Category Archives: Uncategorized

America is a strange country to foreigner such as myself. And one thing that is particularly strange about it is the constant demand for identification in a society that lacks an identity infrastructure. The most obvious manifestation of this, as I’ve written before, is that when I am asked for identification (in order to getContinue reading “Identity and inclusion, an ongoing case study”

xxx Yesterday it was reported that members of the European Parliament voted in favour of creating a cryptocurrency “watchdog” to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. This is misleading. In fact two parallel initiatives have been conflated in the press announcement: one is the creation of a Virtual Currency Task Force, and the other isContinue reading “What the European Parliament vote on cryptocurrency regulation really means”

Now onto part three of our week of thinking out loud about putting identity on the blockchain. In part one we found a problem that could be solved using some kind of identity infrastructure. In part two we came up with a model of digital identity that we could use to explore a potential solutionContinue reading “Putting "identity" on the "blockchain". Part 3: Define the transactions”

xxx A taxpayer who bought and handed over £15,000 in Apple iTunes gift card vouchers is one of “hundreds” of HMRC customers to be defrauded in the past month, a scam bulletin says. From Fraudsters posing as HMRC hijack iTunes :: Contractor UK xxx

xxx CVS Pharmacy today announced the company will launch digital receipts as a new option for all members of its ExtraCare Rewards program. The new option for digital receipts will roll out in early June and eventually be available in 7,900 retail locations. Customers will have the opportunity to opt-out of receiving paper receipts forContinue reading “CVS Pharmacy Says "So Long, Long Receipts," Announces Arrival of Digital Receipts for Customers | CVS Health”

I ignore almost all of the “news” that arrives via my cryptocurrency feeds, but a particular story about Bitcoin in the mass market caught my attention because it appeared to herald an unexpected and significant shift in the mass-market. The announcement was that Starbucks is “working with Microsoft and a leading global exchange on aContinue reading “In-app in-crypto”

xxx Public transport companies in the Netherlands are planning to abolish cash payment for bus and tram tickets, following a significant rise in robberies. By 2018 it will only be possible to pay for travel using the national OV Chipkaart contactless smartcard, a smartphone, or a contactless bank card. From Dutch to abolish cash paymentsContinue reading “Dutch to abolish cash payments for public transport | International Railway Journal”

xxx the government said authorities know of no money laundering cases in which the huge bill was a relevant factor From Cash Is King: Swiss Defend Huge 1,000-Franc Bank Note – ABC News xxx

xxx Will instant payments exacerbate existing societal problems? Will they place already vulnerable people in harm’s way? And if so, whose problem is this to address: the bank, the regulator, the operator of a scheme? Or perhaps the onus falls squarely on the consumer alone? From Should Faster Payments Be, Well, Slower? | Bank ThinkContinue reading “Should Faster Payments Be, Well, Slower? | Bank Think”

xxx This puts the FCA in a difficult position as it wants Britain to be “a hostile sector for money launderers” but also to ensure “the unintended consequences of anti-money laundering (AML) regulation are minimised.” From Banks dump small businesses, charities and fintech firms to save on red tape costs xxx