Coolest Brands 2014: [RED] Is the Warmest Color
Which rock band on this planet is cooler than U2? There might be a few, but U2 is certainly a pretty cool band — and now some of that cool has rubbed off on Bank of America. Bank of America exclusively...
View ArticleCoolest Brands 2014: Invisible Payments
There is no fluke in Uber. The black car company has “brand ambassadors” in nearly every city in which it operates. So what does a “brand ambassador” do? Here’s a rundown: Be the voice and...
View ArticleCoolest Brands 2014: Social Money for the City Dweller
Venmo, a social person-to-person payments service, has become a verb. Members of New York’s improv comedy scene, accustomed to (small) informal payments for impromptu performances, have turned en masse...
View ArticleCoolest Brands 2014: On Cloud Nine
Amazon already owns online commerce, and it’s a major player in mobile payments, as well. (Did you know Amazon has its own peer-to-peer payments service?) But where Amazon may truly be revolutionizing...
View ArticleCoolest Brands 2014: Strength in Wearables
Apple’s iPhones get the oohs and ahs, but it’s Samsung’s name on 3 out of 10 smartphones around the world — and that share continues to grow. Samsung has a smartwatch that already has banking apps (and...
View ArticleCoolest Brands 2014: One Card to Rule Them All
What, you don’t know what Coin is? You must live in a very comfortable cave. Coin took the payments world by storm last November, announcing that it was raising $50,000 on its site and not bothering...
View ArticleCoolest Brands 2014: Easy Payments for All
How do you know Stripe is cool? Because every new payments company compares itself to Stripe. “We’re like the Stripe of X” or “we are the Stripe of Y,” they say. Yeah, sure. The company, founded by...
View Article10 Coolest Brands in banking – Alphabetical List
Amazon American Express Bank of America Bitcoin Coin M-Pesa Samsung Stripe Venmo Uber 10 Coolest Brands 2014 Introduction
View ArticleSquare and LevelUp Extend Platforms Beyond In-Store Sales
Hungry for payments innovation? Great! Will that be for pickup or delivery? Two payments startups, Square and LevelUp, announced extensions to their platforms today that take them beyond the...
View ArticleInnovation at Banks May Be Fizzing Out, Data Indicates
In 2008, the approval rating for banks dropped. And it dropped again in 2009. The approval rating for some banks dropped more than others during those dark recessionary days, Wells Fargo & Co. and...
View ArticleWhere to Turn with The Internet of Things?
Disruption is the new normal in most industries and certainly this has been the case for financial services. The world of channels alone has been explosive, as has analytics and the world of data....
View ArticleShould Banks White-Label Bitcoins?
Mt.Gox declared bankruptcy today, leading to widespread fears about the security of other bitcoin exchanges. Could banks step into the breach? Could banks even release their own brands of virtual...
View ArticleBuilding a Bank in the Sandbox
SEATTLE — Building a better bank? Do it in the sandbox. Financial innovator Kosta Peric’s concept of the castle and the sandbox, which is also the title of a book he wrote, means that while banks need...
View ArticleDrumbeat for ‘Open Banking’ Grows Louder
SEATTLE — The call for “open banking,” which would allow for greater access to banking services for developers and others, seems to be getting stronger. Yesterday at Bank Innovation 2014 here, open...
View ArticleCiti, US Bank & mBank Win 2014 Bank Innovation Awards
SEATTLE — Three companies were awarded 2014 Bank Innovation Awards yesterday here for their noteworthy innovation accomplishments over the last 12 months. The awards, which celebrate innovative...
View ArticleFinancial Advice Portal Phroogal Wins First DEMOvation Challenge
The competition was stiff and the challenge itself was arduous, but after ten 6-minute demos to ten different audiences, Phroogal emerged triumphant in the 2014 Bank Innovation DEMOvation Challenge....
View ArticleVIDEO: Westpac New Zealand Tests Google Glass App
Westpac New Zealand, a bank with a passion for wearables, is currently testing a version of its Cash Tank balance-checking app on Google Glass. (Bank Innovation reviewed the Cash Tank smartwatch app...
View ArticleGonzoBanker’s Payments Mail Bag
With a dearth of standards and 120 hungry vendors for each good idea, the payments world is a freaking mess right now.
View ArticleBBVA Acquires Simple
Simple, the alternative banking company, has been acquired by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA.) Online reports put the price at $117 million in cash. Investors put $18.1 million into Simple,...
View ArticleCover Adds Restaurants and Features in App Update
Cover now “covers” more restaurants — and tells diners more about them. The app’s 1.1.1 update, released Saturday, now includes more information about the cuisine and atmosphere of participating...
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