Alibaba’s biggest rival in China, Tencent, has just led a $350 million funding round for a startup called Koudai Gouwu that could challenge Alibaba where it’s weakest: mobile shopping. Koudai Gouwu (“Pocket Shopping) is a mobile marketplace that lets merchants sell direct to buyers, generating...
Alibaba is hoping for a boost for its e-commerce-oriented mobile-phone OS from a new partnership with Chinese handset maker Meizu, according to ITNews.com. Alibaba’s YunOS, introduced in 2011, is a heavily modified version of Android that Alibaba originally planned as a way to promote the...
Shortly after BitFury Capital announced an undisclosed investment in digital currency merchant processor GoCoin, GoCoin CEO Steve Beauregard said that his Bitcoin operation will make B2B payments recruiting a top priority. “The goal is to bring all of [BitFury’s vendors] into the ecosystem and have...
Pop quiz—what is the best type of customer? Although “rich” might be the easiest go-to answer, “loyal” is perhaps a better answer because, over the life of a business, a loyal customer who buys often and recommends the establishment to others is more valuable than a...
The Central Bank in Ecuador is trying to launch a national mobile payment scheme that is designed to handle B2B transactions (along with P2P, top-up, cash in and out, in-store purchases and electronic receipts), deliver a very low rate (a $50 charge costs four cents,...
When people think e-commerce, they think Amazon, or eBay or maybe Netflix — some provider of a digital marketplace for the purchase of goods or digital services. Hair salons — well, services don’t get more real world, brick-and-mortar-based commerce than that, right? MPD CEO Karen...
As Apple looks to the first half of next year for the first shipments of its payments-capable Apple Watch, companies look to support the device find themselves in a frustrating security conundrum. As with any brand new market, there is little immediate risk of cyber...
When retailers began accepting Apple Pay on Monday (Oct. 20), it was inevitable that there would be glitches. So far, there seems to be about 1,000 of them, most notably in the form of double-charges at various Apple Pay partner retailers for customers presenting their...
Apple is getting extra savvy with Apple Pay by incorporating buy-it buttons into Apple’s iAd mobile advertising platform. These new buy-it buttons will be embedded in mobile advertisements, which will allow users to quickly and seamlessly make a purchase via Apple Pay. Currently, Apple Pay...
