Snippings

xxx

“People who do not have access to a bank account pay an extra £485 a year for everyday bills and services, research from an account provider suggests.

More than 1.2 million Britons do not have a bank account, so miss out on discounts reserved for those who pay bills by direct debit, said Pockit.”

From “Lack of bank account ‘costs £500 extra a year’ in bills – BBC News”.

xxx

xxx

Lottery bosses have refused to pay out a £4million jackpot to two players who they suspect had bought the ticket with a stolen debit card.

Organisers Camelot grew suspicious of Mark Goodram, 36, and Jon-Ross Watson, 31, when it emerged neither of them had a bank account to receive the winnings.

From Lottery bosses refuse to pay £4million jackpot over ‘stolen debit card’ | Daily Mail Online.

 

xxx

xxx

“Remittances to low and middle-income countries reached a record high last year, the World Bank has said. Average transaction costs remain high, with an average of 7 percent paid to transfer $200 or equivalent.”

From “Remittances Reach All-Time High | Best Exchange Rates – Save”.

xxx

xxx

“The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is planning to implement biometric exit technology in almost all commercial airports in the next four years.”

From “U.S. Government to Roll Out Facial Recognition Software in Most Airports in Four Years | TravelPulse”.

xxxxxx

“As of September 2018, there were only 15 U.S. airports with this facial-recognition technology, and of those 15 airports, this technology has been used on over two million passengers with 7,000 of those travelers found to have overstayed their visa.”

From “U.S. Government to Roll Out Facial Recognition Software in Most Airports in Four Years | TravelPulse”.

xxx

xxx

“Customers get a Mastercard debit card, money management tools, mobile cheque deposits, P2P transfers and the ability to pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

However, the firm is not just relying on a slick user experience to win people over, it is also offering eligible Un-carrier customers four per cent Annual Percentage Yield on balances up to $3000 – 50 times higher than the average US checking account.”

From “T-Mobile takes on US banks with checking account”.

xxx

xxx

“The use of cash by criminals however, remains one of the biggest threats reported by Law Enforcement in the area of money laundering, as well as one of the most significant barriers to successful investigations and prosecution.”

From “Why is cash still a king? A strategic Report on the use of cash by Criminal groups as a facilitator for money laundering | Europol”.

Not my words. These are the words of Rob Wainwright, the Director of Europol.

A large hoard of cash has been found at the home of Sudan’s ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

“A source in Sudan’s judiciary told Reuters news agency that suitcases loaded with more than $351,000, €6m ($6.7m; £5.2m) and five billion Sudanese pounds ($105m) were found at Mr Bashir’s home.”

From “Sudan crisis: Cash hoard found at al-Bashir’s home – BBC News”.

Who knew that a life in public service could be so rewarding? 

xxx

“Supporters won’t be able to use cash within the New White Hart Lane or in its surrounding campus, only major contactless credit and debit cards, mobile and wearable payment, Gift Cards, Stadium Access Cards and the Tottenham Hotspur Prepaid Card, which is coming soon…. The team cite their three main reasons for the bizarre move as increased speed, more payment options and improved hygiene within the stadium concourse.”

From “”This isn’t helpful” – Many Spurs fans react to intriguing stadium announcement | FootballFanCast.com – FootballFanCast.com”.

xxx

xxx

“With 97% of shoppers relying on online customer reviews to help make a purchase, fake reviews are a serious problem, which can mislead customers into buying products that are not fit for purpose. The CMA estimates that £23 billion a year of UK consumer spending is potentially influenced by online reviews.”

From “Revealed: Amazon plagued with thousands of ‘fake’ five-star reviews – Which? Press Office”.

xxx

xxx

Asad Malik, 38, used fake reviews and photographs of secure car parks hundreds of miles away to trick customers into leaving their vehicles with him when they flew from Gatwick.

From Airport parking boss jailed for dumping cars in muddy fields.

 

xxx

xxx

“Facebook is pulling away from its ambitions to provide peer-to-peer money transfers via Messenger in Europe. Today, the company announced that it would be discontinuing the service — which let individuals send money to each other — in the two countries in the region where it had rolled it out, the U.K. and France, on June 15 of this year.”

From “Facebook is discontinuing P2P payments in Messenger in the UK and France on June 15 | TechCrunch”.

xxx

xxx

“Evidence from Norway indicates that in 2007, 40 percent of Norwegian adults checked somebody’s tax information online, higher than the penetration of Facebook in Norway. Anonymity of the snooper was removed in 2014, and visits fell dramatically (88 percent by one measure), but still you can imagine paying others to snoop for you or the information eventually getting out over time.”

From “Tax Returns Shouldn’t Be Filed in Public – Bloomberg”.

xxx