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Major IT Glitches Hit UK’s Leading Banks Over Two Years

by News Editor

March 10, 2025

Britain’s largest banks have experienced significant IT outages over the past two years, blocking customers from accessing their accounts and causing widespread disruption. According to a report from the Treasury Committee, nine major UK banks and building societies suffered a total of 803 hours of unplanned technical failures, equating to more than 33 full days of service downtime. These glitches have affected millions of customers, raising concerns over the reliability of the UK banking sector’s digital infrastructure.

The data, compiled by the Treasury Committee, reveals that between January 2023 and February 2025, there were at least 158 separate IT failures across institutions such as Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, Santander, NatWest, Danske Bank, Bank of Ireland, and Allied Irish Bank. However, the reported figures exclude more recent outages, including a series of disruptions affecting Barclays between January 31 and February 2, as well as several banks on February 28. The Committee is seeking further information on these additional incidents.

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Barclays was the most affected, with 33 outages reported, including one that caused 56% of online payments to fail. The bank is now preparing to compensate customers, estimating between £5 million and £7.5 million in payouts. HSBC and Santander followed closely, each recording 32 outages during the period, while Nationwide, NatWest, and Lloyds reported 18, 13, and 12 disruptions, respectively.

Meg Hillier, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, expressed concern over the impact of these failures, particularly for families relying on timely access to their accounts. “For families and individuals living paycheck to paycheck, losing access to banking services on payday can be a terrifying experience,” Hillier said. She commended the banks that have compensated their customers but urged others to reconsider their response and improve the support offered to those affected by such technical issues.

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Moonshot’s Kimi K2: A Disruptive, Open-Source AI Model Redefining Coding Efficiency

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

July 14, 2025

Innovative Approach to Open-Source AI

In a bold move that challenges established players like OpenAI and Anthropic, Alibaba-backed startup Moonshot has unveiled its latest generative artificial intelligence model, Kimi K2. Released on a late Friday evening, this model enters the competitive AI landscape with a focus on robust coding capabilities at a fraction of the cost, setting a new benchmark for efficiency and scalability.

Cost Efficiency and Market Disruption

Kimi K2 not only offers superior performance metrics — reportedly surpassing Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 and OpenAI’s GPT-4.1 in coding tasks — but it also redefines pricing models in the industry. With fees as low as 15 cents per 1 million input tokens and $2.50 per 1 million output tokens, it stands in stark contrast to competitors who charge significantly more. This cost efficiency is expected to attract large-scale and budget-sensitive deployments, enhancing its appeal across diverse client segments.

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Benchmarking Against Industry Leaders

Moonshot’s announcement on platforms such as GitHub and X emphasizes not only the competitive performance of Kimi K2 but also its commitment to the open-source model—rare among U.S. tech giants except for select initiatives by Meta and Google. Renowned analyst Wei Sun from Counterpoint highlighted its global competitiveness and open-source allure, noting that its lower token costs make it an attractive option for enterprises seeking both high performance and scalability.

Industry Implications and the Broader AI Landscape

The introduction of Kimi K2 comes at a time when Chinese alternatives in the global AI arena are garnering increased investor interest. With established players like ByteDance, Tencent, and Baidu continually innovating, Moonshot’s move underscores a significant shift in AI development—a focus on cost reduction paired with open accessibility. Moreover, as U.S. companies grapple with resource allocation and the safe deployment of open-source models, Kimi K2’s arrival signals a competitive pivot that may influence future industry standards.

Future Prospects Amidst Global AI Competition

While early feedback on Kimi K2 has been largely positive, with praise from industry insiders and tech startups alike, challenges such as model hallucinations remain a known issue in generative AI. However, the model’s robust coding capability and cost structure continue to drive industry optimism. As the market evolves, the competitive dynamics between new entrants like Moonshot and established giants like OpenAI, along with emerging competitors on both sides of the Pacific, promise to shape the future trajectory of AI innovation on a global scale.