its ATMs. This represents a significant 13,679 ATMs being closed down. London is the region with the highest decline, with 25 per cent of traditional ATMs no longer in service. Despite this, the region still has 8.2 ATMs per 10,000 people; sitting slightly above the national average of 7.8.
The South East currently has 6.7 ATMs per 10,000 residents, offering the lowest ratio in the UK. The region has seen 1,873 ATMs closed down since July 2018. Data for the North West shows 1,514 cash machines have closed down in the last four years, equating to a 20 per cent reduction overall.
When looking at the statistics for Northern Ireland, Intergiro found that traditional ATMs aren’t declining as rapidly. There has been a decline of 13 per cent, having lost 269 ATMs overall. The region has 9.6 ATMs per 10,000 people: the highest ratio of all regions considered.
Klarna launches influencer platform in the UK
BNPL company Klarna has expanded its ‘Creator Platform’, which is set to launch in the UK alongside other regions.
The platform matches retailers with fitting influencers and tracks performance metrics in real-time. The offering aims to enable retailers to better engage with target audiences and achieve higher returns on influencer content. It also helps creators to maximise their earning potential.
Martin Landen, head of social shopping at Klarna, spoke on the platform launch. He said: “Every minute creators spend on cumbersome admin is valuable time lost that could have been spent on creating engaging content.
“By providing access to affiliate partnerships, brand campaigns and gifting activations with the world’s leading brands, Klarna empowers creators to monetise their influence at scale and turn their attention to producing quality content. At the same time, Klarna helps retailers take the guesswork out of influencer collaborations by identifying which talents fit their brand and which channels drive the best results.”
Barclaycard offers business cashback on BT purchases
BT and Barclaycard Payments have partnered to boost cashback for Barclaycard business customers. Small firms will receive 2 per cent to 10 per cent back on all expenditures with BT and EE until 20 January 2023.
Within three months of the partnership starting, BT businesses have already saved over £10,000.
Lucinda Webster, director of small business at Barclaycard Payments said: “To support businesses with rising costs, we’re giving our existing and new customers 10 per cent cashback when they spend with BT and EE until 20 January 2023 inclusive. That includes everything from spend on laptops, TV purchases, to new handsets. Just pay with your Barclaycard and we’ll do the rest.”
Alveo expands data coverage
Cloud-based market data integration, analytics and Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution provider Alveo has added a range of new content from SIX, the infrastructure service provider, to its global data coverage and feed integrations.
Alveo’s data management solutions links and cross-references SIX’s content with client data sets or separately sourced third-party content. New content includes sentiment indicators, tax and regulatory risk data.
Sam Sundera, head of future business financial information at SIX, gave his view on the news. Sundera commented: “Market participants increasingly need on-demand access to our vast catalogue of global financial and investor protection-related data”
“Extending our partnership with Alveo’s leading-edge managed services and data analytics solutions enables those firms to rapidly utilise critical asset-level data directly in investment operations and workflow applications.”
Tandem Bank offers carbon tracking
Carbon management solution provider Cogo has made its carbon tracking app available on the green digital bank Tandem Bank marketplace.
The two companies have partnered, aiming to help Tandem’s customers to manage the carbon footprint of their spending.
Emma Kisby, EMEA CEO of Cogo, commented on the partnership. She said: “Partnering with a bank so in tune with our own company values makes this an especially exciting opportunity. Tandem Bank is challenging how consumers think about finances, appealing to the next generation of greener banking customers. By offering Cogo on the marketplace, retail customers from Tandem will be able to download our Cogo app to measure, understand and reduce their carbon footprint based on where and how they spend money, helping to tackle the climate crisis.”
