Top News In Payments: Digital Currency Faces Greenspan Backlash; Amazon Boosts Its Grocery Program; Goldman Denies Apple Card Discrimination

China is making privacy allowances for digital currency, which faces a new foe in the U.S. Meanwhile, Amazon is opening its first branded grocery store, and there are questions about discrimination and the Apple Card.

Former Fed Chair: Central Banks Have No Reason To Issue Digital Currencies

Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday (Nov. 12) that central banks have no reason to issue digital currency.

“There’s no point for them to do it,” Greenspan said at a conference.

Amazon To Open First Branded Grocery Store

The company posted job listings for four new positions on Monday (Nov. 11) before confirming the news. Amazon said the new store will be different from Whole Foods, and it won’t use Amazon’s cashierless Go technology in favor of traditional checkout methods.

The company described the store, which will be in Woodland Hills, as “Amazon’s first grocery store.”

Goldman Denies Discriminatory Apple Card Practices, Says It Will Reassess Limits

Goldman Sachs has promised to re-evaluate how credit limits are determined for Apple Card users after being accused of gender discrimination. Customers who received lower than expected credit limits should contact the lender to have their applications re-examined.

China Making Privacy Allowances As It Plans Digital Currency Launch

China is planning to launch a digital currency in early 2020 that will make allowances for privacy, a senior central bank official said on Tuesday (Nov. 12).

The country is laying the groundwork to be the first nation to launch a digital currency and will balance privacy concerns with government oversight, Reuters reported.

The blueprint for the proposed digital currency seems to offer Beijing extraordinary supervision over the flow of money, giving regulators economic control that most central banks do not have.

NEW REPORT: With 5G Anticipation Building, Security Threats Loom

The 5G network is rapidly being deployed in markets around the world, and the advance of the network could mean profound changes for the Intelligence of Things (IoT) ecosystem. Two-thirds of businesses have plans to develop new tools and technologies that will leverage 5G by 2020.

Three Hurdles Platform Marketplaces Must Clear To Survive (And Thrive)

Two decades ago, the world stood on the brink of a digital commerce inflection point — even though many didn’t quite know it yet. In 1995, the tech boom got underway — buoyed by enthusiasm over the transformative power of a newly emerging technology called the “internet.”

Although explosive enthusiasm for such primitive technology can be hard to fathom now, Yapstone Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Sanjay Saraf noted in a recent conversation with Karen Webster that from the point of view of the time, the internet and early eCommerce looked absolutely miraculous. Suddenly, there was this incredibly powerful technological tool with which to launch all of these new online capabilities.