EMEA Daily: Barclaycard Payments Joins BT to Offer Benefits to UK Microbusinesses; Virtual Surgery Firm Raises $20M

In today’s news from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Barclaycard Payments has joined the BT partnership network to help grow U.K. small businesses, and London’s FundamentalVR, which lets surgeons experience simulated procedures, has raised $20 million in venture capital.

Barclaycard Payments Joins BT to Offer Benefits to UK Microbusinesses

Barclaycard Payments has reportedly joined up with the BT partnership network in a bid to help U.K. small businesses grow, according to PYMNTS.

The network will see the British telecommunications provider helping micro-businesses with up to five employees, to help boost business growth.

The company also wants to look into helping out with customer experiences.

This also comes as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which offers advice and financial expertise, joined BT’s initiative recently, too.

Virtual Surgery Firm Raises $20M

Meanwhile, London’s FundamentalVR has raised $20 million in venture capital.

The company’s platform helps surgeons experience simulated procedures in a controlled environment.

The new funds will reportedly help with technology development and U.S. expansion, the company said.

FundamentalVR Co-founder and Chief Executive Richard Vincent said the platform will be able to ”conduct a walkthrough of a procedure through to a full operation, facilitating surgical skills transfer — which is why we have been enthusiastically embraced throughout the medical industry, from med-device manufacturers to pharmaceuticals.”

3 in 4 Brits Don’t Use Smartphones to Check Prices, Inventory In-Store

In other news, Britain, which is the unofficial fintech capital of Europe, has been lagging on important aspects of the digital shift such as mobile-assisted shopping and digital payments.

A PYMNTS and Cybersource collaboration, the 2022 Global Digital Shopping Playbook, has found that U.K. merchants are deficient in many digital features making omnichannel shopping a new experience for customers.

PYMNTS wrote that the mobile wallet use in the U.K. has been low, with only 5% of local customers paying for their most recent purchase through that, with 1% doing it through PayPal.

UN Agency: Crypto Adoption Threatens Developing Countries

Finally, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said crypto could threaten the monetary sovereignty of developing countries, including the ability to collect needed taxes.

That came with the recommendation that a remedy should include a global coordination of taxes on crypto.

“To improve taxpayer compliance rates and combat tax evasion, tax authorities should clearly define the legal status of cryptocurrencies and require crypto exchanges, e-wallet providers and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms to report gross inflows and outflows on all business and personal accounts,” the announcement stated.

For all PYMNTS EMEA coverage, subscribe to the daily EMEA Newsletter.