Most ‘Bitcoin Cloudmining Operations’ Are Ponzi Schemes
Hey buddy, wanna buy some bitcoins? It’s buyer-beware in the world of bitcoin cloudmining, with as many as 75% of those purporting to provide the service being fraudulent, according to a bitcoin mining...
View ArticleApple Pay Scores Big Wins with Best Buy, Discover
Best Buy and Discover just moved into Apple Pay’s camp. Could these wins for Apple Pay mean that Cupertino is emerging as the winner in mobile payments and that more players, particularly major...
View ArticleWestern Union Will Give Ripple a Chance
News broke yesterday at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference 2015 that Western Union is planning an “experiment” with Ripple Labs, the group behind the Ripple protocol. In Oct. 2013, when Ripple...
View ArticleCircle Bets on the Blockchain with Latest Funding
Circle just raised $50 million, but we’re guessing it didn’t rush to convert those dollars to bitcoins. Circle has perhaps the slickest user experience of the many bitcoin-related startups that...
View ArticleCircle Misses the Mark on China
In announcing that it had raised $50 million of venture funding, Circle extolled China’s status as a font of innovation. “China is today the center of innovation in mobile apps and digital finance,”...
View ArticleAmex’s Plenti Rewards Program Launches Next Week
Plenti, the new American Express rewards program for a selection of major brands, will kick off on May 4. The rewards program serves AT&T, ExxonMobil, Macy’s, Nationwide, Rite Aid, Direct Energy...
View ArticleEveryone Can Become an ATM with MoolahMe
MoolahMe, which was a runner-up at this weekend’s TechCrunch Disrupt hackathon, wants everyone to be an ATM. Here’s how it works: Let’s say you need some cash. You put a query out for someone to give...
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Paytm is finally turning the mobile wallet dream into reality – in India
If the future is mobile – there seems little debate on that – then countries that leapfrog to mobile may produce the long-awaited mobile wallet winner. In the West, mobile wallets have been a solution...
View ArticleIs There a Case for a Hardware Bitcoin Wallet?
A company called Case introduced a hardware bitcoin wallet yesterday at Day 1 of TechCrunch Disrupt’s two-day Startup Battlefield. The device resembles a black credit card or small calculator, much...
View ArticleRipple Labs Fined by FinCEN for Money Laundering Violations
Ripple Labs today earned the dubious distinction of being the first virtual currency exchange to be fined by FinCEN for failing to comply with anti-money laundering rules. This is sure to send a chill...
View ArticleAffirm’s $275M Round Coincides with Climbing Traffic
Affirm Inc., the POS lender, closed a $275 million round today, which coincides with climbing traffic. The site is now hosting around 80,000 unique visitors a month. SimilarWeb.com estimates that...
View ArticleShoCard Will Help Banks Authenticate Users — With the Blockchain
Could the blockchain be the answer to banks’ identity issues? Proving a user’s identity online can be a tricky business. (See “Apple Pay fraud.”) Passwords are hard to remember and easy to steal. Banks...
View ArticleThe Disappearing Check: How Long Until the End?
“The remaining lifetime of the check is directly related to the death rate among citizens over age 65.” That comment from one of our overseas partners sums up a common perception of check usage in...
View ArticleMega Social Media Data for Financial Services Has Arrived
It wasn’t too long ago that the suggestion that social media data could feed financial services underwriting and products was, well, dubious. Yes, we paid it lip service — isn’t it cool that OnDeck and...
View ArticleCan Green Dot Replace MoneyPak, Its Cash Cow (and Headache)?
What happens when you need to shutter a successful product? If you’re Green Dot, you invest in other products, and diversify. The company is developing new products and channels and bought two small...
View ArticleWhy Does No One Know About Citi’s Price Rewind? [VIDEO]
Imagine this — You pick up the latest flat-screen TV on Amazon, then, a week later, notice it costs $100 less at Best Buy. Sure, you should have done your research, but wouldn’t it be great if your...
View ArticlePurge the Word ‘Frictionless’ from Banking
SAN JOSE, Calif. — It’s time to relegate the phrase ‘frictionless’ to the FinTech trashbin. It will join words such as “omnichannel,” “disruption,” and “mobilefirst” in exile. All were used so often...
View ArticleIn the Bank Account of the Future, Context is King
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Three companies gave Finovate attendees a look at the bank account of the future yesterday: Moven, CBW Bank/Yantra Financial, and NAMU. The second and concluding day of the...
View ArticleDo Consumers Trust Banks Enough to Help Control Their Finances?
Banks are exceeding customer expectations in digital services, but failing in matters of trust, according to a new survey from Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS). But if they are able to...
View ArticleMasterCard Launches P2P Product — as PayPal Preps IPO
MasterCard is not shy about challenging innovative incumbents — after all, it launched Simplify Commerce in June 2013 to compete with both Stripe and Square. Today it introduced MasterCard Send, a P2P...
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