Fintech’s Power Grab — in The New York Times
Ok, it’s safe to say fintech has hit the big time. The New York Times covered the subject — and the word — in depth yesterday, in a special section called “Fintech’s Power Grab.” The lead item, by...
View ArticleSecurity Trumps Convenience for Online Shoppers, Study Finds
Online retailers prize a smooth checkout and one-click checkouts, but it turns out customers care more about security than convenience when shopping online. (We’ll leave aside Domino’s Pizza’s...
View ArticlePayPal Continues to Pursue Square in the POS Space [VIDEO]
PayPal and Square are increasingly covering the same territory. PayPal foillowed Square to the point-of-sale, and Square launched a P2P service — it’s been this way for years now. PayPal is now...
View ArticlePayments in Iran Now Said to Be Possible
Yet another barrier to business in Iran appears to have fallen. Paymentwall, a San Francisco online payments company, announced today that it has integrated its payment services into the Shetab, which...
View ArticleTop 5 Fintech: Silicon Valley Might Meets South Korean Finesse
Last week we observed an upsurge in collaborations between startups and financial institutions, but this week is all startup glory. There are some old pros still doing us proud with 9-figure rounds,...
View ArticleConquer the World with GroupStake, WealthVenue and OpenDime
Last week featured an attractive amalgam of startups varying in their sectors of innovation, but this week we can speak more candidly. Want to rule the world? Do you have a few friends who feel the...
View ArticleWill Realtime Payments Bring Real Money for Banks?
Should consumers and businesses pay for realtime payments or not? This difference of opinion is apparently creating some “discord” in the clearXchange network between the first two active members: U.S....
View ArticleHow Payments Is Fueling China’s E-Commerce Megaboom
HONG KONG — The numbers are in “holy *$#%” territory. “The numbers” are for e-commerce sales in China, and they are astounding. In the first two months of 2016, China’s online retail sales hit $98.2...
View ArticleTop 20 Apps: Farewell to Robinhood and Acorns
In the second month of Credit Karma’s dynasty, first of its name, lord of our financial hindsight, some significant shifts in app downloads and usage occurred. PayPal was knocked down to fifth place on...
View ArticleDistributed Ledgers Not Ready For Prime Time, SWIFT Says
“Blockchain.” That’s an abbreviated summary of the conversation in fintech for approximately the last six months. Or, as Jack Gavigan put it, less succinctly, on Twitter:...
View ArticleStarbucks: Can It Get Any More Mobile Than This?
Starbucks proves, once again, that it owns mobile payments. The Seattle coffee giant now has 19 million active mobile app users in U.S. alone, Kevin Johnson, president and chief operating officer said,...
View ArticleWall Between Mobile and Desktop Disappearing — But What About Payments?
Google has signaled that Android apps will soon run on Chromebooks — yet another sign that “mobile” and “desktop” experiences are converging, and that a single online experience will operate across...
View ArticleWalmart Pay Available for iOS Users
A new addition to the epidemic of mobile wallets, Walmart Pay, appeared on Walmart’s app in an update for iOS last week. The feature will be available “in all stores soon,” according to the company,...
View ArticleBreaking Banks: Bitcoin’s Big Moment May Come in Asia
Bitcoin has taken a backseat to the blockchain for at least a year now, but the cryptocurrency isn’t going anywhere. Actually, it’s in Asia, where it may have a more profound impact that is possible in...
View ArticleRemitly Grabs Cash ($38.5 Million) and Heads to Canada
Global remittance startup Remitly has a history of helping send money across borders. Now Remitly itself is crossing the border – just a few miles north of its Seattle headquarters. The company...
View ArticleVisa and MasterCard Offer Faster EMV
People called, and MasterCard and Visa answered. In the past week, both card networks announced updates to their point-of-sale systems that promise to reduce the time it takes to use an EMV...
View ArticlePayPal’s ‘Best Quarter Ever’ Credited to Venmo
PayPal Holdings Inc. reported total payments volume of $81 billion for the quarter, up 29% from a year ago. Its newer services – Venmo and Xoom – were at the center of it all. Venmo processed nearly...
View ArticleSay Hello to Our Spring 2016 Class of Startups
Bank Innovation INV, this blog’s fintech accelerator, is pleased to today to announce the six extraordinary startups that have been admitted to its inaugural class. The companies selected from...
View ArticlePayments Down, While Ad Revenue Soars for Facebook
Facebook expects its payments revenue for 2016 to come in lower than 2015. The company couldn’t be more clear: ads are “the big focus.” The company’s ad revenue this quarter soared 57% year over year,...
View ArticleBreaking Banks: Fintech for Groundbreakers [AUDIO]
In this week’s episode of Breaking Banks, Brett King hosted Kamal Budhabbatti, called the Bill Gates of Kenya, to talk about the amazing fintech scene in East Africa. Scout Finance Founders Vivek Nasta...
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