Financial Technology

8.3.2016 – Virtual Skinny FinTech: Move It or Lose It

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in FinTech Edition, Newsletter 0 Comment

8.3.2016

Good to Know: We want to get your thoughts. Take our poll below! 

THE SKINNY

When You Can’t Beat ‘Em …

Join ‘em. Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Bank of America, and US Bank are all jumping on the instant cash bandwagon.

When You Don’t Really Have A Choice …

Their hands have been forced. In the U.S., moving money between bank accounts is slow AF. Mobile services like PayPal’s Venmo and Square Cash handled the issue…Customers love it … Now U.S. banks don’t want to get left behind. 

When Your Age is Showing …

Banks have tried to pull an Instagram by offering their very own money transfer apps. Think Chase QuickPay. But, it isn’t quite the same ‘copy and paste’ job Instagram just pulled on Snapchat (read more on that later this week in our Internet & Tech edition).  They want customers to believe that their apps are just as ‘hip and cool’ as the Venmos of the world with the help of star-power ads. But, some people aren’t buying it.

When You’re Not Leading From Behind…

The U.S. is playing ‘follow the leader’ with the rest of the world when it comes to faster payments. Note to self: The U.S. is doing the following. So, the Federal Reserve Board’s ‘Faster Payments Committee’ is telling banks to ‘pick up the pace’ on money transfers.

When You Need to Make A Move …

Meanwhile everyone and their moms in the financial ecosystem (including financial OGs like Mastercard and Visa) are in an arms race to build the “payments network of the future.” Mastercard snatched up a huge chunk of Vocalink, a UK biz with a mobile and internet payment network, and Visa’s strategically linked up with Paypal.

When You’re Just Happy to be Here …  

Since people are still using the cash money and writing checks, there’s lots of opportunity to get in on the instant payments action. It won’t be easy for banks to catch up with Venmo and other peer-to-peer apps that are hybrid payment and social platforms. But, at least U.S. banks are making moves.

PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS?

Now that banks are stepping up their instant payments game, are you willing to give up your current money transfer app (i.e., Venmo, Square Cash, etc) and give your bank’s app a go?

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That …

The U.S. is still trying to get consumers to dip their credit cards rather than swipe them. Turns out chip and pin cards aka EMV cards aka cards that keep us waiting at checkout for life are way more secure and help cut back on fraud. That’s great and all, but we hear that making just two purchases daily for a year with an EMV card adds up. It’s literally 85 minutes of our lives that we’ll never get back just waiting to check out. No bueno! Even retailers want to avoid installing EMV card readers because long lines aren’t good for biz. Only 28% of all U.S. merchants require dips v. swipes. Shopping at places that take Apple, Android, or Samsung Pay may be a better, faster option. Meanwhile, some of us will continue to struggle with the process.

Screen Shot 2016-08-03 at 10.32.34 AM

And The Winner Is…

We hope China’s been practicing it’s surprise face and pageant wave. The U.S. Department of Commerce just crowned Asia’s largest economy as the 2017 Fintech Leader. Expect China to lead the world in payment exports. 

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word …

Banks in Africa are are like that ex who took you for granted but now wants to make things right. Sure, they did the basics like setting up infrastructure but didn’t go the extra mile to take care of everyone’s needs. Banks on the continent dropped the ball on figuring out mobile money services and left potential bankers out of the loop. Now that fintech startups have stepped in to offer way better services that can help way more people, the banks are seeing the error of their ways. To right their wrongs, banks are teaming up with startups like MFS Africa and Nomanini to reach untraditional young consumers.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Hong-Kong based Bitcoin exchange Bitfinex told us its system had been compromised. Like thieves in the night, hackers allegedly made off with a cool US $65 million in real money. The exchange is looking into the breach. In the meantime, Bitcoin’s value dropped by 7.8 percent earlier this week.

China’s got a trust problem with its charity organizations. Alibaba’s CEO Jack Ma wants to use blockchain technology to make sure charities are using donations for the right purposes. Alibaba’s Ant Financial is leading the effort on this. Transparency FTW …

The charity world is pretty old school when it comes to donations. It’s all about those cash money donations. But, you can only give what you have. So, if people are short on dolla bills, charities are SOL. DipJar wants to change that up by allowing people to donate with credit or debit cards for “impulsive, on-the-spot giving.”

While Alibaba’s trying to figure out this blockchain situation, IBM seems to be way ahead of them. The tech company is all set to kick off the first major implementation of the technology for its business. IBM’s figured out how to use the technology to settle financial disputes between partners and customers. #NBD

One last thing on the checkout process, Venmo’s no longer for just easily reimbursing your friends. It’s branching out into checkout services for retail apps. Buying things you probably don’t need just got easier…

Virtual Skinny FinTech Ed: Trending …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in FinTech Edition, Newsletter 0 Comment

5.4.2016

Good to Know:  Dr. Craig Wright was trending on social media earlier this week. The Australian entrepreneur claims that his alias is Satoshi Nakamoto, creator of virtual currency bitcoin. Some people are giving him major side eye, but he allegedly has “extraordinary proof.”  Apparently, he’s got receipts.  

receipts

THE SKINNY

When You’ve Moved Onto Something Else …

Dr. Craig Wright had the Interwebs abuzz. But at this week’s Consensus 2016 conference in New York City, execs said yawn. Newsflash: They don’t care about bitcoin.

When You’re TRENDING…

Bitcoin is out. But, the blockchain (bitcoin’s underlying technology aka a huge public ledger that records all bitcoin transactions) is in.

When You’re Not Sure What To Do …

For now, bitcoin as a virtual currency is the only application that works across the globe via the blockchain.  But, we could see other applications popping up as fintech startups and major tech companies like IBM and Microsoft are working on different apps for the blockchain.  How fast these experiments turn into something real comes down to one question: Small scale projects or moonshots? In other words, do companies want to take on a major project all at once or take their time with small-scale stuff?

When You’re Curious …

What’s the better approach? Working on small, achievable applications or taking the risk and shooting for the stars? Tell us in the comments!

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Keeping It on the D.L…

While many financial peeps gathered this week in NYC, a select group including NASDAQ, Citigroup Inc., Visa Inc., Fidelity, Fiserv Inc., Pfizer Inc., had a pow-wow on the down low back in April.  Yes, there was talk of the blockchain. But, we heard that digital U.S. dollars as an alternative to virtual coins like bitcoin came up too.  Fiserv Inc. even created a digital dollar for show and tell.

SPOTLIGHT

CBS 60 Minutes Lesley Stahl talked fintech on this past Sunday’s episode.  She sat down with John and Patrick Collison, Irish brothers and co-founders of payments company Stripe. The whole point of the company is to allow small businesses to get their online payments from anywhere in the world hassle-free. Check it out here.

LESLEY

QUICK POLL – RUN THOSE NUMBERS …

Young people are into their Venmo app, and the numbers prove it. It’s grown 154 percent from last year.

venmo-quarterly-payment-volume-processed-01

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Young people may heart Venmo, but the U.S. Federal Trade Commission won’t be saying “Venmo, me.”  The agency, which is responsible for making sure businesses are on the up and up with their practices, is looking into the PayPal-owned, peer-to-peer payment service for “unfair and deceptive” practices.  BTW, Venmo would appreciate if U.S. users stayed clear of using words like “Syria” and “Cuba” on Venmo on account of it’s still illegal to send money to those countries.

San Francisco startup Varo Inc. is building mobile banking app complete with deposit accounts, budgeting tools, and other services.  For now, it’s looking to partner with banks but eventually wants to be a bank of its own.  New U.S. bank these days? Don’t see that every day.

Android Pay is now an official payment options for your Uber rides.

Virtual Skinny FinTech Ed: Back At It Again With The …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in FinTech Edition, Newsletter

3.30.2016
deadline

Good to Know: Calling all FinTech social entrepreneurs! If you’re working on solving the financial inclusion problem, Village Capital’s: US FinTech 2016 business-training program is for you.  Learn more here and apply here. Hurry! You’ve got until April 3, 2016. 

THE SKINNY

When It’s Time To Regulate On ‘Em …

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a top U.S. banking regulator, thinks it’s time for some rules around the growing financial technology (fintech) industry. Traditional banks and fintech startups are here for it.

When You’re For It, Just For Different Reasons …

Traditional banks have long been regulated and want competing startups to join the regulatory party. Startups don’t mind because they actually want to play by new rules so they create and innovate without having to watch their backs like no one’s biz. Could be a win-win?

When It’s Hard to Lead From Behind …

Other countries like the UK have already made moves to put in place a more fintech-friendly regulatory framework (e.g., the UK now allows what it calls the “sandbox model” aka a fancy way to say it lets startups experiment under the government’s watch).  U.S. regulators now want to get on their level…

When You’re Finna Do Something …

Other U.S. regulators have published papers and conferenced on fintech, but the OCC is taking it one step further. On Thursday (Mar. 31), it’ll publish its very own white paper on “responsible innovation” intended to get people running their mouths on the best way to put together new rules and processes. Top issue for discussion? A more systematic way for consumers to complain about new products and services.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

What’s HIGER Than Being #1?

Japan thinks Asia needs to be the top dog when it comes to blockchain technology.  So, the country is doing its part to get there.  Japan’s got some strict banking laws, but it’s willing to dial things back to encourage more investment in its fintech sector.  The country’s banking regulator, the Financial Services Authority, are putting new laws re virtual currency exchanges on the table. Authorities think that changing the laws will be a good look for its fintech industry.  More collabos between banks and fintech ventures are on deck with these changes (e.g., giving banks the go-ahead to buy stakes in non-finance related companies).

When You’ve Been Traded In For A Younger (FinTech) Model …

Bitcoin could be so yesterday.  The virtual currency and its network are about to be replaced by Ethereum aka Bitcoin 2.0.  Ethereum is taking advantage of the ongoing fight over software within the Bitcoin community.  Things are looking up for the new virtual currency on the block.  Its price is up 1000% just in the past three months, companies like IBM, Microsoft, and JP Morgan Chase are drinking the Ethereum Kool-Aid, and people think it’s better than Bitcoin.  Apparently, it’s not just about its virtual currency network. It can do things like execute smart contracts or programmable transactions. Oh, and not to mention, people have already created applications for it (e.g., managing and paying for electricity, betting on sports, and not so legit things like Ponzi schemes).  It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There’s some concern about Ethereum’s potential security problems.

QUICK POLL – RUN THOSE NUMBERS …

FinTech brought in the doll-ah doll-ah bills in Feb. 2016. We’re talkin’ $1.5 billion in financing…

fintech chart

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

How do you reach millennials during tax season? Get Instagram star Pierce Thiot, responsible for the “Will It Beard” trend, to stick money in his beard. Just the latest attempt for small companies (Fishback Tax) and larger ones to reach millennials and their cash. #TaxSwag

Speaking of millennials, roboadvisor company Betterment just raked in US $100 Mill to bulk up on new products and services (retirement guides and account aggregation), which it thinks will attract young peeps.

Will Facebook soon let us make in-app purchases? Potentially. Code has been discovered within Facebook Messenger that’s got people talkin’.

Swiss banks want a mobile payments platform for the country. They’re chatting with retailers on how to make it happen.

Startup Purse wants to be the Bitcoin marketplace version of Etsy. Introducing Purse Markets. Sell anything on the platform in exchange for some virtual coins.

MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative is offering up $100k in scholarship to boost under-repped minorities and women at Consensus 2016, NY-based conference on virtual currency and blockchain technology.

Virtual Skinny FinTech Ed: In the Clear …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in FinTech Edition, Newsletter

1.27.2016

Good to Know: Spread the word! The Virtual Skinny’s weekly FinTech is here. Tell your peeps to sign up here. 

THE SKINNY

When Everyone’s Talking About You … 

At last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, “fintech” was all the rage.  Apparently, the term is no longer just for startup companies using technology to shake up the financial services industry. Traditional banks are saying they are about that “fintech” life too.

When You’re Not Quite Part of the Convo …

Though fintech was the talk of the town and startup execs made their first trip to Davos, incumbents were still running things and led discussions about the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” and “The Transformation of Finance.” It’s an interesting time, especially since old-school financial firms have as much as US $150 billion of revenue to lose to fintech startups according to consulting company Oliver Wyman.

When Someone Rains On Your Parade… 

Not everyone is buying into the fintech hype, some bankers are pointing out major hurdles like regulation. Large banks also want to make sure that the new kids on the block play fair when it comes to offering consumer services. Not to mention, there’s talk on Wall Street. that fintech upstarts may have already reached their peak. Cue companies folding and/or merging with banks, potentially.

 

When You Have Other Options … 

European officials like Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem aren’t shying away from fintech. Turns out that Dijsselbloem thinks European economies are way too reliant on traditional banking. He says alternatives are a good thing, and regulators should embrace that.  Financing options are good for people and small- and medium-sized businesses.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Belle of the Ball… 

Also at Davos, ex-JPMorgan Chase exec Blythe Masters just pulled US $52 million to fund her blockchain technology startup Digital Asset Holdings (DAH). Where’d the money come from? A bunch of banks including Masters’ former employer forked over cash to help fund the new company, but it took longer than expected.  Some banks opted out all together.  Literally everyone is talking about “blockchain this” and “blockchain that,” but the technology’s real world uses haven’t quite caught up to talk of its potential. But, Australia’s main stock exchange, ASX, is on board. It inked a deal with DAH to settle trades and transfer money faster.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

Peer-to-peer money transfer app Venmo is looking to make some money this year, and it plans to use its new feature “Pay with Venmo” to do just that starting today. Think of it as an alternative to paying for stuff online with your credit card.

Alternative lending startup Social Finance (SoFi) wants you to know who they are so it’s willing to shell out 20% of its annual budget for an ad spot during this year’s Super Bowl. In case you’re wondering, SoFi’s main jam is refinancing student loans and personal loans for qualified millennials.

Decentralize All The Things aka DATT, a social network based on blockchain technology, is almost complete. Start the six-month countdown.

When it comes to FinTech, London, Silicon Valley, Hong Kong, and Singapore are the usual suspects, but Mexico and South Africa are right on their heels.

The Virtual Skinny FinTech Ed: Checking In …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in FinTech Edition, Newsletter

1.20.2016

Good to Know: Global political and business leaders are in Davos, Switzerland this week. In between ski runs, they’ll be at the 16th World Economic Forum Meeting talking things like robots, inequality, Europe, etc. Where do we sign up? 

THE SKINNY

Is That A Threat?

People in their 20s and early 30s (aka Millennials) would rather handle their finances via digital services and smartphones than deal with old school banks.  FinTech startups and services offered by Internet and tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc. are giving banks a run for their money.

Just Look At the Signs … 

Well for one, in 2015 alone, retail banking saw about $6.8 billion in investments (up 4x from 2014). If that’s not enough, young people’s behavior is pretty telling. Some are ditching credit cards all together for alternatives offered by startups like Affirm. The appeal? A ridiculously easy sign-up/approval process and minimal confusion regarding its terms.

When You’re So good, You Can’t Be Ignored… 

You know what they say, imitation is the best form of flattery … Or, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.  Seems like a couple of cliché phrases, but that’s pretty much how banks are approaching competition in a FinTech world.  For instance, Citigroup is partnering with online lender Lending Club.  And just a few months ago, it created its very own group focused on becoming more innovative, appropriately named Citi FinTech.

It’s Not All Sunshine and Rainbows … 

FinTech startups and services are popping up pretty quickly. But, it’s not without any issues. Legal and regulatory challenges are at the top of the list. But, companies are working on that. Last November, Amazon, Apple, Google, PayPal, and Intuit got together to form a D.C.-based group called Financial Innovation Now. Its goal? “To promote policies to “foster greater innovation in financial services.”

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

It Ain’t No Thing … 

Regulatory barriers are tough to break through, especially when it comes to moving money across borders. But, few Fintech startups (25 to be exact) have navigated the muddied, regulatory waters like champs to achieve global expansion and growth. Square, Payoneer, Stripe, Braintree, and Transferwise are just a few that made the cut. Congrats on figuring out how to strike the right balance on things like regulations, market opportunity, local ecosystem, competition, flexibility of business mode, etc.

When You’ve got a #@%$! problem … 

Bitcoin is going through it – again. Lately, there’s been not so positive chatter about the fate of the virtual currency and its network after one of its core developers Mike Hearn penned a pretty controversial blog post. In a nutshell, Hearn basically said Bitcoin is a major fail and announced that he was bowing out of the whole thing. Now, Bitcoin insiders and those on the outside can’t help but add in their two cents about the state of the Bitcoin network. See here and here.  Other developments? Russia plans to ban Bitcoin before it becomes a thing in the country. And, Bitcoin wallet and exchange company CoinBase’s main guy tasked with helping educate U.S. lawmakers is about to dip out for another gig with the bankers. No word yet on what this means for the company.

WHEN SOMEONE’S Not A Fan … 

Unlike Bitcoin, crowdfunding typically doesn’t get a bad rap. In fact, you’d think that everyone loves it, but no so much. Ian Russell, CEO of the Investment Industry Association of Canada, is not feeling crowdfunding – not even a little bit – particularly when small businesses use it to raise capital. Russell thinks TSX Venture Exchange (TSX), Canada’s stock exchange, is a way better option for early stage ventures looking for money. Russell isn’t just talking about it. The man is on a mission.  He is calling on Canadian regulators to forget about equity crowdfunding and focus on TSX instead. Naturally, the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada thinks that’s a terrible idea. Side bar: If you’ll remember the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission signed off on rules allowing non-accredited investors to participate in equity crowdfunding.  Just something to think about …

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’

The UK Government Office for Science wants other parts of the UK government to look into blockchain technology and figure out how it can work for them on things like government aid payment systems, tax monitoring, etc.

Commerce technology company First Data is going after mobile payments company Square with CloverGo, its new EMV card-reader.

 

The Virtual Skinny FinTech Ed.: Get Those Paypers…

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in FinTech Edition, Newsletter

12.21.2015

Good to Know: 2015 is on its way out … ICYMI, here’s what FinTech can look forward to in 2016. 

THE SKINNY

Thinking In the Alternative… 

Tech companies and banks are banding together to build their own version of the blockchain, the underlying technology behind virtual currency bitcoin. The project is called the Open Ledger Project.  Think alternatives to the blockchain like the Ripple network.

Tell Us More…

Nonprofit Linux Foundation is overseeing this alternative-blockchain movement. And, IBM, Intel, Cisco, the London Stock Exchange Group, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, and State Street are in.  The goal is to build something similar to the blockchain that will help increase transparency and automation across the business world. Think stock exchanges and financial markets, specifically.

If You Build It, They Will Come … 

Yes, improving services in the business world is good and all. But, this move seems to be a lot about control. Currently, the current bitcoin network is decentralized just like the Internet.  In other words, no one person or entity can claim the bitcoin network.  With the Open Ledger Project, the participating companies can have a say in how the technology is built and operated. Word on the street is companies involved in the project want to ultimately keep this new blockchain-type technology open and non-proprietary.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 

Starting Things Off Right … 

In what will be a relatively light week on Wall Street on account of the holidays, things are looking up for tech and the financial sector.  Not so much for energy stocks, which are trailing behind.

If It’s Broke, Fix it … 

Global nonprofit organization Kiva is re-working its playbook for the U.S. market.  The organization’s lending platform, kiva.com, has been a hit in when it comes to helping finance small biz in emerging markets, but it’s not so popular in the U.S. One reason? It’s just easier and cheaper to access capital. So, what’s the new angle? Kiva’s offering what it calls the Kiva Zip platform so small biz owners can bank on their friends and family to help fund their operation. We’re talking –  raising $10k with 0% interest and zero fees and terms for three years. Not bad …

By Any Means Necessary … 

We all heard about the massive data breach at JP Morgan earlier this year leaving 76 million homes vulnerable.  Now, banks are shaking in their boots and are spending racks on racks on racks of cash to secure their systems. They’re also sending fake “phishing” aka “spear phishing” emails internally to see how employees react.  Turns out employees are falling for it.  In addition to training employees on what to do if they receive “phishing” emails, banks are also doing things like banning employees from using their work email address for play, using “out of office” emails or voicemail message, and from using portable devices like USBs.  Anything for security. Speaking of … this year, entities dropped $75.4 million in the cybersecurity market.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’ 

UK mobile wallet app Yoyo has gone stealth mode in the U.S. The mobile wallet is quietly entering the market via a few chosen partners. It hopes to make things official during Q1 2016.

Investors are looking to Israel’s fintech market, which is hot, Hot, HOT! Turns out the country’s progression in cybersecurity makes it ripe for a fintech boom.

First Walmart, now Target.  The retailer is getting into the mobile payments biz. Things are all very early stages, and the company says that it’s keeping its options open.

Breaking into the Chinese market.  That’s top of the list on Apple and Samsung’s list of New Year resolutions.  Both companies are looking to check that off their list with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay by collaborating with UnionPay.  Chinese Internet company Alibaba’s already got a strong hold on the market with AliPay so we’ll see how this goes.

The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission gave the A-OK to Overstock on its plans to use the blockchain to dole out stock.

The Virtual Skinny: Run That Back!

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

12.11.2015

Good to Know:  friendswholiketrump.com will tell you if your friends support or are at least interested in Donald J. Trump and what he has to say. 

THE SKINNY

Let’s Go Halfsies? 

After its board meeting last week, Yahoo has decided to keep its stake in Chinese Internet company Alibaba. There’s also a chance it’ll put a “for sale” sign on its main Internet business (things like Yahoo Mail and its other websites).

But, Why? 

Well, Yahoo initially wanted to keep its core Internet business and sell of its Alibaba stake. But, turns out that idea comes with some major U.S. tax headaches. So, the company is switching things up. It has two options: (1) Make the sale or (2) Split off its Internet biz into a separate publicly traded company aka a “reverse spinoff.”  CEO Marissa Mayer and Chairman of her board Maynard Webb choose #2.  They say making a sale on something of low-value is generally not a good move. But, they’re still not completely ruling out that option.

Moving Forward … 

It’s business as usual for Yahoo. It just released an app to help you sift through online streaming content called the Yahoo Video Guide.  And in the midst of all her company drams, Mayer welcomed twin daughters just yesterday. Congrats!

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED? 

We’re Here For You …

That’s what Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is telling the Muslim community. Zuckerberg is committed to protecting their rights.  In the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, CA, things got downright nasty. Earlier this week, U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump thought it’d be a great idea to suggest banning Muslims from entering the U.S. Pretty much everyone disagreed. Zuckerberg says even though people are turning against them, Muslims are always welcome on his social platform. 

Will The Real Slim Shady Please stand up? 

We all want to know who is responsible for bringing us the virtual currency bitcoin. To date, people credit Satoshi Nakamoto, but no one really knows whether Nakamoto is a person or a group of people hiding behind the name. Recently, publications Wired and Gizmodo think they’ve figured it all out. Based on a ton of evidence, these publications are pretty convinced that Craig Steven Wright either invented bitcoin or we’ve all been royally punked. Coincidentally, Australian federal police officers busted into Wright’s home and office. Authorities say reasons for the raid are tax-related and have nothing to do with bitcoin. Now, people are wondering if id-ing bitcoin’s creator even matters. Some say “who gives” because no single person owns the bitcoin network. But, others disagree. They want someone to step up and help sort out some of the network’s bugs.

It’s All About the Benjamins, Baby… 

Twitter needs to make more money. It’s targeting people who read tweets without actually logging onto its platform. Coming to a desktop near you, Twitter will be playing around with a feature that shows ads to these non-active users. This means about a half a billion more people each month. Since we’re talking numbers, that averages out to an additional US $2.50/user. With Jack Dorsey leading the company, lots of changes are underway. Add changing up the timeline to show tweets based on relevance rather than timestamps to the list. Twitter’s just trying to make sure you get the content you want to see.

Is The Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

The Chinese government says “half full” when talking about it web censorship.  China’s government says bringing more “order” leads to increased online freedom.  And, by order, it means doing things like shutting out Western Internet platforms like Facebook and Gmail. Oh, did we mention detaining bloggers for “spreading rumors online” and “picking quarrels?” China wants people to back off. It says if things were so bad, then its online economy wouldn’t be growing so quickly. Also, it doesn’t appreciate people bashing its ways then trying to make money off of its people.

When Things Aren’t Looking Good … 

In the U.S., drivers for ride-hailing app Uber want employee benefits and are fighting to upgrade from just contractors for the company to legit company employees.  Ohio and Florida state legislators have denied their wishes.  Both states just passed laws classifying Uber drivers as contractors.  It’s unclear what these laws say exactly, but these moves could potentially ease Uber’s pain if it loses a class action lawsuit drivers brought against it in California.

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’ 

Walmart wants in on the mobile payment game along side Apple and Google. The mega-retailer introduced Walmart Pay, its new mobile payment system. The word is Walmart still plans to work with other retailers like Target and BestBuy on CurrentC, the collective’s answer to Apple Pay.

Speaking of Apple, all you iPhone 6 and 6s users will love this … The smartphone manufacturer’s developed a battery case called the Smart Battery Case.  It’ll let you run your mouth for 25 hours.

Streaming service Netflix raked in more Golden Globe nominations than old-school TV broadcasters (8 nominations to be exact).

Turkey’s government is telling Twitter to pay up TL 50,000 (US $51,000) for not taking down alleged “terrorist propaganda.” At least it’s a fine this time, Turkey’s been known to shut down Twitter within its borders all together.

When you think you’re doing a good thing but not really… Tech company IBM quickly ended its #HackAHairDryer campaign initially intended to encourage female coders and engineers. The “hair dryer” angle didn’t go well … Women engineers fired off tweets letting IBM know that they are capable of much more.

Crowdfunding site GoFundMe just landed its new Vice President of Policy & Communications, Dan Pfeiffer. He was formerly the White House’s Communications Director.

Who hasn’t this guy gone after?  U.S. Presidential hopeful Donald Trump piped up about e-commerce company Amazon’s alleged “tax shelter.” Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos now wants to #sendDonaldtospace.

Yahoo can’t keep its people. It wasn’t so hard for Ad Product Chief Prashant Fuloria to say goodbye to the com-pah-nee. He’s getting back into startups.

The Virtual Skinny: It’s Enough Now …

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in Internet & Tech, Newsletter

12.3.2015

Good to Know: Most of you will likely get new devices as holiday presents this year. Not sure what to do with your old ones? Amazon, Gazelle, and Best Buy have stellar recycling or trade-in programs in the U.S. 

THE SKINNY

Something Becoming Routine Isn’t Always A Good Thing…  

In fact, it can be a very bad thing. Yesterday, a horrible mass shooting took place in San Bernadino, California and claimed the lives of 14 innocent people. Per usual, U.S. politicians immediately took to Twitter to send their “thoughts and prayers.” It didn’t go over well with the American public. 

aN uNEXPECTED RESPONSE … 

The hashtag #thoughtsandprayers started trending on Twitter but not in the way you think. Americans tweeted their frustrations with the U.S. Congress’s inaction on gun control. Their message: Simply tweeting about “thoughts and prayer” won’t change anything.  The controversial front page of today’s NY Daily News pretty much sums it up.

Speak Up or DO SOMETHING

This latest tragedy is just another example of the increasing role Internet and tech companies are playing to either help force difficult political debates or help take action against domestic and global terrorists.  For instance, earlier today, five tech companies including Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Google, and Microsoft told France that they would “define and establish an offensive strategy of counter-discourse that will specifically target the online activities” of terrorist group ISIS.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Break Me Off A Piece of that…

If Yahoo’s board decides to sell the company’s Web business, it looks like almost everyone and their Moms want a piece of the action.  Potential buyers range from private equity firms to media and telecom companies like Verizon Communications (they bought AOL earlier this year), Time Inc., and even News Corp. (owner of Wall Street Journal).  Not everyone’s jumping on the Yahoo bandwagon.  Chinese Internet company Alibaba is not interested.  Decisions should be made by the time the company’s marathon board meeting ends tomorrow.  The suspense!

THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’ 

German banking startup Number26 is going after Europeans with aversions to traditional banking. It’s expanding across Europe to service countries like France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia and Spain.

When a potentially better product is on your heels, you have to act quick! Global bank Goldman Sachs is creating its own version of “bitcoin” or virtual currency called SETLCoin. Trading securities and settling those trades may just get a bit easier and faster.

Spotify is world’s the #1 music streaming service, but Pandora isn’t going out like that. Pandora’s pretty popular in the U.S., but it’s putting in work to compete in a very competitive market. New strategy: Attack the Spotify-types’ “free” music model. Record labels are listening, but that message probably won’t go over well with consumers.

YouTube is forming closer ties with Hollywood. The online platform is wheeling and dealing (in a good way) to get rights for TV shows and movies to stream via its new YouTube Red Service.

Parking your own car is such a waste of time.  Don’t worry! Startup valet-parking company Luxe has got you. Start saving your coins. Depending on the U.S. city, pricing could range from US $5-7 hourly or US$15 – US$30 daily.

ICYMI: 5 FinTech Trends to Watch in 2016

Posted by The Virtual Skinny on in Culture, Money 0 Comment

Originally published on Tech.Co. 

“Financial tech (FinTech) and the payments landscape is changing – and fast. For years, reputable entities such as McKinsey & Co. have documented the industry’s evolution. Recently, in its monthly global payments report, McKinsey determined that the industry will continue its growth after “an extraordinary year in 2014.” If 2014 was an “extraordinary year” for payments, then 2016 will be monumental. There is no better indicator of this than this year’s Money 20/20, an annual financial services conference, held in Las Vegas, NV last week…”

Check out the full article here.