Leader: UK still playing catch-up

Why is the UK so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to technology rollouts?

Take chip and PIN. The Australians and the French had chip and PIN long before the UK, where it's still thought of as a relatively new concept and won't go into full effect until next year (when deadlines will mean UK cardholders will no longer be allowed to sign for some payments).

Entrepreneurs and established businesses should be encouraged to fight the market battles and take the lead on up-and-coming technologies.

Just imagine how long it will take for contactless payments (CP) to be launched - pilots and trials included. The best estimates are around two years.

Already Asia, the US and parts of Scandinavia are using CP systems without the need for signatures or PINs - while the UK has barely started pilots for the technology.

The key players are still fighting it out amongst themselves to determine who will provide technology and payment services for these CP systems.

Mobile phone and aviation firms have stepped up to see if they can play a role, along with usual suspects such as MasterCard and Visa. Meanwhile PayPal looks like a strong contender for the future of micropayments, should it wish to move beyond online transactions.

For the UK to catch up, we need clearer direction and stronger support from the government. Entrepreneurs and established businesses should be encouraged to fight the market battles and take the lead on up-and-coming technologies such as CP for a change.

The problem is that, when it comes to financial services, the government is far behind in its thinking, as technology races ahead.