Several UK banks have restricted their customers from buying crypto assets as concern grows about the risks posed by digital currency to customers.

In an email to customers earlier this week, Nationwide said it would not allow payments to crypto exchanges using its credit cards and would impose a £5,000 daily limit on current account crypto spending.

The building society cited concerns from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over possible risks to consumers.
A Nationwide spokesperson said: “To help protect our members from cryptocurrency scams, the Society has introduced a daily limit on debit card payments to crypto assets of £5,000 per day.”

“Members will also be prevented from using a Nationwide credit card to purchase crypto assets.”

HSBC also introduced restrictions on the purchase of crypto currencies, with customer prevented from purchasing cryptocurrencies using an HSBC credit card from February.

HSBC said this was because of the possible risk to customers citing the FCA’s concerns that cryptocurrencies are high-risk speculative assets.

Charles Kerrigan, a crypto and digital assets partner with law firm CMS suggested that banks are taking a more cautious approach to crypto as the new consumer duty will put more pressure on banks to protect their customers.… Read More

Publisher Pearson said sales of its textbooks and virtual learning offerings were boosted by increased demand for online learning, among adults and schools.

Sales increased 12 per cent to £3,841m during the full year 2022 compared to £3,428m the previous year.

Operating profit in the preliminary results were £271m, compared to £183m in 2021.

This rise was driven by property cost savings, and a lower restructuring charge, partially offset by inflation and a reduction in other net gains and losses arising from business acquisitions and disposals

Earnings per share stood at 32.8p, up from 23.5p as international qualifications uptake was boosted by a post-Covid resumption of exams.

Operating cash inflow increased from £388m in 2021 to £401m in 2022, while debt stood at £0.6bn compared to £0.4bn in 2021, Pearson said it had proposed a final dividend of 14.9p which equated to a full year dividend of 21.5p per share.

Its Pearson+ offering was “gaining traction” with 600,00 paid subs and over 4.8 million registered users in first full year in market.

Andy Bird, chief executive of Pearson, said: “These results are testament to the strong momentum that we’ve been building operationally and strategically over the past 24 months. For … Read More

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on the Chancellor to tackle the childcare crisis and take proactive measures to help more people work in his Spring Budget.

Childcare providers are facing insufficient Government funding are currently caught in a tough spot – either having to shut for good or pass the costs onto already-struggling parents and carers.

The economic impact is far-reaching as it becomes unviable for some parents to work, forcing them to choose between childcare and their careers, holding back economic capacity in the short and long term.

FSB’s five-point plan to tackle the issue head on will help small businesses in the early years sector run sustainably, while enabling parents to stay in the workforce:

Stop the funding gap: the Government funds 30-hours of free childcare for 38 weeks of the year, but providers struggle with a shortfall and are forced to pass the extra charges onto parents.
Extend the current 38-weeks free childcare entitlement to 45 weeks, as parents don’t just work in term time.
Give nurseries in England 100% exemption from business rates, in line with Scotland and Wales, so the savings are passed onto parents and carers.
Raise the UK’s tax-free childcare … Read More

Octopus Energy has hit back at the energy firms challenging its takeover of Bulb Energy, with the supplier’s lawyer arguing in court today that the company was simply more “nimble” and “saw an opportunity that others missed” in its deal-making with the government.

Its lawyer argued that the rival suppliers were not concerned about how to advance public interest in the energy crisis, and were challenging the deal because it went against their commercial interest – with Octopus proving to be an increasing threat to their market share.

“These claimants are members of what is known as the Big Six, and by contrast Octopus was established in 2016 and its market share has steadily increased,” he said.

The company was defending its takeover of Bulb in the final session of a three-day judicial review at the Royal Court of Justice in London, which has involved three other Big Six suppliers – EON UK, Scottish Power and British Gas owner Centrica – alongside the government and administrators Teneo.

The case is between the government and the three rival energy firms, but Octopus contributed to proceedings today as an interested party.

Octopus’ takeover of Bulb was finally greenlit in court last year … Read More

London City airport will become the UK’s first to scrap restrictions on travelling with liquids — and in time for the Easter holidays.

Airport bosses said all four of its security scanners will be upgraded to new-generation CT machines, similar to those used in hospitals, by the end of March. The move will allow passengers to take up to two litres of liquids through security in their hand luggage. There will also be no need to remove laptops from bags.

It was revealed in November that ministers were poised to announce the scrapping of all rules on liquids and hand luggage once the CT security machines were in place at airports.

Major airports in the UK have been given a deadline of June 2024 to install the technology, which produces a high-resolution 3D scan of passengers’ bags and allows operators to inspect luggage from every angle. Older machines produce only a 2D image.

City airport, in London’s Docklands, has introduced the machines more than a year ahead of deadline. People failing to remove items from their bags or travelling with large bottles of liquids and creams is the biggest cause of delays at airport security.

“The good news for anyone … Read More