Archive for February, 2020

(TBT) FBI: Let us in! Apple: No!

February 27, 2020

Originally posted February 18, 2016 Four years later, and privacy is still a battleground. A fact of digital life is that the harder we work to keep data secure, the harder bad guys will work to break in. But what happens when government wants to break in? The FBI has been trying to break into […]

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Fiserv offers relief for beleaguered merchants

February 24, 2020

The digital payments business didn’t start in the late 19th century. But that’s when events were set in motion that would eventually bring us to last week’s press release from Fiserv, which happens to be where I’m employed. More on the press release in a moment. In 1884, coal merchant John Henry Patterson bought the company that […]

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TBT: Facebook hasn’t learned much since the Instagram fiasco in 2013

February 20, 2020

Originally posted Feb 12, 2013. Facebook had just acquired Instagram—and PR mayhem had ensued. I suggested five takeaways from the experience. Seven years have passed, and Facebook is still tripping on its untied PR shoelaces. I guess Zuckerberg doesn’t read my blog. Especially as regards Lesson 5 below. * * * You know the tale: Facebook acquired […]

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When do we want it? Now!

February 18, 2020

Crazy humans. Seems like we’re never satisfied. If you don’t believe me, ask Abraham Maslow. According to his Hierarchy of Needs, which hardly needs introduction, as soon as we satisfy basic needs like air, water, and food, we up our expectations to things like security, revenue, health, and possessions. From there we seek friendship and belonging. […]

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It’s time to own the payment relationship. But hurry. (TBT)

February 13, 2020

First posted May 28, 2015, adapted from my article for Credit Union Magazine. * * * IT’S NO LONGER NEWS that payment relationships are a, if not the, wave of the financial services future.Experts have harped on the subject ad infinitum. People like me have harped on it, too. Part of the message seems to have gotten through loud […]

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