MasterCard, Visa and PayPal all reportedly voluntarily have agreed to block payments to non-UK-licensed gambling operators in anticipation of proposed changes to a UK gambling bill that would set an online gambling tax. Reports indicate that the proposed Gaming Duty rate of 15% would lead...
By Gloria Colgan, Managing Director, Market Platform Dynamics (@gkcolgan) Ah, the challenges of commercial prepaid. When JPMorgan Chase recently announced the potential sale of its government and commercial prepaid card business, it made big headlines. Chase has a massive portfolio from a prepaid perspective –...
Alibaba, the Chinese eCommerce conglomerate, has banned the sale of Bitcoin on its Taobao Marketplace online platform. Bloomberg News reported that Bitcoin sales and other cryptocurrencies will be restricted beginning on Jan. 14. Mining hardware and software will also be barred from Taobao. An Alibaba...
Iowans now can pay their fuel taxes and vehicle-registration fees online thanks to an expanded partnership between payments network Dwolla and the Iowa state government. Dwolla, which is based in Des Moines, previously worked with the state government to help merchants collect cigarette stamp taxes,...
China further solidified its position as a market that could greatly impact payments in 2013. Those who require proof need only look at how China’s love affair with bitcoin drove the price to more than $1,200, only to send it back down amid escalating regulations...
Despite the rise of big data, the cloud and the countless other electronic innovations looking to tap into our collective brainpower, predictions remained as difficult to get right as ever in 2013. For every no-brainer like the rise of consumer mobile smartphone and tablet use,...
After a less-than-stellar summer that saw the vultures circling Cupertino, Apple righted its course this winter posting impressive Black Friday sales numbers and releasing head-turning point-of-sale (POS) innovations. Not every expert abandoned Apple and its proven innovators, though. Market Platform Dynamics (MPD) CEO Karen Webster...
“Some bankers and analysts think that Google, Facebook, Amazon or the like will not fully enter a highly regulated, low-margin business such as banking. I disagree. What is more, I think banks that are not prepared for such new competitors face certain death.” This statement,...
It’s a sobering reality: Despite all the advances that eliminate friction in commerce, banks still struggle to serve poor and often remote populations. Barriers exist due to the limitations of existing electronic payments networks, a lack of awareness, and perhaps most importantly, a gap in...
