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Mastercard to stop issuing cards with Magnetic Strip

Financial Service Company, Mastercard have disclosed that it will stop issuing cards with magnetic strip and will instead opt for strip-less cards from 2024.

According to the company; by 2033, none of its credit OR debit cards will have a strip.

Many banks in various regions including Europe will be able to issue the strip-less cards three years from now.

Mastercard stated that chip-and-pin and new biometric cards that makes use of fingerprints offer greater security. According to the financial service company; the global acceptance level of chip-and-pin was such that it was now the right time to begin phasing out the magnetic strip.

Mastercard claims they will be the first payment network to phase out the technology.

The magnetic strip started in the 1960s as an IBM project to create identity cards for staff of the CIA.

Npower shuts down App following exposure of Customers' Bank Details

Energy supplying company, Npower has been forced to shut down its application before due time following an attack which saw some of its customers' financial and personal details exposed.

Details such as birth dates, addresses, partial bank account numbers and more were believed to be among the details stolen in the attack.

Npower disclosed that the affected accounts had been locked despite not revealing the exact number of accounts that were affected by the breach.

According to the energy firm, it identified suspicious activity affecting its mobile app where someone tried to access customer accounts via login stolen from another website which it described as 'credential stuffing'.

Npower also added that it had contacted all affected customers to notify them of the breach and encourage them to change their password as well as offer advice on how to prevent unauthorized access to their online account.

Action Fraud has advised customers to beware of potential phishing emails and to also monitor their bank accounts for suspicious activities.

Bitcoin rises to record $50,000

Popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has just hit a new record after rising to a record-high of more than $50,000 (£36,000). This latest development means that Bitcoin has now risen above 72% in 2021, maintaining its status as the most expensive cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin which was created by an unknown inventor alongside other cryptocurrencies are generated by computers which means part of its supposed value is obtained from the finite number that can be computed. However, regulators have warned the public of how risky these cryptocurrencies can be owing to the fact that their value can change rapidly both upwards & downwards.

Bitcoin's growth to its record-high comes after world's richest man, Elon Musk's electric car company, Tesla had bought $1.5bn worth of the cryptocurrency, stating that it would begin accepting them as payment for its cars in the nearest future.

Following the purchase by Tesla, Bitcoin's value rose to a then record-high of $44,000 before rising to $50,000 this week.

Financial watchdogs, FCA have issued a stern warning to investors in cryptoassets, stating that these investors should be prepared to lose all their funds should the investment's value collapse.