APACS (the Association for Payment and Clearing Services) and Z/Yen held a special seminar on the potential application of quantum cryptography in financial networks such as SWIFT, BACS and CHAPS. Professor Artur Ekert from Oxford University, one of the world's leading researchers on quantum computing, gave the keynote lecture. APACS, Z/Yen and the European Institute for Quantum Computing seek to develop a small prototype financial cryptographic network over the next 12 months. It’s exciting work which may revolutionise the global IT industry, but as yet it’s not about to break our financial targets.