Business & Technology
Ecommpay urges action on social media fraud for children
Ecommpay has urged the government to broaden its response on children and social media to include online fraud that begins on social platforms. The payments company argues that scams targeting young people often start long before any transaction reaches a financial provider.
The intervention followed the Prime Minister’s announcement on child safety online. Ecommpay said the public debate has focused too narrowly on harmful content and has not fully addressed how fraudsters reach young users through social media services.
Willem Wellinghoff, chief compliance officer at Ecommpay, said the financial sector regularly deals with the end result of scams that originate elsewhere. By the time a payment is attempted, he said, fraud and deception are often already under way.
“Ecommpay welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to deliver a ‘game-changer’ policy on children’s safety online. This is an important and overdue moment, and we strongly support any initiative that compels the major tech and social media platforms to take greater responsibility for the welfare of young people on their services.
“From our position in the financial ecosystem, however, we see something that the current debate does not yet fully capture: fraud and scams that eventually land on the financial services sector very often begin not at the point of payment, but far earlier, on social media. Young people are deliberately and systematically targeted by fraudsters and scammers through the very platforms now under scrutiny. By the time a victim reaches a financial transaction, the manipulation and deception have already taken place. The financial services sector is dealing with the consequences of harms that originate elsewhere in the chain.
“This is why we strongly urge government to ensure that the approach to online fraud does not sit solely within financial services regulation. The government’s own Fraud Strategy 2026-2029 rightly recognises the need for a system-wide, cross-sector response built on the pillars of disruption, safeguarding and effective enforcement, and we believe that spirit must now be applied directly to the social media environment in which so many fraud journeys begin.
“Protecting children from harmful content and protecting them from financial predators are not separate agendas. We call on government, regulators, the technology sector, society and the financial industry to collaborate far more actively on this issue, because no single sector can solve it alone. The tech giants must be part of that conversation and must be held to the same standards of duty of care that we in financial services are already expected to meet.”
Fraud pathway
Ecommpay’s position reflects a wider view within financial services that online fraud should be treated as a cross-sector issue rather than one confined to banks, payments groups and other regulated providers. That argument has gained ground as scams increasingly begin through messaging apps, social networks and digital platforms rather than traditional banking channels.
Young people are particularly exposed, Ecommpay said, because social media gives fraudsters direct access to large audiences and allows deceptive approaches to be disguised as ordinary online interaction. The company is calling for social media groups to face a level of accountability similar to that applied to financial firms when harms arise on their services.
The government’s fraud strategy, cited by Wellinghoff, sets out disruption, safeguarding and enforcement as central pillars of its approach. Ecommpay said those principles should now be applied more directly to platforms where many scam journeys begin, with greater emphasis on prevention at the point where victims are first targeted.
Sector pressure
The comments also highlight a longstanding tension between the technology and financial sectors over responsibility for fraud losses. Banks and payments companies have often argued that they bear the operational and reputational cost of scams that begin on online platforms, while those platforms face less direct scrutiny for their role in the chain.
For payments companies, that debate matters because fraud often appears only at the end of a longer process of grooming, impersonation or deception. By the time a suspicious payment is identified, the victim may already have been persuaded that the transfer is legitimate, limiting the effectiveness of checks applied only at the payment stage.
Ecommpay, founded in London in 2012, operates in payment processing and acquiring. Its intervention brings a payments provider into a policy discussion that has largely centred on child protection, platform governance and content moderation, while adding financial crime prevention to the agenda.
The company said the two issues should not be treated separately. “The tech giants must be part of that conversation and must be held to the same standards of duty of care that we in financial services are already expected to meet,” Wellinghoff said.
Celebrating both GCSE and A-Level Results Days, the chain will offer the popular dish to students who buy one of its bubble teas.
The free offer is available at all 42 Rosa’s Thai restaurants across England and Wales.
To avail of the free noodles, students need to register on Rosa’s Thai website for a unique code, which they should present at the restaurant together with a copy of their results.
Rosa’s Thai has a new range of bubble tea flavours, including Ube-Taro, Matcha-Coconut, Mango Sticky Rice, and Milo Chocolate Milk, as well as favourites like Home-brewed Thai Tea with Tapioca, and Lychee Mango with mango boba.
Students can sign up for their free Pad Thai at rosasthai.com/result-day-free-pad-thai and find their nearest restaurant at rosasthai.com/locations.
The London Mint Office, which distributes commemorative coins and medals, appointed administrators on July 31 after 20 years in business.
The company’s website now displays a message confirming the appointment of Michael Magnay and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP as joint administrators.
A spokesman for Alvarez and Marsal said: “On July 31 2026, Michael Magnay and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP were appointed as Joint Administrators of The London Mint Office Limited in administration (the “Company”).
“Regrettably, the Company’s liquidity challenges have led to a number of immediate redundancies. We are supporting the affected employees through the redundancy process.
What Happens When a Company Goes Into Administration?
“The affairs, business and property of the Company are being managed by the Joint Administrators who act as agents of the Company and without personal liability.”
The announcement confirms that it is no longer possible to purchase coins or medals through the company’s website.
The London Mint Office operates a distribution centre in Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, where it employs a significant number of people.
Administration is a formal insolvency process triggered when a business cannot meet its financial obligations.
An insolvency practitioner is appointed to manage the company’s affairs and may attempt to restructure the business or sell off assets to repay creditors.
What happens when a company goes into Liquidation?
Founded in 2006, The London Mint Office describes itself as “one of the UK’s most trusted suppliers of historic, commemorative, and collector coins.”
It is part of Samlerhuset AS, a Norwegian company based near Oslo and one of Europe’s largest distributors of commemorative coins and medals.
Samlerhuset’s website states that it offers “provide a wide range of coins from ancient to modern, originating from virtually every country in the world.”
The London Mint Office has advised anyone with an interest in the company’s assets to contact the administrators at INS_THLMOL@alvarezandmarsal.com.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally decided that both discounters should be added to the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010, which currently applies to Asda, Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose.
This order is designed to prevent large grocery retailers from using land agreements to block competitors from opening nearby stores, often through restrictive covenants or exclusivity terms.
Juliette Enser, executive director of competition enforcement and markets at the CMA, said: “We want everyone to have the best choice of supermarket and range of prices when buying their groceries.
“To ensure this happens, we put rules in place to prevent big supermarket chains blocking rival stores from opening nearby – and now we propose applying those rules to Aldi and Lidl too.
“This is about allowing shoppers to choose where they spend their money and levelling the playing field for all major supermarkets.
“Today’s proposals are provisional and we welcome views before deciding the best way forward.”
The CMA’s review found that Aldi, Lidl GB, and Lidl NI now meet the criteria of ‘Large Grocery Retailers’ (LGRs) due to their store footprint, nationwide presence, procurement model, and the breadth of their grocery range.
Aldi and Lidl were originally excluded from the 2010 order as ‘limited assortment discounters’, offering a smaller selection of products compared to traditional supermarkets.
However, the CMA’s provisional findings indicate that this is no longer the case.
All three now operate large grocery stores, each with more than 1,000 square metres of shop floor space, and offer a full range of products, though with less category choice than some competitors.
They also purchase goods directly from suppliers through integrated wholesaling.
With the UK grocery market estimated to be worth £215 billion, Aldi and Lidl are now ranked among the top five retailers by market share.
The CMA is seeking feedback from stakeholders before reaching a final decision.
Aldi and Lidl could join the other supermarket chains later this year.
The CMA is inviting views until 5pm on Monday, September 7, 2026, and will issue its final decision in the autumn after reviewing responses.
If the discounters are included under the order, they will be prevented from using land agreements to limit competition from other supermarket chains.
The CMA aims to ensure competition across the grocery sector to give shoppers more choice and competitive pricing by removing obstacles to new store openings.
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoHSBC UK & Visa test AI shopping with live payments
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoValarian lands USD $50 million backing for sovereign AI
-
Oxford Events4 weeks agoHenley Festival 2026 highlights: Five nights of unforgettable performances and festival moments
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoOde launches free AI voice service for poem recommendations
-
Oxford united FC3 weeks agoOxford United three players who be kept after transfer ban
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoZYMIX uses Henley event to pitch social app to Gen Z
-
Business & Technology2 weeks agoSlice golf bar swings to new heights after successful launch
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoUK AI firms raise record GBP £4.56bn in Q2 funding