Getting consumers to fall in love with innovation is the day job for many a payments innovator. And they almost always produce innovation, Karen Webster says, that asks consumers to make wholesale changes to what they do now. It’s why she argues that getting consumers to change might be more about asking them not to — and what innovations could be well-positioned to become payments innovation’s path of least resistance. Skeptical? Don’t be. Just watch the monkeys.  Read More...

One in four people face food insecurity and hunger. So, why is $13 billion in food stamp benefits being left on the table every year? Turns out, securing food stamps isn’t always easy, especially for people who have unreliable access to internet and transportation. San Francisco startup mRelief has long endeavored to help hungry people get the resources they need, but the company realized it must do more than help users determine their eligibility. Here’s what mRelief added to its service process this month.  Read More...

While dramatic acts of inspiration get a lot of press, in real life, very few ideas come out perfectly formed on the first try and need a lot of reworking before being ready for prime time. This week featured a lot of reworks in progress — as South Korea and Jamie Dimon rethought their bitcoin opinions (some), Google hit the reset button on payments (again) and the Trump administration decided the CRA needed a revision (of some unspecified kind).  Read More...