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The modern smartphone is a remarkable device. A single device that fits in your pocket can do all the tasks that once required cameras, camcorders, GPS devices, watches, alarm clocks, calculators, and even TVs.    

But the next change might be the most radical of all—it could eliminate the need to carry cash and credit cards.  

The growing importance of the smartphone as the go-to computing device for every digital activity is having a profound effect everywhere you look, but it’s only the biggest story among many exciting developments in the world of payments:   

• Apple Pay was first out of the gate, but now mobile wallets are everywhere you look—Android Pay, Google Pay, Chase Pay and even Walmart Pay are making smartphones a real alternative to carrying credit cards. And the potential for mobile wallets to limit a merchant’s fraud liability could help them really take off in acceptance for small businesses.   
• As consumers move more purchasing online, gateway vendors that can act as a front-end processor for online businesses are seeing explosive growth.   PayPal-owned Braintree grew 111% YoY in the number of cards on file in Q4 2015, while Stripe and Klarma now have multi-billion dollar valuations.
• Mobile Point-Of-Sale (mPOS) startups like Square and ShopKeep have pioneered a whole new payments niche—accepting payments via tablets and smartphones.   Coupling their transactions capabilities with new apps can revolutionize a small business’ inventory management, marketing, loyalty and even payroll.   
• Mobile Peer-to-Peer payments in the U.S. are forecast to grow from $5.6 billion in 2014 to nearly $175 billion by 2019 as consumers increasingly skip the hassle of writing a check or going to an ATM.   But smartphone vendors like Apple could cripple the dominant player of 2016 (Venmo) if they make a serious push to own the space.   

If your job or your company is involved in payment processing in any way, you know how complex this industry is. And you know that you simply can’t understand where the next big digital opportunities are unless you know the key players and roles in each step of the payments “supply chain:”   

• Acquirers
• Processors
• Issuers
• Card Networks
• Independent sales organizations and merchant service providers
• Gateways
• Hardware and software providers

Fortunately, managing analyst John Heggestuen and research analyst Evan Bakker of BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, have compiled a detailed report that breaks down everything you need to know—whether you’re a payments industry veteran or a newcomer who is still getting a basic knowledge of this complex world.

Among the big picture insights you’ll get from this new report, titled The Payments Ecosystem Report: Everything You Need to Know About The Next Era of Payment Processing:

• The 5 key events of 2015 that have set up 2016 as a watershed year for the entire payments ecosystem. 
• The basics of traditional card processing from the start of the process through to the very end.    
• Why new players and innovations like prepaid cards, store cards, and PIN debit transactions are gaining market share and creating new opportunities.   
• The effects—good and bad—of the transition to new mobile payment methods.   New players and old have surprising threats and opportunities in areas as varied as carrier billing, remittances, wearables, and more.   

This exclusive report takes you inside these big issues to explore:

• The critical steps in credit card transactions and how they are changing.
• The six major types of organizations involved in the payments ecosystem.
• The significant differences for industry players who operate closed-loop networks and offer prepaid cards.
• The challenges and opportunities facing hardware and software providers for the payments sector.   
• The 8 reasons why mobile wallets are growing so fast and how they will disrupt all aspects of the mobile ecosystem.    
• The exciting possibilities ahead in fast-growing payments subsectors like remittances, connected devices and mobile P2P payments.   
• And much more.

The Payments Ecosystem Report: Everything You Need to Know About The Next Era of Payment Processing is the only place you can get the full story on the rapidly-evolving world of payments.      

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. BUY THE REPORT >>

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of payments.   

Join the conversation about this story »

A US Congressional subcommittee on commerce and trade held a hearing today on the subject of digital currencies and blockchain technology.

Despite the recent announcement, Microsoft confirm they do accept the currency.

More than six months after the final date for application filings, only one license has been issued under New York’s BitLicense regulatory framework.

Retail giant Overstock has announced that it plans to issue company stock on its TØ.com blockchain platform. The announcement was made today at the 41st Annual International Futures Industry Conference. According to a release announcing the endeavor, Overstock revealed that it would allow shareholders to purchase its stock on TØ.com, just as it would and […]

The post Retailer Overstock Will Issue Company Stock on TØ Blockchain Platform appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Releases: Having raised over 4600 BTC in their ICO so far, Lisk is pleased to announce it has been added to the Microsoft’s Azure Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) program, and has also formed a Strategic Partnership with Chain of Things for Blockchain and IoT research. In a matter of only a few […]

The post Lisk Raises Over 1.9 Million USD – Establishes Partnerships With Microsoft Azure and IoT Research Lab Chain of Things appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Releases: C-bit Press Release: We are pleased to announce the launch of C-bit; An exact clone of Bitcoin Core .12 with a 2-Meg block-size already built into the source code. C-bit negates the need for a Bitcoin Core Hard Fork. C-bit is pleased to announce the network is now stable and the coin […]

The post C-bit Offers Bitcoin Classic a Block-size Solution appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

21 Inc has announced the launch of ping21, a service that allows users to check the uptime or latency of any given website from Bitcoin...

The post 21 Inc’s Bitcoin Vision Becomes Clearer With Announcement of Ping21 appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

A new report from PwC claims that 83 percent of financial services companies believe specific aspects of their businesses are at risk to...

The post PwC Report: While Fintech Disrupts Banks, the Blockchain Disrupts Fintech appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

As the Internet of Things (IoT) creates new devices for a variety of remote monitoring capabilities, the question naturally arises: how will the costs for these capabilities be covered? A Medium entry offers an example of how a device, the 21 Bitcoin Computer, can pay on demand for a service it provides. The mining chip integrated into […]

The post Bitcoin-Payable API: Ping21 Earns Bitcoin By Monitoring Uptime And Latency appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin price continues drawing sideways, along with global markets, in anticipation of today’s Fed rates announcement. Although markets do not expect the Fed to reintroduce the turmoil of earlier this year, there is a chance that the central bank cranks up rates and sends bitcoin and gold on their way higher. This analysis is provided […]

The post Bitcoin Price And The Fed Rates Announcement appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Last year, Bitcoin and blockchain-related startups raised over $1 billion in total investment, a massive increase from the $347 million...

The post Bitcoin Industry Venture Capitalists Shift Focus to Non-Financial Applications and Ethereum Startups appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Global bitcoin payment service provider BitPay has revealed a commercial partnership with blockchain technology provider Bloq, in an announcement. The partnership will see Bloq provide enterprise-grade implementation and support services for companies using BitPay’s open-source full node and development platform, Bitcore. Bloq will also begin offering Bitcore in its BloqEnterprise product offering, which will enable […]

The post Bitcoin Payment Processor BitPay Announces Partnership with Bloq appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin has been around since 2008, but it’s still in its infancy. That means a lack of regulation, fraud, ponzi schemes, and more. The Bitcoin industry has it all, making it the new Wild West. Digital gold is hiding “just beneath the surface,” waiting for those opportunistic, innovative and brave enough to test these uncharted territories. So what can you expect to encounter in this new frontier as one of the early pioneers?

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Industry Insider" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

It looks like Bank of America is making a concerted move into mobile payments.

The second-largest U.S. bank holding company has dispatched a top executive to Silicon Valley to investigate mobile payments startups for acquisitions or partnerships, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Thong Nguyen, Bank of America's enterprise payments executive and co-head of consumer payments, intends to use his time in Silicon Valley to foster relationships with local tech companies that could help strengthen the bank's work in mobile payments.

This is a natural step for Bank of America to take. BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has predicted that partnerships between established financial institutions and fintech startups would surge in 2016.

The outright acquisition of firms, however, would be a new look for Bank of America. Finextra points out that the bank has not made an acquisition since 2009.

But Bank of America is reportedly considering waiving its policy of not buying firms when it comes to these smaller fintech deals because it is prioritizing mobile payments. An outside firm with expertise in this area could accomplish this goal more seamlessly than an internal Bank of America system.

Bank of America has demonstrated its desire to have a significant piece of the mobile payments market. It was one of the first banks to enable real-time payment settlements on clearXchange, the peer-to-peer platform that it co-owns with several other U.S. banks.

And the focus on mobile payments is a smart move because it could easily draw in a large user base, as 65% of millennials have used a smartphone for banking activities, and 84% of users trust their bank the most to offer a mobile wallet.

Bank of America's new strategy is proof that financial institutions are adjusting their approach as we head into the thick of the most profound era of change for financial services companies since the 1970s brought us index mutual funds, discount brokers, and ATMs.

No firm is immune from this disruption and every company must have a strategy to harness the powerful advantages of the new fintech revolution.

The battle already underway will create surprising winners and stunned losers among some of the most powerful names in the financial world: The most contentious conflicts (and partnerships) will be between startups that are completely reengineering decades-old practices, traditional power players who are furiously trying to adapt with their own innovations, and total disruption of established technology & processes:

• Traditional Retail Banks vs. Online-Only Banks: Traditional retail banks provide a valuable service, but online-only banks can offer many of the same services with higher rates and lower fees

• Traditional Lenders vs. Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces: P2P lending marketplaces are growing much faster than traditional lenders—only time will tell if the banks strategy of creating their own small loan networks will be successful

• Traditional Asset Managers vs. Robo-Advisors: Robo-advisors like Betterment offer lower fees, lower minimums and solid returns to investors, but the much larger traditional asset managers are creating their own robo-products while providing the kind of handholding that high net worth clients are willing to pay handsomely for.

As you can see, this very fluid environment is creating winners and losers before your eyes…and it’s also creating the potential for new cost savings or growth opportunities for both you and your company.

After months of researching and reporting this important trend, Evan Bakker, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has put together an essential report on the fintech ecosystem that explains the new landscape, identifies the ripest areas for disruption, and highlights the some of the most exciting new companies. These new players have the potential to become the next Visa, Paypal or Charles Schwab because they have the potential to transform important areas of the financial services industry like:

• Retail banking

• Lending and Financing

• Payments and Transfers
• 
Wealth and Asset Management

• Markets and Exchanges

• Insurance

• Blockchain Transactions


If you work in any of these sectors, it’s important for you to understand how the fintech revolution will change your business and possibly even your career. And if you’re employed in any part of the digital economy, you’ll want to know how you can exploit these new technologies to make your employer more efficient, flexible and profitable.

Among the big picture insights you'll get from The Fintech Ecosystem Report: Measuring the effects of technology on the entire financial services industry:

• Why financial technology is so disruptive to financial services—it will soon change the nature of almost every financial activity, from banking to payments to wealth management.
• The basic conflict will be between old firms and new—startups are re-imagining financial services processes from top to bottom, while incumbent financial services firms are trying to keep up with new products of their own.
• Both sides face serious obstacles—traditional banks and financial services firms are investing heavily in innovation, but leveraging their investments is difficult with so much invested in legacy systems and profit centers.
• Meanwhile, startups are struggling to navigate a rapidly-changing regulatory landscape and must scale up quickly with limited resources.
• The blockchain is a wild card that could completely overhaul financial services. Both major banks and startups around the world are exploring the technology behind the blockchain, which stores and records Bitcoin transactions. This technology could lower the cost of many financial activities to near-zero and could wipe away many traditional banking activities completely.

This exclusive report also:

• Explains the main growth drivers of the exploding fintech ecosystem.
• Frames the challenges and opportunities faced by incumbents and startups.
• Breaks down global and regional fintech investments, including which regions are the most significant and which are poised for the highest growth.
• Reveals which two financial services are garnering the most investment, and are therefore likely to be transformed first and fastest by fintech
• Explains why blockchain technology is critically important to banks and startups, and assesses which players stand to gain the most from it.
• Explores the financial sectors facing disruption and breaks them down in terms of investments, vulnerabilities and growth opportunities.
• And much more.

The Fintech Ecosystem Report: Measuring the effects of technology on the entire financial services industry is how you get the full story on the fintech revolution.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the fintech revolution, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of financial technology.

Join the conversation about this story »

Global markets are cautious going into today (Wednesday’s) Federal Open Market Committee rates announcement. While many believe that the Fed may now back out of rates increases, US employment gains and calmer markets suggest the FOMC may be preparing to crank rates again. This post is powered by the Bitcoin Trading Network xbt.social – CCN29 […]

The post Global Economic Outlook: Markets Await Fed Rates Statement appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

• Budget 2016 key points
• Live coverage, news updates and analysis
• Osborne announces new ‘lifetime ISA’ for young savers
• ‘Sugar levy’ on soft drinks to be spent on school sports
• Growth forecasts cut but surplus target maintained
• Restricts tax loopholes for big corporations

2.02pm GMT

Jamie Oliver, the chef and a vigorous campaigner for a sugar tax, said the hancellor’s announcement that he will tax the soft drinks industry was “amazing news”. He posted on Instagram:

We did it guys !! We did it !!! A sugar levy on sugary sweetened drinks ... A profound move that will ripple around the world ... business cannot come between our kids health !! Our kids health comes first ... Bold, brave, logical and supported by all the right people ... now bring on the whole strategy soon to come ... Amazing news.

1.56pm GMT

Jeremy Corbyn is responding to the budget now. He is delivering a decent speech, and getting a respectable hearing, although he has made little attempt to engage with the specific measures in the budget so far.

This is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.

Corbyn doing ok but so far entirely prepared speech - no response to what Osborne announced today..sugar tax, new pensions, mystery numbers

The Sartori Coin will introduce people in Japan to bitcoin in a unique way. The Corbett Report, an independent, listener-supported alternative news source in Japan, featured Yoshi Kan of Raimu Inc., a Japanese import company, who said he is preparing the release the Sartori Coin, a physical bitcoin. Kan said he and his brother became interested in […]

The post Sartori Coin: A Physical Bitcoin in Japan appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

That’s what 21.co claims. “…We’ve built what we think of as the first micropayments marketplace: a marketplace that allows buyers and sellers to trade in digital goods using micropayments, initially specifically focused on APIs for developer use,” the company wrote on its Medium blog. Users who own a 21 Bitcoin Computer can explore the marketplace […]

The post Has The First Micropayments Marketplace Arrived? appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Good morning! Here's what you need to know in markets on Wednesday.

It's budget day. Government plans to turn a budget deficit into a surplus by the end of the decade look off course, and on Sunday Chancellor George Osborne said he would need to announce fresh spending cuts in his annual budget statement to parliament, which starts at 12.30 p.m. GMT (8.00 a.m. ET).

Employment figures are coming. The headline rate is forecast to remain unchanged at 5.1%, with February's claimant count falling by 9,100. Economists are expecting average earnings excluding bonuses to have risen by 2% in the three months to January. Figures are due at 9.30 a.m. GMT (5.30 a.m. ET).

The US Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday as it balances continued concerns about the health of the global economy with fresh signs that domestic inflation is starting to rear its head. The central bank, which hiked rates in December for the first time in nearly a decade, sounded a cautious note at its last policy meeting in January, amid a selloff on financial markets, weaker oil prices and falling inflation expectations.

Asian shares are mixed ahead of the US Fed meeting later today. Japan's Nikkei closed down 0.83%, while at the time of writing (6.35 a.m. GMT/2.35 a.m. ET) China's benchmark Shanghai Composite is up 0.24% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng is down 0.20%.

China's Premier Li Keqiang defended the country's economic policies on Wednesday, repeating well-worn lines that there was more opportunity than risk and vowing there would be no hard landing for the world's second-largest economy. China will cut red tape for businesses, work to reduce corporate debt, improve financial regulation and ensure no mass layoffs will result as it restructures heavy industries such as coal and steel, Li said at a news conference on Wednesday at the end of the annual meeting of parliament.

Mohamed El-Erian, the former CEO of the Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) and current chief economic adviser to Allianz, believes that within the next three years, the global economy will hit a "T-junction." Policymakers will either watch helplessly as the world sinks into a mire of financial volatility and political collapse, or they'll find a way to unlock the piles of corporate cash sitting on the sidelines, reinvigorating growth. At the moment, it's a coin flip.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is cutting 448 investment banking jobs in the UK to cut costs. The bank is cutting back office and middle office positions, including support and technology, as it tries to shrink the division. Staff were informed of the cuts on Tuesday.

Amazon is under investigation in Italy for alleged tax evasion, Francois Nuyts, Amazon’s chief for Italy and Spain, said in an interview on Tuesday. Bloomberg reports that Nuyts said the Seattle-based online retailer is cooperating with the probe. “Amazon pays all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction where we operate, including Italy, and we are cooperating fully with the Italian authorities,” Nuyts said when asked about legal and tax issues

Big Wall Street banks, after spending massive amounts of money and time to get their old, creaking systems in better shape, are now trying to sell technology they've developed in-house to other companies. US banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co are spinning out or selling a range of tools that pertain to data security, mobile applications and "systems integration" — the process of flattening layers of aging technology.

ICAP, which matches buyers and sellers of bonds, swaps and currencies, said it has become the first to distribute data on trades to customers using the same blockchain technology that underpins the virtual currency bitcoin. Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, creates a shared database in which participants can trace every transaction ever conducted. Its proponents say it has the potential to shake up how financial markets operate.

Join the conversation about this story »

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