The UK's financial services sector is at last beginning to enjoy the benefits of the long awaited economic recovery, with the industry reporting a growth in profits, turnover and optimism. While key players are breathing a much-needed sigh of relief, now is not the time for complacency as a new generation of lean start-ups continues to unroll a wave of complementary digital services.

Azte.co has been getting a lot of attention recently; and for a good reason. It is the first physical distributor of Bitcoin vouchers in Europe. The concept is simple. You purchase some bitcoin and receive a voucher which is instantly redeemable on your phone. No ifs, no buts, no long winded security checks; in a few minutes you could own your own stash of this phenomenoal crypto currency.

Whether you're looking to book a holiday or buying a house, the internet has rapidly evolved to become the first port of call for consumers. From starting the initial search, through to making the final payment it has quickly replaced the middleman in most processes and in particular monetary transactions- so how do the banks respond to this? Is it too late? And what does the future hold for digital virtual currencies?

Dear Friends,

Thank you for coming tonight and sharing your time and insight & observations. We managed to charge through a number of battlegrounds tonight.

Since the 17th century, banks have successfully evolved a business model to customers with above average incomes.  But for those with average incomes or lower, it was never designed to be relevant.

Today, there are countless more ways to fund the growth of SMEs than there were 12 months ago. This is great news for UK enterprise, but what does ‘alternative finance’ actually mean? And if alternative methods of funding are right for your business, how do you go about securing them?

Back in March 2013, Bitcoin reached an all-time trading high of more than £21. At that time, this was seen as a major development for the alternative currency which was launched in 2009, largely unnoticed outside the crypto-currency world.

Today Tom Hanks' film Captain Phillips releases in the UK, telling the true story of a merchant mariner taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2009. In the real world, owners of Marine & Auto Security Solutions (MASS) have gained similar accolades for their anti-piracy invention, which stops pirates boarding ships and ransoming (or killing) both crew and vessel. 

Payments solutions business Pay Corporation, part of Boxhill Technologies PLC, has signed an agreement with CRM software business Bright Office, further extending its reach outside of the gaming and lottery sectors.