Wednesday, December 25

Tag: UK

Mastercard may have to pay $18.5 billion in a Lawsuit
News

Mastercard may have to pay $18.5 billion in a Lawsuit

London, Dec 15, 2020 (AP): Mastercard could have to pay U.K. consumers as much as 14 billion pounds (USD 18.5 billion) after the country's Supreme Court allowed a class-action lawsuit against the credit card company to move forward. The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a competition tribunal to reconsider its decision to block a lawsuit alleging that Mastercard overcharged businesses that accepted the company''s credit and debit cards. These fees were then passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, the suit claims. Mastercard does not accept that merchants passed on all or any part of any overcharge to their customers. The Competition Appeal Tribunal must now reconsider its refusal to certify the lawsuit as a “collective proceeding.” Certification is required before mass ...
WorldRemit to Acquire Sendwave for $500 million
ACQUISITION

WorldRemit to Acquire Sendwave for $500 million

LONDON, 26th Aug 2020-- Uk based global payments company WorldRemit has agreed to acquire Sendwave, a rapidly growing app-based remittance company in Africa for a $500 million cash and stock deal. Founded in 2014, Sendwave has built a leading and rapidly growing digital remittance service to East and West Africa, and this summer added Bangladesh, its first receiving market in Asia. Sendwave will continue to operate independently and retain its mobile applications, brand, management, employees and key partners. “Both WorldRemit and Sendwave share a common purpose: allowing customers to easily and cost effectively send financial support to families, friends and businesses in other countries,” said WorldRemit CEO, Breon Corcoran. “WorldRemit has one of the broadest and most accessible n...
UK bans Huawei from 5G Network
News

UK bans Huawei from 5G Network

London, Jul 14, 2020: The UK government banned Huawei from its 5G telecom network, reversing an earlier decision to allow the Chinese tech giant a limited role in building the country's super-fast wireless infrastructure. Huawei will be completely removed from the UK’s 5G networks by the end of 2027, the government announced after a review by the country’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on the impact of US sanctions against the Chinese telecommunications company. In the lead up to this complete removal of all Huawei kit from UK networks, there will be a total ban on the purchase of any new 5G kit after December 31, 2020. The decision was taken at a meeting of the UK’s National Security Council (NSC) chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in response to new US sanctions ag...
How Coronavirus Hit Jobs Globally
ANALYSIS

How Coronavirus Hit Jobs Globally

Since the pandemic hit, claims for unemployment benefits have soared in some countries notably the US and by far less in others, for example, Japan. According to the UN’s International Labour Organization, as job losses escalate, nearly half of the global workforce at risk of losing livelihoods. As a result of the economic crisis created by the pandemic, almost 1.6 billion informal economy workers (representing the most vulnerable in the labour market), out of a worldwide total of two billion and a global workforce of 3.3 billion, have suffered massive damage to their capacity to earn a living. This is due to lockdown measures and/or because they work in the hardest-hit sectors. The first month of the crisis is estimated to have resulted in a drop of 60 per cent in the income of i...
Amazon Facing Heat in UK Over Acquisition of Deliveroo
News

Amazon Facing Heat in UK Over Acquisition of Deliveroo

British authorities are asking Amazon to address concerns that its plan to buy a stake in food delivery platform Deliveroo could damage competition between businesses that do takeaways and those that deliver groceries. The Competition and Markets Authority gave the online shopping shopping behemoth five days to come up with legally binding proposals to address the competition concerns identified Wednesday. Amazon is interested in investing in Deliveroo to give it a larger stake in the fast-growing restaurant delivery business. If the deal were to proceed in its current form, there's a real risk that it could leave customers, restaurants and grocers facing higher prices and lower quality services as these markets develop," said Andrea Gomes da Silva, the authority's executive director...
Thomas Cook Bankrupt, Left 600,000 Tourists Stranded Abroad
News

Thomas Cook Bankrupt, Left 600,000 Tourists Stranded Abroad

23rd Sept, 2019- UK based travel firm Thomas Cook file for bankruptcy, leaving some 600,000 holidaymakers stranded and sparking the UK's biggest repatriation since World War II. The 178-year old debt ridden firm, which had struggled against fierce online competition has failed to secure 200 million pounds (USD 250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors and collapsed in the early hours. Bankruptcy, which followed a lengthy period of chronic financial turmoil after a disastrous 2007 merger deal, left some 600,000 tourists stranded worldwide according to Thomas Cook, while its 22,000 staff are now out of a job. The British government launched emergency plans to bring some 150,000 UK holidaymakers back home from destinations including Bulgaria, Cuba, Turkey and the Un...
Xiaomi to Open a Retail Store in London Amid Expansion Spree
News

Xiaomi to Open a Retail Store in London Amid Expansion Spree

Xiaomi has become one of the most popular smartphone brands in the world and with its expansion spree, the company continues at speed up after it announced plans to open its first retail store in London. The Chinese smartphone maker is popularly known for developing quality Android phones at affordable prices and already it has launched devices in Spain, Italy and France. The foray has now touched the UK where Xiaomi launched its Mi 8 Pro device at an event yesterday and revealed that it will open a store at the Westfield mall in London. Now, this outlet would become Xiaomi’s first authorized Mi Store. Styled on Apple’s iconic stores, the Mi store will showcase a range of products, not all of which are available in the UK. Xiaomi has also shown a taste of what the company is plann...
Amazon Launches Alexa for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store
Tech

Amazon Launches Alexa for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store

The retail giant Amazon has launched an Alexa app for Windows 10 computers on the Microsoft Store. Under this, the voice application will allow the PC owners to speak to Alexa to set reminders, timers, alarms; create lists and to-dos; track their calendar appointments; get news, weather and other information; play music; listen to podcasts and audiobooks; control the smart home, and much more. Very close to the Alexa app for mobile devices, through the Windows 10 app, you can use Alexa when you’re traveling for access to content and information, as well as to do things like lock your doors or check your security cameras. Along with this, the app also offers access to tens of thousands of Alexa skills. But, some features including video, communications, Spotify and Pandora will not be...
Adzuna Acquires UK’s #1 Tech Startup Job Board
ACQUISITION

Adzuna Acquires UK’s #1 Tech Startup Job Board

24th October 2018- Adzuna.co.uk, the global job search engine, today announced its purchase of Work In Startups, a platform which connects an unrivalled community of job seekers and start-ups across the UK’s growing tech scene. Under the deal, Adzuna will take over operation of Work In Startups, which will retain its independent brand and community of tens of thousands of monthly startup job seekers and hundreds of startups. Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna said, “We are thrilled at the opportunity to take Work In Startups to the next level, having watched it become an integral piece of the UK startup hiring scene over the past few years. It has been a fantastic resource for our key early hires, and with our experience from Adzuna and Gumtree before, we’re really excited about what w...
California-based Turo Expands its Services to the UK
USA

California-based Turo Expands its Services to the UK

California-based peer-to-peer car-sharing platform Turo is reportedly expanding its services to the UK, and his time, everyday car owners can actually use it. It was in 2016 that the company earlier expanded to the UK once but the services were only offered to small rental car companies under its commercial host program. However, this time anyone who owns or leases a 2008 model-year or newer vehicle can list it on the Turo app. All the vehicles rented by its pre-approved users are covered by the company’s insurance partner Allianz. The company since its launch has expanded services to markets like Canada and Germany. As of now, the firm has 8 million users. According to Turo CEO Andre Haddad, the UK is the company’s most-searched-for destination outside North America. “This makes ...
After UK and Australia, Ola is all set to Enter New Zealand
BUSINESS

After UK and Australia, Ola is all set to Enter New Zealand

The homegrown cab aggregator Ola has been on an expansion spree lately and is expanding itself in various international regions including UK and Australia. Soon after this, the company announced its plans to enter the New Zealand market starting with Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. However, the date of launch has not been mentioned as of now. With this announcement, New Zealand becomes the third international market that Ola will enter into this year after rolling out its services in Australia in February and UK in August. For this purpose, the company has appointed Brian Dewil as Country Manager for New Zealand. “I’m excited to build the local team and business in New Zealand and provide a healthy contribution to the nation’s local mobility infrastructure”, said Brian Dewil, Co...
UK-Based Setoo Raises $9.3 million in Series A Funding
FUNDING

UK-Based Setoo Raises $9.3 million in Series A Funding

A UK-based startup Setoo that turns insurance into a powerful business accelerator, transforming the online customer experience and generating new revenue streams, has reportedly secured funds amounting to $9.3 million in Series A funding round. The particular funding round was led by AXA’s ‘Insurtech’ startup studio, Kamet. This funding round has brought the total amount raised to date to $12 million. With these funds, the company plans to expand in every aspect and give an aggressive fight to its rivals such as ZhongAn, Moonshot and Qover. “In French ‘c’est tout’ means ‘that’s it’. My chose the name Setoo to symbolise how simple and quick it is to create effective new protections products using the platform, and the simplicity of the products created for the consumer. This investment...