The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has given UK businesses an extra 6 months to reach compliance with the new Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) rules for payment processing.

What Are The SCA Rules?

The SCA rules, introduced in 2019, are intended to the improve security of payments and limit fraud by making sure that whoever requests access to a person’s account or tries to make a payment, is the account holder or someone to whom the account holder has given consent.

These new rules, which come from the EU Payments Services Directive (PSD2), which came into effect in January 2018, mean that online payments of more than €50 will need two methods of authentication from the person making the payment e.g. password, fingerprint (biometric) or a phone number. This also means that online customers will not be able to check out using just a credit or debit card but will also need an additional form of identification.

Card Present

For normal ‘card present’ situations (not online) contactless will still be OK for ‘low value’ transactions of less than €50 at point-of-sale and Chip and PIN will still be suitable for values above €50.

Recurring Payments Exempt

Where a recurring payment of the same value is being made from a card to the same merchant e.g. subscriptions and memberships, the initial set up will require authentication, but subsequent transactions will be exempt.

Put Back

The first deadline for the implementation of the SCA rules was 14th September 2019 but this was put back by 18 months.

While the deadline for the implementation of SCA is still 31st December 2020 in the rest of the European Economic Area (EEA), in the UK, the FCA has now announced that, in order to help merchants who have been severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis the enforcement of SCA has now been delayed until 14th September 2021.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Most businesses would agree that high levels of online fraud are bad for everyone and just reduce consumer confidence, so if the introduction of new improved payment security measures can reduce fraud this will be helpful.  The COVID-19 crisis has, however, hit businesses very hard and for many, it’s been a case of simply trying to keep the business going, let alone worry about how they can comply with new payment rules in time.  This latest extension is, therefore, good news and should lessen the burden on merchants as the lockdown is lifted and the country tries to find the new normal in a post-COVID business environment.

Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc (Google) have both announced that they will not use GPS location tracking as part of the COVID-19 contact tracing app that they both jointly developing.

Apps

With contact-tracing and testing believed to be vital components in an effective strategy for stopping the spread of the highly infectious COVID-19 virus, both Apple and Google have said they would work together to make a COVID-19 contact tracing app for public health authorities to use that can notify people who have been near others who have tested positive for the virus.

No To GPS Data

Whilst the preferred, official (government) method for the operation of other such apps is to use both the Bluetooth signals from phones to detect encounters coupled with GPS location data, both Apple and Google have opted not to use GPS data in order to prevent governments from using such a system to compile data on citizens.

Workarounds

The decision by Apple and Google will mean that contact tracing systems will require public health authorities that want to access GPS location to find less stable and potentially battery-draining, Bluetooth-sensor workarounds.

The UK App

The new contact tracing app for the UK, which looks likely to be launched in the next couple of weeks will use Bluetooth but won’t, for the time being, use GPS signals, although it is thought that a system of monitoring location data may be used later as a voluntary opt-in.

Mobility Data

Even though GPS data will not be used in the Google/Apple app, Apple has announced that it is releasing a mobility data trends tool that may provide insights to local governments and health authorities by showing the change in volume of people driving, walking or taking public transit in their communities. Maps does not associate mobility data with a user’s Apple ID, and Apple says that it does not keep a history of where a user has been.

Versions This Week

It is thought that early versions of the Apple/Google collaboration contact tracing app will be released this week and in the coming months, both Google and Apple will make a broader Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

News of how well testing and contact tracing have worked in places like South Korea (with the use of an app) and in Vietnam (with local contact tracing staff – who have effectively shut down the virus), have reinforced the decisions by European governments to use contact-tracing apps. There have been objections to a centralised approach in France, and concerns generally in different countries that these apps, especially with location data, could infringe upon civil liberties and privacy. It is, of course, good to see that Google and Apple (as you would expect) want to (and want to be seen to) protect privacy, and that they are prepared to collaborate and pool resources for the common good.  The success of contact tracing apps does, however, depend upon levels of testing in the population, to which the UK has come late to the game, and on the number of people who download and use the app.  In other countries, for example, app user numbers have been lower than expected.

In the UK, the Isle of Wight is currently the testing ground for the new contact-tracing app.  In reality, an app is likely to be an optional one of many tools that could be used to reduce any further spread of the current strain of the virus and in doing so, allow people to get back to work, thereby improving the situation for UK businesses.

A state of lockdown has increased our reliance on technology as a way to help us meet our needs, and here are some of the many ways that technology can help us to actually reduce stress and help us look after our mental health in these challenging times.

Apps

There’s a wide variety of apps that can help occupy the mind, relieve stress and anxiety, and help in the fight against common mental health complaints such as depression.  The types of apps that could help include:

– Meditation apps.  A break in routine, being able to go out less (thereby getting less access to daylight), perhaps drinking more alcohol and general worry has meant increased stress, higher anxiety levels and worse sleep for many people during the lockdown. Apps that offer guided meditation instructions can help breathing and help improve the ability to relax and to sleep properly.

– Chat apps and digital socialising apps can help re-enforce feelings of safety and normality, as well as provide the kinds of interaction that is missing due to social distancing and lockdown.

– Hobby apps and the Facebook hobby tracking app. These apps can tap into our creativity, keep us in touch with what we enjoy and with what provides known positive reinforcement and rewards.

– Fitness and weight loss apps.  Not having the freedom or circumstances to allow normal daily exercise has seen many people turn to fitness and weight loss apps which, if followed can help to reduce stress and maintain good feelings about ‘self-image’.

– Mental health apps.  For those who already have mental health challenges or for those who are finding the lockdown and its effects challenging to their emotional and mental wellbeing, the NHS provides several mental health apps.  See https://www.nhs.uk/apps-library/category/mental-health/

Physical Exercise and Fitness Tech

Outdoor tech such as fitness monitoring bracelets/watches have become more valuable as the range of sports that people can take part in outdoors has been dramatically reduced, and simple walking, running and cycling have become more popular than ever.

Of course, one of the best ways to tackle lockdown stress, for those who are able is physical exercise such as walking, running, cycling, dancing, and Yoga.

Real-world ways to help with relaxation and reducing stress include gardening (if you are lucky enough to have some garden space), art and crafts, playing music and chatting with friends, and although our technology can’t provide all aspects of these, it can provide elements of these experiences.

Online Platforms

Those who are able to work from home using remote, collaborative working and video conference platforms e.g. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype, Facebook Messenger and Slack can have many different needs met such as interaction, the safety, security and distraction provided by still working without the stress of worrying constantly about contamination, thanks to being able to work at home in a safe, controlled environment.

Other online platforms that have provided a release from stress, positive social proof and humour, information and sessions relating to hobbies and interests plus appealing to the human bias for intermittent and novel rewards include Google’s YouTube, Facebook, and other social media channels.

Computer Games

A 2015 study (Amanda Roy, Christopher J Ferguson) found that computer games/video games that encourage competitive and cooperative gameplay reduce stress.

Also, in February, ‘Psychology Today’ highlighted 5 ways in which video games can help with stress and mindfulness.  These include being able to put the brain on autopilot and thereby deliver a kind of meditation, providing a break from the challenges of real life, enabling an expression of freedom and creativity, prompting the release of dopamine (the so-called ‘happy chemical’), and providing a social environment where connections can be made and social interaction can be experienced between a group of ‘like-minded’ people.

Selective and Moderate Use

Some argue for less technology. Selective and moderate use of technology during the lockdown period could be most beneficial for mental and emotional well-being.  Continually visiting social media and watching news bulletins that repeat negative and frightening news stories (virus death counts) can increase stress, anxiety, and negative feelings.  This can also lead to ‘catastrophising’.  It is also advisable to seek news from more objective and reliable sources in order to maintain context and proportion.

Looking Forward

Our phones continue to be an important tool for managing our lives in the modern world, and the kinds of apps and platforms that we can access via many different devices have proved to be important in suggesting and providing ways that can help us retain a healthy and mental and emotional state.

The fact that our technology (e.g. collaborative working platforms) has allowed around 40% of people to work and interact with colleagues while being able to keep safe at home has been one important way that technology has helped, and will continue to help decrease stress and provide some hope in dark times.  There are very few effective substitutes for feelings of safety, freedom and being able to take real physical exercise in the real world, although many people have turned to increased amounts of digital entertainment, taking good breaks and keeping screen-time down is a healthy practice anyway, but now more so than ever.

Looking forward, technology in the form of a contact tracing app in the UK could provide feelings of re-assurance (if it proves popular) as we all face more uncertainty when lockdown restrictions are eased and we have to move forward safely in a still delicate, pre-vaccine environment.

Delivery robots from U.S.-based company Starship Technologies have come into their own during the lockdown as a way of delivering food to the residents and workers of Milton Keynes.

First Commercial Deployment in the UK

The autonomous robot delivery Service operated by Starship Technologies is the first commercial deployment in the UK, and since the beginning of March, has allowed Milton Keynes residents in the delivery area to get cooked food and small orders from supermarkets without having to leave the house.

Starship Technologies

Starship Technologies was founded back in 2014 by co-founders of Skype, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, who were joined 4 years later by Lex Bayer from Airbnb.

Test Deliveries Started in 2018

Starship first announced that it would be starting a robot food delivery service in Milton Keynes back in April 2018 where it had already partnered with Co-op in order to deliver groceries. At the time, as part of tests of the service, customers in the Milton Keynes area covered by the delivery services could pay a monthly subscription of £7.99 for an unlimited number of deliveries to an address of their choice, with the service operated via a phone app.

In January 2019 Starship Technologies launched a delivery service using the same kind of robots that are now being used in Milton Keynes UK in George Mason University campus in Virginia, USA.

The Robots

The self-driving, six-wheeled delivery robots, which have multiple cameras, ultrasound sensors, radar, and GPS, can identify pedestrians and other obstacles as they make their way along pavements to their target destination.

The robots can carry items within a 4-mile (6km) radius, move at pedestrian speed, weigh no more than 100 pounds, and have a mechanically locked cargo bay that can only be opened by the recipient with their smartphone app.

The robot’s progress on its delivery route can be monitored via the phone app so customers know when to expect their delivery.

Popular With Younger Customers

The company is reported as saying that its robot food deliveries in Milton Keynes have been particularly popular with younger customers and that the lockdown situation has added to what was already a huge surge in demand when the service was first trialled 2 years ago.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Starship Technologies have been building up this service for two years before launch, plus they have some months of commercial experience after running the service on a U.S. university campus. The coronavirus lockdown, however, has meant that more people have been prepared to try the service and have perhaps realised the benefits of speed, simplicity, and relatively low cost, as well as the reduced risk of being able to order from home.  Although it may be predominantly younger people at the moment, and the closure of other food outlets coupled with pressure on companies like Deliveroo have helped boost the demand for Starship’s service generally, robot deliveries do appear to be well placed to take advantage of an opportunity and need in the marketplace for certain quantities and could provide a useful delivery service small businesses in their areas of operation. Post lockdown, their popularity looks set to continue in population centres where road traffic congestion is a problem, and/or on UK university campuses perhaps. Automation and autonomous vehicles look set to play a part in the new ‘normal’, albeit a relatively small but novel and environmentally friendly one to start with.

Matthew Gould, chief executive of the National Health Service’s technology group NHSX has announced that a COVID-19 contact-tracing app for the UK could be ready “in the next couple of weeks”.

Bluetooth, Short-Range

Most countries in Europe that have chosen to use contact-tracing apps at some point have opted for a short-range Bluetooth “handshake” between mobile device options in order to identify a potential contact, although this method does not provide location data.

The new UK contact-tracing app will let people know if they have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The app will use the same short-range, Bluetooth method as other similar apps and is currently reported to be the subject of a rapid testing programme. How the new app performs in the tests will determine how it is deployed, but it looks likely that the app will become an important tool as the UK starts to come out of lockdown.

Criticism

The announcement of UK’s app has already drawn criticism from some tech commentators who have expressed concerns that the app’s reliance on Bluetooth could negatively affect its accuracy, performance, and security.

Contact-Tracing and Self Quarantine Apps Being Used Elsewhere

Contact-tracing and self-quarantine apps are already being used in other countries. These include:

– Singapore’s ‘TraceTogether’ app. This app uses location data and Bluetooth and once on a user’s phone, the app records when that user goes near another person who has the TraceTogether app. This proximity data is stored on the user’s phone and can be requested for analysis with the user’s permission. The TraceTogether app is also used by the Singapore government to send out updates to citizens via WhatsApp twice a day containing information such as the number of cases, suspected locations of outbreaks, and advice for avoiding infection.

– South Korea’s “self-quarantine safety protection” app and “Corona 100m app”. The “self-quarantine safety protection” app from the country’s ‘Ministry of the Interior and Safety’ is used by central and local governments to send out real-time alerts via text message and the “Corona 100m app” which has been downloaded more than 1 million times and alerts users if they breach a 100-metre (328 ft) radius of the latest tracked whereabouts of a coronavirus patient.

France and Germany

France is opting for a centralised approach for its “StopCovid” app project i.e. storing the personal data of volunteers’ Bluetooth logs on a central server and not on individual devices. However, the app is currently the subject of arguments over civil liberties and privacy.

Germany has decided to use an app with a decentralised, Apple-Google-style approach i.e. logging contacts on individual devices rather than a central server. It is believed that this will make it easier for health authorities to contact users and give advice on the best course of action to them if they are found to be at risk.

Testing

Knowing whether someone has had COVID-19 can only really be established with testing. Tests in the UK, however, are only really getting underway now and this means that the app is only likely to be of real use further down the line when more people have been tested.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Businesses will now be thinking about the many ways that they can resume work safely as lockdown rules are relaxed, and many different tools and options may currently be under consideration e.g. changed work layouts and practices to accommodate social distancing, the possible use of thermographic cameras (temperature detection) and other tools such as apps. Just as technology has helped to enable remote, collaborative working, tech tools such as contact-tracing apps are, therefore, likely to be one of many things that can contribute to the country and businesses moving forward prior to the introduction of any effective vaccination programmes or treatments that can seriously limit the most severe symptoms of the COVID-19 virus. For the time being, social distancing is still the central focus of the strategy for all to keep as safe as possible.