Category Archives: Uncategorized

xxx Apple has signed a deal with credit card processing behemoth Cuscal, giving an additional 31 banks access to the Apple Pay contactless payment facility. From 31 more Australian banks have partnered with Apple Pay | finder.com.au xxx

xxx This security/usability trade-off is not inherent to Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), and in fact the opposite is more commonly true: in order for SCA to be secure it must also be usable “because if the security is usable, users will do the security tasks, rather than ignore or circumvent them”. From Strong Customer AuthenticationContinue reading “Strong Customer Authentication in the Payment Services Directive 2 – Bentham’s Gaze”

xxx Fashion brand Babyghost has partnered with Chinese blockchain-as-a-service company BitSE and its VeChain project to deliver a range of clothes incorporating NFC tags and verified using blockchain technology. From Fashion brand adds NFC and blockchain for authentic personal clothing • NFC World xxx

xxx McDonald’s is planning to launch a mobile order and pay service in up to 25,000 restaurants worldwide by the end of 2018, starting in the US next year From McDonald’s to launch mobile order and pay next year • NFC World xxx

In the US, the new NACHA same-day ACH will have a 5.2 cent per transaction fee that is paid by the originating institution to the receiving institution. It is up to the institutions whether they charge customers anything for it. But even if they were to pass that whole cost on to merchants, my guessContinue reading “US same-day ACH”

xxx A new Federal Reserve study finds while consumer habits around cash are changing, its popularity remains high From With a Flurry of New Ways to Pay, Cash Hangs On – Real Time Economics – WSJ I’m not sure I would say “high”. What the Fed study actually shows is that cash was 40% ofContinue reading “With a Flurry of New Ways to Pay, Cash Hangs On – Real Time Economics – WSJ”

xxx These costs might all be worth it if there were any proof that anti-money-laundering laws lowered crime rates. But the laws don’t even put a dent in money laundering. A Brookings Institution scholar testified before Congress that 99.9% of dirty money in the United States is successfully laundered. [From The $7 Billion Laundry BillContinue reading “POST The laundry bill”

xxx The conman, known only as Adil, has been exposed for selling fake residency cards to immigrants in Birmingham – and charging up to £600 per ID card. From Undercover Criminal reveals ‘Adil’ who is selling fake IDs to illegal immigrants in Birmingham | Daily Mail Online xxx

xxx So is a blockchain based identity practical? I think the answer is “yes” but it needs to be designed very carefully. It may also need to start with the sort of areas that can manage it best and already need a virtual identity (such as land registration or financial services transactions). From Identity, verificationContinue reading “Identity, verification and blockchains”

xxx But her company struggles with what she estimates to be an effective tax rate of nearly 50 percent, as well as having to deal almost exclusively in cash. Because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, access to banking services is severely restricted. From From Colorado, a glimpse at life after marijuana legalization – TheContinue reading “From Colorado, a glimpse at life after marijuana legalization – The Boston Globe”