We all use apps on a daily basis, but if you’d like to know which apps are the most useful for small business, here is a list of the top 25 that could help you:
Go to: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/small-business/20-apps-small-business-owners/
News
Which? Survey Reveals Best & Worst Online Retailers
The results of a new survey by consumer watchdog ‘Which?’ has revealed the UK’s best and worst online retailers, according to the experiences of 10,000 Which? members over 6 months.
Homebase, Red Face…In a Bad Place
Unfortunately for Homebase, which is currently undergoing a restructuring that will involve 42 store closures, their online store was ranked lowest with a score of 55%. The low score was mainly due to users saying that navigation was difficult and that the online shop didn’t always provide up-to-date information.
Near The Bottom
Other companies just ahead of Homebase, but still near the bottom of the online retail pile according to the survey were Sports Direct and Dorothy Perkins with 61%, DIY retail giant B&Q with 62%, WHSmith.co.uk with 63%, and JDSports.co.uk also with 63%.
Liz Earle Top
At the other end of the scale, Liz Earle’s online store was voted top with an impressive 94% satisfaction rating, closely followed by RicherSounds.com, Rohan.co.uk, SeasaltCornwall.co.uk, and WexPhotoVideo.com, all with 93%.
Best Big Retailers
The best of the big retailers to make it into the top 10 online favourites were JohnLewis.com in sixth place with a 90% satisfaction score and Dyson.co.uk just behind in seventh place with 89%.
The full tables of best and worst retailers can only be viewed online at the Which? website by Which? members, although many media outlets have published the key elements of the results.
Factors
The factors that the numerous online shops were rated on were based on the experience of Which? members as regards things like ease of navigation and other experiences of the online shop itself such as price, product range, deliveries, quality and the returns process.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
ONS figures show that online sales accounted for 17.4% of all retailing in the first quarter of this year, and as such it is a vital component in modern retail success stories. Online shopping offers consumers convenience, speed, a wider choice of products than the physical store, and often better prices, particularly when you factor in the money saved by not paying for travel to the store. There is also a general perception that goods are cheaper online, even if that’s not always the case. With Black Friday and Christmas shopping online ahead, these results are significant for both the retailers and the consumers. For retailers that had low scores, the results (not the publicity surrounding the results) may even be a good thing in helping them to make changes to their online stores that could increase sales.
The results and customer satisfaction tables from this survey serve to illustrate that being able to offer personal service, quality items, being able to give customers exactly what they want, and offering a good delivery service are very important, and these are areas where smaller, specialised retailers can often win.
Apple Offers Free Repairs For iPhone X and MacBook Problems
Apple Inc. is reported to be offering free repairs / replacements for problems relating to screen touch issues on the iPhone X and data loss and storage drive failures in 13-inch MacBook Pro computers.
iPhone X Problems
The offer of free fixes in the iPhone X handset, which was only released last November and was superseded by the iPhone XS (and XR) in September, relate to user complaints that that their phones were making unprompted, random clicking noises, or simply stopped responding. Apple has put the problems of intermittently not responding / reacting when it wasn’t touched down to problems with a display module component on the £999 iPhone X handset. As such, Apple has said that customers are entitled to a free screen replacement, and that any customers who have already paid for the replacement can have refund.
MacBook Pro Problems
In the case of 13-inch MacBook Pro computers sold between June 2017 and June 2018, Apple has acknowledged that there was a problem with a limited number of 128GB and 256GB solid-state drives which may have led to data loss and failure of those storage drives. Apple has said on its website that Apple or an Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP) will service any affected drives, free of charge, that Apple recommends having any affected drives serviced as soon as possible, and that Apple will send an email to customers who registered their device with the company. More information about this issue can be found here: https://www.apple.com/support/13-inch-macbook-pro-solid-state-drive-service-program/
Keyboard Replacements Back In June
It was only back in June this year that Apple offered free repairs or replacements for the butterfly keyboard on its MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops after some users complained about letters or characters repeating unexpectedly, letters or characters not appearing, and keys feeling ‘sticky’ or not responding in a consistent manner.
Battery Woes
You may also remember the publicity Back in 2017 when Apple apologised for intentionally slowing down older iPhones (Phone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE and iPhone 7 models), perhaps with a view to encouraging upgrades. Also, Apple made the news earlier this year when leaking vapours from damaged iPad batteries relating to small-scale problems with the iPhone battery replacement programme caused some stores to be temporarily evacuated.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Apple’s iPhone X only lasted a year, even though it was replaced by a handset that wasn’t too different from it (on the surface). At least only a sample of one-year’s-worth of buyers are likely to need the replacement / repair service. It’s good that Apple is offering the repair / replacement for what is a relatively expensive product for many people, and this may go some way to maintaining generally positive perceptions of (and trust in) Apple and help to re-build trust after the battery-slowing admission. Similarly, offering to repair the problems with some 13-inch MacBook Pros sends a positive message that will benefit Apple as well as those affected. The tech giant is also likely to be conscious that it is about to re-introduce old favourites like the iPad Pro and Mac Book with new features and higher prices to match, so eliminating problems and clearing the way with some goodwill and good publicity can’t be a bad thing.
Blockchain To Stop Counterfeit Disk-Drive Products
Data storage solutions company Seagate Technology (Seagate), and IBM are reported to be working together and using blockchain and advanced cryptographic product identification technology to reduce disk-drive product counterfeiting.
What’s The Problem?
The problem for Seagate and other manufacturers, integrators, and business partners is the problem of counterfeit hard disk drives (HDDs) being made available for sale online. For example, these are usually sub-standard counterfeit drives, or old drives that have been re-labelled with false claims of higher speed and greater capacity.
The scale of the counterfeiting problem faced by electronics companies is illustrated by International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition figures which show that global trade in counterfeit and pirated electronic products is now worth more than US $1.7 Trillion!
What Is Blockchain and How Can It Help?
Blockchain, the open-source, free technology behind crypto-currencies like Bitcoin, is an incorruptible peer-to-peer network (a kind of ledger) that allows multiple parties to transfer value in a secure and transparent way. Blockchain’s Co-Founder Nic Carey describes blockchain as being like “a big spreadsheet in the cloud that anyone can use, but no one can erase or modify”.
IBM has considerable blockchain expertise and powered by the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Fabric distributed ledger framework, IBM’s Blockchain Platform on the IBM Cloud enables network participants to append and view blockchain data.
The collaboration with IBM means that whenever Seagate manufactures a hard drive, it will update the IBM blockchain platform with product authentication data which will include each Seagate Secure Electronic ID (eID). This is a kind of electronic fingerprint that can verify the identity of a hard drive at any time during its product life cycle. Also, Seagate will use cryptographic erasure technology (Certified Erase) to electronically sign the drive using Seagate Secure public key infrastructure (PKI), and this data will also be added to IBM’s blockchain platform.
With all this unique product-identifying data stored in secure and incorruptible blockchain on IBM’s cloud, technology vendors, service providers and end users will (depending on the permission they have) be able to check a disk-drive product’s provenance on the blockchain.
The Results
The hope is, of course, that by being able to provide an indisputable record of events, from manufacturing through to end-of-life for Seagate’s products, this should reduce data loss, cut warranty costs, go some way towards tackling the counterfeiting problem, and improve customer confidence.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
This is another example of how businesses are only just beginning to realise the potential of blockchain and what it can offer. Blockchain has so far proven itself to be particularly useful in applications where authentication, provenance, and proof of different aspects of a supply chain are needed. For example, an IBM-based blockchain ledger has been used to record data about wine certification, ownership and storage history, and blockchain has been used to record the temperature of sensitive medicines being transported from manufacturers to hospitals in hot climates. It makes sense, therefore, that blockchain could be an ideal solution in the fight against counterfeiting of electrical and other products and items.
VMware recently joined Microsoft and other companies in offering a blockchain-as-a-service product to companies.
Facial Recognition For Border Control
It has been reported that the UK Home Office will soon be using biometric facial recognition technology in a smartphone app to match a user’s selfie against the image read from a user’s passport chip as a means of self-service identity verification for UK border control.
Dutch & UK Technology
The self-service identity verification ‘enrolment service’ system uses biometric facial recognition technology that was developed in partnership with WorldReach Software, and immigration and border management company, with support from (Dutch) contactless document firm ReadID.
Flashmark By iProov
Flashmark technology, which will be used provide the biometric matching of a user’s selfie against the image read from a user’s passport chip, was developed by a London-based firm called iProov. The idea behind it is to be able to prove that the person presenting themselves at the border for verification is genuinely the owner of an ID credential and not a photo, screen image, recording or doctored video.
Flashmark works by using a sequence of colours to illuminate a person’s face and the reflected light is analysed to determine whether the real face matches the image being presented.
iProov is a big name in the biometric border-control technology world, having won the 2017 National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Den competition at CyberUK, and winning a contract from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program. In fact, iProov was the first British and non-US company to be awarded a contract by the DHS to enable travellers to use self-service of document checks at border crossing points.
Smartphone App
The new smartphone-based digital identity verification app from iProov has been developed to help support applications for The EU Settlement Scheme. This is the mechanism for resident EU citizens, their family members, and the family members of certain British citizens, to apply on a voluntary basis for the UK immigration status which they will need to remain in the UK beyond the end of the planned post-exit implementation period on 31 December 2020.
It is believed that the smartphone app will help the UK Home Office to deliver secure, easy-to-use interactions with individuals.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Accurate and secure, automated biometric / facial recognition and identification / i.d. verification systems have many business applications and are becoming more popular. For example, iProov’s technology is already used by banks (ING in the Netherlands) and governments around the world, and banks such Barclays already uses voice authentication for telephone banking customers.
Biometrics are already used by the UK government. For example, in the biometric residence permit (BRP) system, those planning to stay longer than 6 months, or apply to settle in the UK need a biometric permit. This permit includes details such as name, date and place of birth, a scan of the applicant’s fingerprints and a digital photo of the applicant’s face (this is the biometric information), immigration status and conditions, and information about access public funds (benefits and health services).
Many people are already used to using some biometric element as security on their mobile device e.g. facial recognition, fingerprint, or even Samsung’s iris scanner on its Note ‘phablet’. Using a smartphone-based i.d. verification app for border purposes is therefore not such a huge step, and many of us are used to having our faces scanned and matched with our passports anyway as part UK border control’s move towards automation.
Smartphone apps have obvious cost and time savings as well as convenience benefits, plus biometrics provide a reliable and more secure verification system for services than passwords or paper documents. There are, of course, matters of privacy and security to consider, and as well as an obvious ‘big brother’ element, it is right that people should be concerned about where, and how securely their biometric details are stored.
Jail For Car Accident Data Thief
An employee at a vehicle accident repair centre who stole the data of customers and passed it to a company that made nuisance phone calls has been jailed for 6 months following an investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Used Former Co-Worker’s Login To Company Computer
The employee of Nationwide Accident Repair Services, Mustafa Kasim, used a former co-workers’ login details to access software on the company computer system (Audatex) that was used to estimate repair costs. The software also stored the personal data (names and phone numbers) of the owners of the vehicles, and it was the personal data of thousands of customers that Mr Kasim took without the company’s permission, and then passed on to a claims management company that made unsolicited phone calls to those people.
ICO Contacted
Mr Kasim was unmasked as the data thief after the Accident Repair Company noticed that several clients had made complaints that they were being targeted by nuisance calls, and this led to the decision to get the ICO involved.
During the investigation, it was discovered that Mr Kasim continued to take and pass on customer data even after he started a new job at a different car repair organisation which used the same Audatex software system.
First With A Prison Sentence
What makes this case so unusual is that it is the first prosecution to be brought by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under legislation which carries a potential prison sentence.
Computer Misuse Act
Even though the ICO would normally prosecute in this kind of case under the Data Protection Act 1998 or 2018 with penalties of fines rather than prison sentences, in the case of Mr Kasim it was judged that the nature and extent of the criminal behaviour required making a wider range of penalties available to the court. It was decided, therefore, that s.1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 would be used in the prosecution, and it was the offences under this that resulted in the 6-month prison sentence that Mr Kasim received.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Since preparing for GDPR, many companies have become much more conscious about the value of personal data, the importance of protecting customer data, and the possible penalties and consequences of failing to do so. In this case, the ICO acknowledged that reputational damage to affected companies whose data is stolen in this way can be immeasurable e.g. Nationwide Accident Repair Services and Audatex. The ICO also noted the anxiety and distress caused the accident repair company’s customers who received nuisance calls.
This case was also a way for the ICO to send a powerful message that obtaining and disclosing personal data without permission is something that will be taken very seriously, and that the ICO will push boundaries and be seen to use any tool at its disposal to protect the data protection rights of individuals. The case also serves as a reminder to businesses that looking at ways to provide the maximum protection of customer data and plug any loopholes is a worthwhile ongoing process, and that threats can come from within as well as from cyber criminals on the outside.
Fatal Security Flaws Discovered in Solid State Drives (SSDs)
Researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands have released a paper highlighting several security flaws that they’ve discovered in SSDs which mean that data from a flash disk can recovered in more than one way, even if it’s supposedly self-encrypted.
What Is An SSD?
An SSD is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies (memory chips on a circuit board with and In/Out interface to feed power and transfer data) as memory to store data persistently. Even though it doesn’t actually contain a physical disk, it is sometimes called a called solid-state disk.
Hardware Encryption Not Better Than Software Encryption
Whereas the popular belief is that AES encryption should stop you from accessing data on a disc that isn’t plugged in to its home system (encryption with SSD through ATA security and TCG Opal encryption methods) and that hardware encryption is similar to or better than software encryption, the findings of the research appear to disprove this.
Not Just Cheap Drives Vulnerable
The research looked at top-of-the-range drives including models by Crucial and Samsung, and found that only the T3 and T5 (external) drives remained secure, whereas the others were found to have fatal vulnerabilities, some to non-cryptographic hacking. Even BitLocker, the Microsoft encryption with each copy of Windows was found to be vulnerable. According to the research, vulnerabilities are such, across the range of vendors, that determined attackers could access data in many so-called encrypted drives without any keys or passwords.
Vulnerable to a Range Attack Methods
Through the reverse-engineering of the firmware of a sample of SSDs, the researchers were able to discover a number of vulnerabilities in self-encrypting SSDs that can leave them open to a range of attacks and exploits. These could include attackers seizing full control of the CPU, corrupting memory, and cracking default passwords, thereby bypassing a custom password set by a user.
Example
The researchers provided a case study of how an attacker could try to breach a locked Crucial MX300 drive with encryption via TCG Opal. The case study outlines how an attacker could install modified firmware that includes read/write capabilities, and then, if encryption is performed via TCG Opal, write executable code to bypass several layers of security, and thereby access the precious data.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
The discovery by the researchers shows that hardware-based encryption is far less secure than businesses may have thought and that hardware-based full-disk encryption may not, in fact, be a more secure alternative to software-based methods. Also, it seems that the security flaws are in leading products across multiple vendors.
Businesses may, therefore, be best advised not to rely solely on hardware encryption as offered by SSDs for confidentiality. In fact, it may be better to also employ an open source, audited, software full-disk encryption solution.
As well as alerting businesses to the risks of relying solely on the apparently flawed hardware encryption offered by SSDs, this story should surely make vendors take another close look at their SSD products and how the security of them can be improved.
IBM Security Expert Says Prepare For Quantum
As businesses come to realise that they may be required to store some data for decades, encrypted data should be secure well beyond its useful life, and with this in mind, security architect for Benelux at IBM, Christiane Peters, is suggesting that businesses should start preparing now to implement post-quantum data protection.
Post What?
The suggestion is that, in a relatively short time, quantum computers will be commercially available. One threat from this could be that quantum computers in criminal hands could be used to try and crack encrypted business data. For example, in the US, the National Security Agency (NSA) warned back in 2015 that progress in quantum computing was at such a point that organisations should deploy encryption algorithms that can withstand such attacks from quantum computers.
The encryption algorithms that can stand up to attacks from quantum computers are known by several names including post-quantum cryptography / quantum-proof cryptography, and quantum-safe / quantum-resistant cryptographic (usually public-key) algorithms.
What’s The Problem?
Ultimately, with technology advancing at such a rapid rate and with organisations needing to keep some data for long periods of time, there is the risk that even though this sensitive data is stored in secure encrypted formats now, this encryption could be cracked in the not-too-distant future by cyber-criminals with access to commercial supercomputers. Being able to crack encryption could mean encrypted data could no longer be safe even if it is stolen. For example, this could mean that encrypted data lost / stolen in a breach this year could be accessed in the future. Indeed, it is known that some data is being stolen today with this in mind.
How To Prepare Now For Quantum Computer Risk
Christiane Peters is reported as suggesting that ways in which companies could prepare to counter the encryption code-cracking risk posed by the ability of cyber-criminals to use commercially available quantum computers include:
- Developing / updating crypto policies.
- Creating an inventory of all systems and applications using cryptography.
- Classifying data and mapping data flows.
- Creating an enterprise-specific outlook and timeline for quantum safe crypto.
Developing a Post-Quantum Implementation Strategy
Understanding that encryption is just one way to protect data, combining other capabilities with encryption will help overall cyber resilience over time. For example, companies could also focus on certificate management, mobile device management, application scanning, data loss prevention, security incident response, access control, data classification and digital forensics.
Personal Data Protection Could Pay Off In The Long Term
Christiane Peters, commenting on the findings of a Ponemon Institute study, has also pointed out that, as well as preparing for the security of cryptography in the post-quantum era, businesses that are able to focus on data protection could, by investing in security and encryption now, reap the benefits in the longer term. For example, the report shows that the average cost saving with extensive use of encryption is $13 per data record.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
What the experts appear to be saying is that even though the use of robust, high-assurance encryption technologies may make the decrypting of protected data impossible in the short-term, this may not always be the case. The power of super-computers may mean that, quite soon, criminals may be able to crack encryption codes. In order to ensure that sensitive company data, particularly personal data is safe in the longer term, companies may want to start looking into ways that they can prepare for quantum data protection standards.
Environmentally Responsible Blockchain
At its conference in Barcelona, VMware (tech subsidiary of Dell Technologies and CO2 emission-reducing evangelist) has announced that it has introduced a beta version of blockchain-as-a-service.
Part of VMware Tools
According to VMware, the new blockchain-as-a-service product will be integrated into existing VMware tools and will provide permissioned blockchain for enterprise consortiums, which will be more secure than public blockchains.
What Is Blockchain?
Blockchain, the open-source, free technology behind crypto-currencies like Bitcoin, is an incorruptible peer-to-peer network (a kind of ledger) that allows multiple parties to transfer value in a secure and transparent way. Blockchain’s Co-Founder Nic Carey describes blockchain as being like “a big spreadsheet in the cloud that anyone can use, but no one can erase or modify”.
Why Blockchain-as-a-Service?
The BaaS market is likely to take off in a much bigger way because it offers enterprises the chance to deploy distributed ledgers without the cost or risk of deploying it in-house, and without needing to find in-house developers.
VMware has highlighted a need by financial customers to use a version of blockchain in a commercial environment that is secure and can be audited, and the way in which a blockchain service could be a way for organisations to run distributed ledgers efficiently.
VMware believes that the decentralised trust, enterprise-grade scalability, reliability, security and manageability, with the ability to deploy nodes across multiple cloud environments, (including on-premise) and a single management interface with enterprise monitoring and auditing tools will make its blockchain-as-a-service product attractive to businesses.
Why Environmentally Responsible?
VMware’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, has described the computational complexity of blockchain as being an “environmental crisis”, and the company is keen to point out that the virtualisation and server consolidation that VMware offers has reduced hundreds of tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Not The Only One
VMware is certainly not the only company in the race to get a blockchain-as-a-service product out to businesses. Microsoft was one of the first software vendors to offer BaaS on its Azure cloud platform as far back as 2015, and tech commentators have noted that Microsoft and many of the other big tech companies, including Amazon and Oracle, are now looking to make the most of the growing blockchain as a service (BaaS) market.
Real-World Blockchain Examples
The benefits of blockchain technology are already being in enjoyed by many companies, and some of the ways that it is currently being deployed include:
- Walmart’s pilots where the time it takes to trace a food item from shop to farm was reduced, through the use of blockchain, from 7 days to just 2.2 seconds.
- A pilot project between car-maker BMW and start-up Circulor with a view to eliminating battery minerals produced using child labour. In that project, blockchain is being used to help provide a way to prove that artisanal miners are not using child labour in their cobalt mining activities.
- Using the data on a blockchain ledger to record the temperature of sensitive medicines being transported from manufacturer to hospital in hot climates. The ‘incorruptible’ aspect of the blockchain data gives a clear record of care and responsibility along the whole supply chain.
- Using an IBM-based blockchain ledger to record data about wine certification, ownership and storage history. This has helped to combat fraud in the industry and has provided provenance and re-assurance to buyers.
- Shipping Company Maersk using a blockchain-based system for tracking consignments that addresses visibility and efficiency i.e. digitising a formerly paper-based process that involved multiple interactions.
- Start-up company ‘Electron’ building a blockchain-based system for sharing information between those involved in supplying energy which could speed up and simplify the supplier switching process. It may also be used for smart grid processes, such as local load-balancing of supply and demand.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
VMware is one of many big tech names that now want to make the most of a BaaS market, although VMware’s (currently beta) offering is targeted at enterprises in regulated industries. VMware has plenty of powerful support in this venture in the shape of partnering with Dell Technologies, Deloitte and WWT as well as having the advantage of IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions supporting VMware Blockchain.
Blockchain is growing in popularity as companies are able to see real examples of how it can be used save time and costs, provide fast and secure traceability, visibility and efficiency, and provide a real competitive advantage.
New App-Based Banking Platform For SMEs From NatWest
NatWest bank is reported to be testing a new app-based banking platform called ‘Mettle’ that combines banking with other business services, and is specifically aimed at the needs of SMEs.
Mettle – Independent From NatWest Bank
Mettle is the first standalone banking app to be launched by one of the UK’s big retail banking brands, and is described by Mettle as a “forward-looking business current account”.
The new SME-focused banking platform is to be run independently from NatWest, is not a bank but operates as an agent under an e-money licence held by PrePay Solutions, and is being developed in partnership with 11:FS and Capco.
The pilot of the new mobile-app based Mettle service has been rolled out to between 100 and 150 existing and new customers, and their feedback will be taken into account before a general roll-out to the public.
Why?
According to Alison Rose, CEO of commercial and private banking at NatWest, the premise for the Mettle banking app is that it will provide customers with data they can use to make business decisions and to let “customers focus on forward-looking finances, combining technology and proactive insights so that SMEs can make better decisions and run their businesses more successfully”.
Other reasons for introducing Mettle are that:
- Greater awareness of and trust in fintech (financial technology) in the market place, and rapidly advancing technology and a trend towards ‘mobile everything’ mean that traditional banks need to adapt to more customer-focused services, and feel that they can now diversify their offerings.
- Large banks such as NatWest need to head-off the threat of fast-growing challenger banks such as Monzo, Starling and Revolut.
About Mettle
Apart from the obvious convenience aspect of being able to use a mobile banking app, some of the key features that could make Mettle popular among SMEs are:
- The account is free and fast to open, and can be operated just using a mobile app and a debit card.
- Receipts can be added to customer transactions and expenses can be tracked straight from the phone.
- Customers can lock and unlock their card from their phone with a single tap.
- It offers other business tools to help SMEs stay on top of a current account.
- It offers SMEs a maximum balance of £50,000 and a maximum pay out of £10,000.
- Mettle has the backing of a big banking brand.
Limitations (many of which may be temporary due to it being at the pilot stage) include that Mettle:
- Offers no overdrafts or interest.
- Limits cash withdrawals to £500 a day and £4,000 a month.
- Is currently by invitation only (after interest has been registered online).
How To Open A Mettle Account
At the moment, opening a Mettle account involves going to www.mettle.co.uk, clicking on “register your interest” and entering your email when prompted. After this, Mettle will email you a list of questions to understand the nature of your business, and will let you know whether you can be part of the first group of users with early access.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
If you’re an SME, this kind of account could provide a much faster and more convenient way of operating and staying on top of your finances, and it has been designed specifically with the needs of SMEs in mind. It also offers other helpful business insights that a simple bank current account doesn’t and, therefore, could help SME business decision-making.
For the big banks, app-based systems enable them to keep up with consumer trends and needs, aid customer retention and with the attraction of new customers, and fight-off competition from the other big banks and fast-growing challenger banks.