Google Wallet, Prepaid News Lead Payments Twitter Trends

Here are our top five tweets from the week that was. Keep tweeting, and we may feature you next Friday.


@SeanBawden: Why not give Wal-Mart all your money? They’re taking on banking: huff.to/SPZI7s via @HuffPostBiz

Walmart’s probably fine with that idea, and they’re betting some of their consumers are too. With the cost of debit and checking accounts rising, prepaid is becoming an increasingly popular alternative. With that trend in mind, Walmart and American Express partnered up for a new Bluebird alternative payments method, offering users lower fees and no need for traditional bank accounts. Unless you own Green Dot stock, it’s difficult not to be intrigued by how Bluebird will be received.

Read the original tweet here


@BLWilliams11: I wonder what @Pinterest is thinking after seeing the @Facebook “Collections” feature: bit.ly/OooYT3 #ets12 CC: @HubSpot

I don’t think I can print what I assume they’re thinking here, but it’s not unreasonable to say they brought this on themselves. Despite huge social success, Pinterest has yet to capitalize on the eCommerce potential their website holds, and with “Collections,” it looks like Facebook is trying to beat them to the punch. You know what they say: all’s fair in love, war and electronic retail.

Read the original tweet here.


@NFC_SME: Is this more a jab a PayPal, ISIS, or MNOs? RT @pymnts: Android Police: @googlewallet Might Allow #P2P Transfers ow.ly/eoDXo

This tweeter asks an interesting question for our NFC fans – if the rumors that Google Wallet will allow person-to-person transfers are true, who does the news hurt most? But perhaps we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves – the rumor, spotted by Android Police, has yet to be confirmed, so we can’t be sure what NFC features Google Wallet will or will not include. Let the speculation continue!

Read the original tweet here.


LL_More: @pymnts: #CFPB Enforcement, A Cautionary Tale ow.ly/efzel” Seems they really do mean business!

That’s certainly the conclusion reached by Brian Smith, a Market Platform Dynamics managing director who detailed for PYMNTS several ways concerned companies can protect themselves from what he likens to examinations by the CFPB. We’ve seen the CFPB come down hard on financial giants such as Discover, American Exrpess and Capital One, and Smith predicts a “compliance frenzy” coming in the next few months.

Read the original tweet here.


@ArtieBevis: Smartphones aren’t the only method for on-the-go transactions that young people prefer: bit.ly/RMKVOs. #Mobile #Payments @PYMNTS

We appreciate Artie calling attention to our Karen Webster’s interview with Discover exec Jeff Lewis, who offered up some insight into the prepaid market and its new biggest target demographic: young adults. Lewis emphasized that tablets as well as mobile phones are key to Discover’s engagement strategy, and noted that young people will use any “access device” – not just cards – to conduct transactions. If you missed the interview, check it out here.

Read the original tweet here


Have a good weekend, and happy tweeting!