Sometimes when I read the debates on chip, PIN and EMV I feel I am listening to the Flat Earth Society.  America is home to some home truths including gun ownership, religion and mag stripe in ways that just seem contradictory to common sense. That said, when it comes to chip there are aspects that payment security adherents are probably not addressing in sufficient clarity otherwise one would think logical thinking people would come around even if they are American.  (I love America by the way) So what is the issue ?  Why is it so hard to make the … Continue reading Chip card implementation remains fundamentally flawed

It is not unusual to have economists debate how to manage inflation, growth, and employment.  The solutions vary from extreme Keynes supported by Government spending, to extreme austerity and we have seen all of those especially since 2008. A guiding light of clarity that appeared in 2010 was the Reindhart/ Rogoff book entitled ‘This Time is Different”.  The title implied with irony that in fact it is never different, and that it went on to empirically prove that over 800years of data it is proven that countries with excess debt suffer low or negative growth.  I have quoted the book … Continue reading “This Time is Different” comes under fire from Amherst professors | what does it mean for austerity?

The functionality of linking the QR code to streamline bill payment is a smart idea.  QR codes have become the de rigeur addition to all marketing materials in North America, but they are functionally useless.  I have written about this before. The original use of QR in Japan by marketers was tied to specific offers and coupons for restaurants and the like.  There was a point.  Meanwhile in North American the codes generally link to a marketing page or a home page.  Back to the BillTrust idea.  By tying the QR code to a useful function that bypasses clicks will … Continue reading Finally a North American smart use of QR code

A lot has been said on mainstream media about Mayers decision at Yahoo to eliminate working from home as a regular term of employment.  The standard media line goes something like ‘Yahoo does not get it’ and ‘this is counter directional to the direction technology companys are supposed to be going’. Even Richard Branson chipped in saying he would never work from an office. The two themes that leap out are: technology produces the capability to work from home, and working from home is empowering by allowing employees to operate on their schedule, banishing commuting, and commitment to the schedules … Continue reading Listen to Marissa Mayer | technology and workplace practices have not been properly thought through

I wrote in July 2012 that “Libor is the Catalyst of the next banking crisis” and while that unfortunate prediction is coming true the fines suggest it will be basically shoved under the rug.  Rate-fixing scandal shakes three continents | ft.com The fallout from the interest rate manipulation scandal hit three continents on Wednesday as Royal Bank of Scotland paid £390m ($612m) and admitted criminal price-fixing charges over Libor-rigging. A series of lurid emails cited in the settlement laid bare a culture where employees would readily alter rates in exchange for steak dinners. So far LIBOR fines have been relatively … Continue reading LIBOR fines could hit $22 bn

In Canada Banks have traditionally refused to accept the mortgage broker market and advertised “special offer” interest rates that could be 1.25% over the actual market. This practice has been changing of late, and the driver is internet.  While other countries such as UK and US have rate aggregator sites, Canada has been a stubborn holdout in not having such sites.  This has been driven by the banks oligopoly refusal to advertise in such sites. Banks Try More Up-front Pricing Moreover, the advent of rate comparison sites are making consumers increasingly jaded towards lenders who post 3.99% when the real … Continue reading Another subtle shift in banking being driven by internet–better mortgage rates