The European Banking Authority (EBA) has advised European lawmakers and the union’s national financial regulators that they should recommend banks and other payment institutions to stay out of dealings with Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.

"EBA has already notified consumers upon no legal guarantees regarding Bitcoin and, recently, stated that digital currencies bear contingent risks which require proper legislation."

"EBA has listed no less than 70 risks associated with the use of digital currencies. They range from “User is unable to access VCs after losing passwords/key to their e-wallet” and “Market participants suffer losses through information inequality regarding other actors” to “Criminals are able to launder proceeds of crime because they can deposit/transfer VCs anonymously.”"

"Bitcoin will become a global payment platform only when governments and regulators will find the synergy between the traditional banking sector and the digital currencies."

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In an attempt to control frauds in electronic payments, banks have started using analytics to stop suspicious transactions.

"Out-of-the-way transaction could get declined if the client does not respond to a phone call or a message immediately."

"Financial institutions such as HDFC Bank have already implemented analytics software. In banking transactions, banks can ask the customer for additional information to verify the transaction if it is undertaken on a different computer. But in the case of card payments, banks have to rely on direct contact with the customer."

"The analytics software can be used to personalize services for customers. There are two kinds of fraud detection in payments: one is during the transaction and the other is using analytics to identify suspicious transactions based on past behaviour."

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52% of financial companies reimburse customer losses caused by internet fraud, without actually investigating the circumstances.

"Almost one third of companies believe the costs incurred by cyber threats are less than the cost of protection."

"This results in many organizations that work with online payments being prepared to accept the additional costs that arise from cyber-attacks. Findings reveal that 28% of the representatives from financial companies and 32% of the online store employees that answered the survey believe that the total losses from online crime do not exceed the costs of deploying security solutions. Only 19% of financial companies and 7% of online marketplaces disagree, stating that the cost of reimbursing customer losses is one of the most serious consequences of cyber-fraud."

"57% of users pay little to no attention to the security of their online payments, believing that all the necessary measures are taken by their bank."

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Bridge Community Farms has received a £15k donation from Wates Construction Ltd, one of the largest building and construction companies in the UK. Wates has also pledged a further £10k in early 2015, which will be used to cover some of the salary costs for the new Farm Manager at BCF. 

Francis Ball, director at Bridge Community Farms, said: “We are hugely grateful to Wates Construction Ltd for this kind donation. Bridge Community Farms relies on the support of local businesses and individuals and these donations will help us fulfil our goal of changing lives for the better in Cheshire.”

Nearly half of adult internet users in Poland said they banked on a mobile device.

"According to results from March 2014, this was the third-highest percentage out of the countries studied, trailing only Turkey (56%) and the Netherlands (50%) and tying with Spain (48%)."

"April 2014 study found that users in Poland were accessing mobile banking frequently: 82.7% of tablet owners reported banking via such a device at least once per week, and 84.4% of smartphone users said the same."

"Around half of those groups used a mobile device several times per week to conduct banking—the most popular frequency. Still, nearly one-quarter of respondents reported banking on a smartphone every day—the second-highest frequency for that device."

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