Ada Lovelace made Charles Babbage’s dream of computing possible. Alan Turing’s team of codebreakers turned the tide of World War II. Babbage and Turing were two unsung heroes whose contributions to those historic milestones went largely unknown for decades. According to Karen Webster, distribution in a digital world is payments innovation’s unsung hero — a concept that will determine who wins and who doesn’t. The report last week of General Mills’ interest in acquiring online wholesale club Boxed further makes that point, she said. One could also ask Alexa.  Read More...

As Uber sells off its Xchange Leasing unit that rented cars to rideshare drivers, startups like HyreCar are expanding. Through the service, drivers can rent cars for the short term on demand — even cars with TLC plates for its New York City drivers on its platform. Here’s why the service could be more profitable than Xchange, and how HyreCar is planning on dealing with self-driving cars.  Read More...

Kiosks seem to be taking off in the world of retail, selling everything from cars to juice cleanses. One California-based company has taken this channel and transformed it into a growing way to offer both juice and natural, prepared foods. Urban Remedy has seen a 350 percent growth in its kiosks, outpacing growth across the company’s business lines. Here’s why Urban Remedy predicts even more expansion — and why it’s cautiously considering eCommerce. Read More...