More congressional hearings this week on all things card industry, with a primary focus on interchange. I’m wary of a Congress that decides to place pricing controls where [I think] the market should be determining pricing (e.g. interchange…), but I’m also wary of the credit card industry’s inability to separate the business model of interchange from questionable business policies. Read More »

Are uber-identity systems ready to be driven by private enterprise? Clear may have a shot at being the first to prove the concept on a mass scale.

I love my new Clear card,, which allows me skip past those long airport security lines for $100 per year. All three Bay Area airports now are equipped with Clear, as are 15 other airports around the country including two in both the NYC and DC metro areas. In literally ten minutes’ time I was signed up, and the card arrived in the mail ten days later. Now I just show a card I’m trusted, because this piece of identifying technology is linked to all sorts of other databases and systems. Read More »

Fear is a powerful and oft-misunderstood force. Personally, I’m going through powerful changes in understanding the irrational and and debilitating impact it can have, by going deep to understand things that I need to courageously face head-on. Similarly, here’s how fear affects consumers when it comes to adoption of technologies we focus on:

Online shopping: by nearly a 4:1 margin, consumers are Read More »

OK, honestly? I know I’m young, have some money, have an easy-going attitude, but that really doesn’t give you the right to make a pass at me at every opportunity you get. Read More »

There’s a payoff if banks can show consumers that they’re truly green at heart on environmental issues. Soon-to-be-released survey data from Javelin Strategy & Research shows that not only do customers gravitate to businesses that are active in environmental issues, but they’re also quite loyal to banks that do so. Read More »

Over the last few days I’ve had the opportunity to see the future, by looking in some of our longitudinal (time-trended) data on consumer preferences and behaviors. Sometimes I feel like I’m cheating a bit, because it’s really not that hard to peer into the future by combining both quantitative consumer data and knowledge of industry trends.

Green banking is a good example, where we’ve been Read More »

An audience member posed a question at a presentation I was giving on payment technology several weeks back, and I am chagrined that I don’t know the answer. Supposedly (and reliable sources say this is urban legend), you can’t use your cell phone while pumping gas because it will cause sparks and blow up everything in sight.

So the question: does this usage ban extend to mobile transactions? Read More »

Our venerable 16th President provides me with constant inspiration, especially when I take “controversial” positions (that’s my job and I make NO apologies for it!!) I’m a big fan of the apolitical stance, and let the facts and analysis speak for themselves. This is holding true for Javelin’s latest contactless payments forecast and the associated report, for which I’m being attacked from both sides of the spectrum. Read More »

PayPal has always been the source of such irony, and the rallyiong of Australian banks against Ebay as reported in Finextra today is no exception. PayPal and EBay are both that rare breed of disruptive technologies, literally having to invent new rules to fit their new marketplaces and transaction methods. As a result, lawsuits, regulatory scrutiny and industry players rallying together in opposition have not been infrequent. But what’s surprising is the corner of the globe that this comes from (Australia), where just a few years ago merchants banded together to force the banks to lower interchange, thus potentially bringing about payment choice through broad mandate rather than free markets. Turnabout is fair play I suppose, and you’ll never have major innovation and evolution without disruption and upheaval.

Saw this in the Internet Retailer this week. PayPal is now accepted as a method of payment for in store purchases at outdoor gear retailer Moosejaw Mountaineering. Is this the long-awaited expansion to the physical world for PayPal that we’ve all been waiting for???? Read More »