Tag Archives: Money

10 things you can’t buy with a credit card

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“Though it’s increasingly rare for merchants to refuse payment by credit card, it’s not unheard of. American Express, Visa and MasterCard, for instance, officially forbid the use of its plastic for medical marijuana—even in Colorado, which this year became the first state to allow marijuana use for recreational purposes. However, some dispensaries in Colorado are flouting those rules.  American Express points to federal law, which still prohibits the use of marijuana even for medical or recreational purposes. MasterCard is seeking guidance from the federal government, a spokesman says. ‘We’re facing a situation where there’s an inconsistency between federal and state laws.'”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-you-cant-buy-on-your-credit-card-2014-01-22

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Why Using Bitcoin Could Make a Target-Style Data Breach Obsolete

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“Bitcoin is actually much more like cash than most other forms of payment.  Each transaction only contains an address (a unique string of characters) for the sender, an address for the recipient, and the amount of Bitcoin being transferred between them. The address can only successfully send Bitcoin if it has access to the private key associated with a person’s Bitcoin wallet. This private key is never sent as part of the transaction, however.  But just as importantly, using Bitcoin instead of a credit card also means that no personal data is transmitted or stored. That leaves potential data thieves empty-handed save for the Bitcoin addresses, which are useless without the private keys.”

http://moneymorning.com/2014/01/17/using-bitcoin-make-target-style-data-breach-obsolete/

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FBI warns retailers: more breaches are coming

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“A report to sent out to retailers last week says that there were a total of 20 hacking cases in the past year, and they that involved the same kind of software that was used to hit Target.  The FBI is explicitly warning that it will almost certainly happen again. ‘We believe POS malware crime will continue to grow over the near term, despite law enforcement and security firms’ actions to mitigate it,’ the FBI said in the report.  ‘The accessibility of the malware on underground forums, the affordability of the software and the huge potential profits to be made from retail POS systems in the United States make this type of financially motivated cyber crime attractive to a wide range of actors.'”

http://vator.tv/news/2014-01-24-fbi-warns-retailers-more-breaches-are-coming

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Bitcoin Targets Payments Business of Giants Visa to JPMorgan

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“Already, some retailers are paying 1 percent to process transactions in Bitcoin, improving profit margins. Taking debit or credit cards, they may pay more than 3 percent to issuing banks. Bitcoin transactions log immediately, and are confirmed in as little as five minutes.  A lower-cost virtual currency-driven payment system could take business from companies like Western Union that specialize in foreign remittances, as well as Visa and MasterCard Inc.  Businesses paying suppliers through the automated clearing system to which all U.S. banks belong have no guarantee that payments will clear the same day, and the process uses a 40-year-old software protocol.”

http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/664579?type=bloomberg

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Treasury Secretary Lew: Jamie Dimon and I share ‘incredulity’ on bitcoin

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“Treasury Secretary Jack Lew called bitcoin a ‘phenomenon,’ but told CNBC that the U.S. government needs to make sure the digital currency doesn’t become a funding haven for criminals and terrorists.  At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Lew told ‘Squawk Box‘ he has spoken to JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon about bitcoin, and the two share a certain ‘incredulity’ about it. ‘From the government’s perspective, we have to make sure [bitcoin] does not become avenue to funding illegal activities or to funding activities that have malign purposes like terrorist activities,’ Lew said.  ‘It is an anonymous form of transaction. And it offers places for people to hide.'”

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101357809

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Chinese Central Bank Official: We Don’t Want to Suppress Bitcoin

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“Questioned about the central bank’s recent actions limiting bitcoin use in China, its chief of the survey and statistics department Sheng Song Cheng stressed that bitcoin’s status in China was that of a ‘virtual good’, and that the bank’s position was in line with other countries’ stances.  The Chinese authorities have forbidden both financial institutions and third-party payment processors from accessing bitcoin exchanges in recent months.  Sheng is also not known to be a digital currency fan. He was quoted in an English translation of a previous Chinese media report as saying: ‘Bitcoin is merely a utopia for technology supremacists and absolute liberalists.'”

http://www.coindesk.com/chinese-central-bank-official-dont-want-suppress-bitcoin/

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Bitcoin is Not Legal Tender, Says Canada Government Official

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“The official from the Department of Finance, who was not named in the article, went on to say the federal government and Canadian regulators would ‘continue to monitor developments involving virtual currencies’ but would not say whether the government would officially license fiat-to-digital currency exchanges in future.  The WSJ report also quoted a Bank of Canada official as saying regulators would take a greater interest in bitcoin if it became large enough to pose a risk to the stability of the Canadian financial system, but would be less concerned if it remained a smaller, stand-alone payment system.”

http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-not-legal-tender-canada-government-official/

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Bitcoin Turns Into Art as Sweden Rejects Creative Currency

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“Bitcoin is making an art critic out of the Swedish taxman.  The largest Nordic economy is set to reject Bitcoin and its competitors as a currency and instead give the software the same tax treatment it would an antique Persian rug or a painting by Andy Warhol.  Sweden is leaning toward an interpretation of Bitcoin that will allow the nation to charge capital gains taxes on any transactions using the software. The move would place Bitcoin in an asset class that includes antiques, jewelry, stamps and copyrights.  Sweden’s central bank raised concerns in June that Bitcoin and its competitors may pose risks to those using it as a payment method.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-21/bitcoin-becomes-art-as-swedish-taxman-rejects-creative-currency.html

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Irish Bitcoin Association calls for Central Bank to regulate BitCoin

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“TDs here have already called for tougher controls of the currency.  Vincent O’Donoghue of the Irish Bitcoin Association today told RTÉ News that the currency should be recognised, so that it would be safer to use.  ‘We’re calling on the Central Bank to have a close look at it. It’s something for the future.  IT developing the way it, it would be disingenuous to ignore it.’  Debate has raged about the validity and safety of the currency, with sceptics fearful that it is unmanageable, while proponents such as web entrepreneur Jeremy Allaire believing it to be the future of both web and retail payment.”

http://www.thejournal.ie/call-for-central-bank-to-regulate-bitcoin-1282145-Jan2014/

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The ‘Cheapest’ Country in the World

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“In socialist Venezuela, those with access to foreign currency can propel themselves into the one percent, flying around the world and living in five-star hotels, while locals earning in Bolívares battle one of the most expensive economies on the planet, struggling to find and afford basics such as cooking oil, chicken and toilet paper. Fed by inflation, the divide has grown rapidly in tandem with the expansion of the black market.  Those with dollars, or any hard currency, are able to take advantage of the thriving black market by buying local money either in shady street deals or in white-collar transactions with willing brokers by transferring their money between international bank accounts.”

http://world.time.com/2014/01/23/venezuelas-currency-controls-propels-those-with-connections/

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