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Venmo owns the millennial market: PayPal's Venmo has long been popular with young people, but new research details just how popular. MarketWatch reports about 44% of millennials who use mobile payment apps use Venmo, compared to 1% that use Square Cash, citing data from LendEdu and Accenture. And nearly a third of millennials use mobile phones for P-to-P payments, compared to 18% of average consumers.Millennials are also more likely than the general population to use mobile payment apps, with 35% adoption versus 23%. The numbers don't look good for banks. Only 14% of millennials use a bank mobile payment app, and across all categories, 40% of consumers say plastic cards meet their payment needs, which Accenture attributes to the slow overall growth in mobile payments.
The Ebay Inc. Venmo application (app) is arranged for a photograph on an Apple Inc. iPhone 5s in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Aug. 22, 2014. After downloading the Venmo mobile-payment app onto a smartphone, users can connect them to bank and credit-card accounts, and then link up with friends to send and receive money on-the-go. Venmo, based in New York, alone handled $314 million in mobile payments in the first quarter of this year, up 62 percent from the prior quarter. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Make some noise: Biometrics is at the center of most discussions about authentication technology, since it adds "what you are" to the "what you know" of a password and "what you have" of device fingerprinting. But what about "what you hear"? TechCrunch reports a company called Futurae has developed an authentication technique that's based on ambient noise. The technology queries a device that's attempting to log into a service and the user's personal device, which would be a smartphone in most cases. It then records 3 seconds of audio for each and compares them. If the two recordings are the same, the technology concludes the user and device are in the same place, and the login is allowed to proceed. Ultrasound is also an option if there's a lack of background noise. The technology would likely not be used as a main source of ID verification, but it could augment other options for an added layer of vetting.
Coinbase's 'WeChat' play: Inspired by WeChat's ability to drive digital payments in China, Coinbase has launched a new platform called Token, or smartphone software that powers a messaging app and an Ethereum wallet for payments. There is also a browser for Ethereum apps that will be built by third party developers.Coinbase contends Token can boost financial inclusion through widely used smartphones and digital currency. Coinbase has rolled out a developer preview of Token, with a more formal rollout planned over the next few months. Coinbase recently became the third company to receive a Bitlicense from New York.
U.K. web spike: Internet payments have increased more than a quarter in the past two years, reports Finextra, citing data from The UK Cards Association. Card spending on the web was about $180 billion in 2016, or an increase of 28% from 2014. One in four online card purchases is for entertainment such as movie and concert tickets, food orders and digital content. Also, 26% of all card spending was done on the internet in 2016. The U.K. spends more online per household than any other country at $5,900 per year, Finextra reports. That's ahead of Norway at $5,400, the U.S. at $4,500 and Australia at $4,000.
Amazon Acquires Indian Mobile Payment License Crowdfund Insider • Cole Lyons In another attempt to secure a firm grasp on the Indian market, Amazon has turned towards mobile wallets for its next venture. The e-commerce behemoth has obtained a license from the Indian Reserve Bank (RBI) for the operation of a prepaid payment...
The end of cash: The cost of a cashless society IrishExaminer.com - World • Irishexaminer.Com Cash is a hard habit to break. Last November, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, introduced a surprise ban on the country’s largest currency bills, 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, worth €7.15 and €14.30, respectively.
More from PaymentsSource
Are chatbot payments more than just talk? Chatbots have been percolating for a while as the next big channel for commerce and P-to-P payments, and the technology hit a fever pitch last week with a slew of high-profile merchant announcements that suggest the technology has reached a turning point.
Biometrics and behavior analysis are needed to unmask fake identities It could be a scene right out of Mission Impossible. You go online and buy consumer information on the Dark Web and then craft a new identity that can be positively verified, complete with authentic banking credentials and the world is now yours for the taking.
Can loyalty be more than a 'points' game? Loyalty programs are getting more sophisticated, but they still typically boil down to a game of collecting and redeeming points.
House Republicans overcame internal divisions to narrowly pass President Trump's tax and spending package Thursday afternoon. The measure would cut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding level, among other provisions.
Atlanta-based CoastalSouth's initial public offering prices at $21.50 a share; Valley National Bancorp announces Lyndsey Sloan will succeed Gary Michael as general counsel; Webster Financial Corporation taps a new chief risk officer and appoints a new board member; and more in this week's banking news roundup.
Capital One closed the deal to buy the credit card provider in May and as part of the review process, decided to exit its home equity lending business.
