Snippings

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According to the World Bank, more than 1 billion people worldwide lack access to formal financial systems and, as a result, have no credit scores. In the U.S. alone, about 45 million adults have no credit history or not enough of one to generate a score.

This makes it hard for them to access credit, even if they are responsible borrowers. And without credit, it’s harder to get a car, a job or even a place to live. It’s a problem that disproportionately affects underprivileged groups, including people of color and women.

Grocery data is especially promising because there’s so much of it. Pretty much everybody buys groceries, and not just once. Information about consumer preferences is continuously being generated in every aisle of grocery stores around the globe.

From: No credit score? A grocery list could be the next best thing.

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By analyzing consumer-level data from those two business units, we were able to see how 30,089 individuals shop and manage their finances.

We found that people with more consistent grocery shopping habits are more likely to pay their credit card bills on time. These are people who tend to shop on the same day of the week, spend about the same amount each month, buy similar items across trips and take advantage of deals regularly.

We also found that what people buy predicts how they manage their finances. For example, shoppers who frequently purchase cigarettes or energy drinks are more likely to miss credit card payments. Those who often buy fresh milk or salad dressing tend to be more diligent about paying their bills.

From: No credit score? A grocery list could be the next best thing.

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Visa and Mastercard are the identity infrastructure of the internet because of the payment + identity bundle. The unbundling of identity is a big deal

From: Google Secure Payment Authentication (SPA) | Noyes Payments Blog.

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Banks will gain a new revenue line in identity if they can partner with BOTH V/MA AND Apple/Google.  The next best alternative is government and sovereign identities.

From: Google Secure Payment Authentication (SPA) | Noyes Payments Blog.

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As a result, the big open question for Circle — which has been trying to IPO for several years — is whether it can make the transition to a federal charter, given that it does not impose know-your-customer (KYC) rules on USDC holders.

From: The Race to Dominate Stablecoins.

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Bots are not only more accurate but also faster at solving CAPTCHA tests than humans.

From: CAPTCHAs: Bots Are Better, Faster at Solving Them Than Humans | by Paul Dughi | Stronger Content | Medium.

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International inbound remittance market in Mexico has increased at 8.7% during 2023 to reach US$ 71.26 billion in 2024. Over the forecast period (2024-2028), market size is expected to record a CAGR of 5.4%, increasing from US$ 65.58 billion in 2023 to reach US$ 87.88 billion by 2028.

From: Mexico International Remittance Business Report 2024-2028: Strong Construction Sector, A Leading Employer of Mexican Migrants Drives Record Remittances.

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Often discussed as being a cheaper alternative to brands like MoneyGram, no exact numbers exist on the market size of remittances sent via cryptocurrency. Mexico’s crypto adoption ranks outside the top 10 in the world, and focuses on centralized trade. P2P trading – between individuals – ranked the lowest of several use cases listed. Overall, Mexicans receive remittances digitally – with the value of remittances received by electronic means in Mexico was over 57 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Mexicans who send money back, however, typically use non-digital means when starting the remittances process.

From: Remittance flow in Mexico – statistics & facts | Statista.

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Dealing with a severe economic crisis and plunging peso, 60% of Argentine crypto purchases on Bitso were for dollar-based stablecoins USDT and USDC and just 13% of buys were for bitcoin.

From: Argentina’s Broken Currency Prompts USDT and USDC Purchases.

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The founding text of technology criticism is found in one of Plato’s better-known dialogues, the Phaedrus.1 During the course of Socrates’s conversation about love and rhetoric, he recounts the legend of an Egyptian king named Thamus and an inventor-god named Theuth. Theuth presents a number of inventions to Thamus for his consideration, touting their benefits for the Egyptian people. Among these was the gift of writing, but, surprisingly to Theuth, Thamus was less than enthused about this particular invention.

Here’s how the relevant portion of the dialogue goes. It begins with Theuth declaring,“Here is an accomplishment, my lord the King, which will improve both the wisdom and the memory of the Egyptians. I have discovered a sure receipt for memory and wisdom.”

And here is Thamus’s reply:

“Theuth, my paragon of inventors, the discoverer of an art is not the best judge of the good or harm which will accrue to those who practice it.

From: Re-sourcing the Mind – by L. M. Sacasas.

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Despite facial biometrics finding its use in Australia’s retail spaces, stadiums, casinos and the country’s digital identity program, almost three-quarters of Australians say they know little about the technology, according to a new survey published by researchers at Monash University and the Australian National University.
The survey, titled “Australian public attitudes to facial recognition technology,” found that support for facial recognition is a mixed bag. In general, 43.5 percent of respondents stated that they support the overall use of the technology while 30.8 percent say they are somewhat or strongly opposed to it.

From: Australians support facial recognition for govt use but not in shops and offices: survey | Biometric Update.

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Backed by leading financial and technological institutions including Barclays, Visa and Northern Trust, TISA is delighted to announce the launch of Select ID, which aims to be a market-leading Digital ID scheme and marketplace.  Select ID will allow consumers to choose their preferred Digital ID provider while making it easy for companies to benefit from digital identity services that meet relevant regulatory requirements such as KYC and AML. Select ID will be positioned as the prime means for consumers to securely identify themselves to UK financial institutions with their choice of a reusable, secure Digital ID.

From: TISA Launches Select ID Scheme – a new trusted and inclusive Digital ID scheme and marketplace with user choice, supported by leading financial and technological institutions – TISA.

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