Overheard: “I never go to the bank. Except when some jerk writes me a check that I have to cash or deposit.” As you probably guessed, I overheard that remark some time ago, before consumers could deposit a check by taking a picture of it with a smartphone. According to Wikipedia, the first U.S. financial institution […]
“I’ll take Cyber Stats for 500.” And the answer is: What is the estimated global cost of cybercrime by the end of 2019? (Read on for the answer.) Ah, October! It’s that wonderful time of year when grownups can return to their childhood for a little while by dressing up and wearing masks (except inside […]
A pair of headlines grabbed my attention this week. The first came courtesy of Finextra, which reports that Greenlight, the “smart” debit card for kids, just acquired an additional $54 million in working capital. This is thanks largely to dollars put up by Drive Capital, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo during Greenlight’s Series B fundraising round. The B round generally occurs after a […]
The cashierless checkout isn’t exactly new. By contrast, the cashierless, cardless, cashless variety of checkout is relatively new. And it may already be be an endangered species. For an early example of cashierless checkout, look no further than the noble hot coffee vending machine that once graced every cafeteria. You’d drop a nickel in the coin slot […]
Last week, one day after I posted about the payments aspect of the rapidly growing gig economy, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 5, colloquially known as the “Gig Economy Rights Bill.” The bill will require the likes of Uber, Lyft, and other gig firms to bestow employee status upon gig workers, who are currently treated as independent contractors. Indications […]