The iPhone X’s best feature may indeed be its facial recognition technology, but not for the reasons Apple intended. Instead, iPhone users are having fun with animoji, the new, animated version of the emoji icons already popular across messaging apps and platforms. Using Apple’s Face ID sensors, the iPhone X captures real-life facial movements and maps them onto the cartoon faces. Apple probably imagined the feature being used to send a, “Hey Mom, I love you!” message, but instead, the internet is blowing up with animoji karaoke videos — and they’re hilarious.  Read More...

While banks offer a service they call "check cashing," it's not really check cashing in the true sense, Ingo Money CEO Drew Edwards tells Karen Webster. It's not instant, and the customer who cashed it is still on the hook if the check happens to rubberize. Edwards offers some suggestions for how banks can do better by their customers — and even open up a new revenue line — by helping them instantly turn those checks into cash.  Read More...

Financial institutions know they have to innovate against a hypercompetitive and changing landscape. Firms large and small are eyeing opportunities to keep customers happy and loyal — and are spending both time and money to do it, according to Marc Wintz, CMO of payment and integrated commerce solutions provider i2c. He explained all this and more in our most recent Data Drivers edition.  Read More...