By: Eileen Goode (@eileengoode) Legalized for medical consumption in 20 states and for recreational use in Colorado and Washington, marijuana is still federally classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic. And federal rules prohibit federal banks and credit card companies from processing pot-related transactions. As such,...
Money-management apps offer consumers the opportunity to manage their money more effectively. However, adoption by users has hit or miss at best, as many aren’t that interested in creating personal budgets. Some consumers have a tough time getting into the habit of regularly using these...
15 January 2014 MasterCard is partnering with Ecobank Group to deliver electronic payments to sub-Saharan African countries. The deal stems from a 2011 agreement between the two organizations. That deal provides a number of MasterCard services, including prepaid, debit and credit cards, to areas previously...
Spurred by stories of Steve Jobs and his unconventional approach at Apple, executives across all industries have begun forsaking consumer input when designing products. As Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple, Phil Schiller famously said that, “it’s not a customer’s job to know [what...
I had the chance to host a Mobile Insiders Series discussion on loyalty and payments on Friday, and the conversation was really fascinating. My discussion partner was Stephanie Swain, who is now VP of Retail for Aimia but who previously was in charge of financial...
By: Eileen Goode (@eileengoode) When businesses are paying each other, checks remain the dominant vehicle, representing on average nearly half of all B2B payments. Their primacy, however, is slipping. In 2004, 81 percent of payments were made by check, but by 2013 the rate had...
Cardinal Commerce has much in store for customers in 2014. Chief among its plans is a dashboard tool that will enable merchants to adjust their fraud screening and authentication practices to their own risk tolerance and experience. But, will merchants find the company’s solutions a...
Yotpo, an Israel-based startup that lets businesses integrate social media into on-site product reviews, has raised $10.7 million in a Series A funding round. The Wall Street Journal reported that the startup, founded in 2011, received funding from Olive Jung, 2B Angels, Rohdium and Gandyr...
A growing number of lenders are turning to social media when determining a loan applicant’s credit-worthiness. The Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 8 that some companies, particularly lending startups, look at social media profiles to verify certain types of information. Credit scoring agencies like...
