Yes, this is an interesting one! I am following MMT and have some products supporting it. The market in predominantly Islamic countries is huge and a main goal of 'banking the unbanked' should help - it gives them options and some independence from the primary capitalist instrument (the Banks). I am not even close to being knowledgable in Islam/money, but e-payments make it even easier to build in the 10% 'zakat' payment they advocate (on earnings/received money).
And along the way I found this great blog than transcends any religion:
http://www.haqislam.org/daddy-can-i-have-10-dollars/
21 Oct 2010 11:44 Read comment
footnote: can't have been a couple of years ago - must have been beginning of this year!!
19 Oct 2010 21:31 Read comment
Just one caveat Robert to #7 - even clicking on the so called 'upper right hand corner red x' is a risk... there is no guarantee what clicking there will do. http://www.50connect.co.uk/technology/internet/fight_off_the_scareware_threat
Alt-F4 should close the pop-up window, and if it does not, then Ctrl-Alt-Del and use the Task Manager to kill the whole IE/FF browser etc(including any other running copies).
I confess to installing 'Internet Security 2010' in a moment of weakness a couple of years ago, thinking I was removing a trojan, only to install one. Took days to resolve and clean fully because that machine had no effective AV. It does now.
19 Oct 2010 14:00 Read comment
I'd almost agree but we're not there yet. For example, I note I am writing more cheques than previously these days, sometimes just to avoid the Credit/Debit charge which is creeping into payments. Its just the principle that if I am making a merchants life easier and more instant, they should shoulder the fee, not me. Sometimes its simply a ploy to make me pay with a Debit card to forgoe the additional protection paying with a Credit Card offers me, but since both are 'Visa' in my case, I don't see the different from a merchants perspective.
Conversely, I HATE receiving cheques, because they invaribly expire before I physically get to a bank (and they are valid for 6 months or even a year).
Lastly, try cashing a US check in the UK - NO GUARANTEE of payment whatsoever between the banks. I don't believe it but my UK Bank told me "USD cheques can be returned unpaid apparently for a period of 6 years after presentation" What's that about.
18 Oct 2010 22:34 Read comment
Nice days 'work' for about $8 entrance fee (assuming a couple took it)
Normally having a pile of money allows you to make more money, but in the case of museums (especially free ones) this isn't so easy. Having to protect something worth $50m (who says?) costs money. I wonder if these things are insured / insurable? Are they irreplaceable - well the original is, since it was cut from the frame, and a copy will have to suffice now.
05 Oct 2010 11:20 Read comment
Keeping that analogy going - I am constantly wondering that, despite having fully paid up AV protection, maybe I am still going to crash! Have I still got a clever Trojan - do I trust my seatbelt in otherwords. Perhaps I should get myself some airbags to go with the AV and sign up to some Identity Protection service? But the one suggested by Robert Siciliano here seemed so US oriented, I wonder if it would even go off in the event of a shunt.
16 Sep 2010 14:55 Read comment
Hi,
I did your poll, but since I don't work for a Bank or a Regulatory body, it seemed to be completely irrelevant to me.
For me, I like the concept of SEPA, and your blog made me check on the actual status at least, but it seems like its stuck in treacle? Often happens in the finance industry because everyone is so nervous about their skin in the game and cut.
For me, I just want to know if 'my chosen bank' or payment processor can offer cross border payments facilities, and to what extent (if any) will I be covered for any due taxation, auditing, laundering etc. Does SEPA legislate for these things. Basically, if I receive a SEPA payment, can I actually trust it is real and will I be liable to any additional fees.
When I say 'I', I mean a company or service I might be working for that needs SEPA payments. I can't remember the last time I personally had to do a cross border e-payment, and I assume my Bank can handle it today (with charges) anyway - so SEPA adds little change or functionality to me personally.
16 Sep 2010 11:58 Read comment
Excellent point. The cost to the issuing banks would be high (certainly higher than just sending a CHIP & PIN). And we already know that Banks are 'happy' to accept a level of impersonation fraud because they can offset those losses against the savings of convenience. That counts more than your identity I guess (joking).
I just received a call from my Credit issuer inviting me to become a Debit account customer (with loads of supposed benefits). Within 10 mins on the phone (divulging lots of data that I had to decide on the fly if it was relevant to the application or not) and a couple of days, I received a Card and then the PIN. Easy. I wonder if I will actually use this account.
On the downside of PINs - I was with my father at his bank the other day (in his 80's), and they wanted to identify him - they asked him to type his PIN into the bankers keyboard to do this, to which he stated out loud what it was. Doh! He doesn't do CHIP & PIN very often, and I bet he doesn't really shield it when he does, but surprisingly he was right and the bank trusted that above his signature.
13 Sep 2010 20:44 Read comment
OK, so the topic is sensitive, but not altogether completely rational. I was making the comparison with other 'biometric' type data like your DOB, photo, signature. All are unique and do not change (you could change a signature, or have several, but they are still unique subject to forgery).
So how exactly can your 'vein pattern' be used against you any more than a forged dignature or photoID? All can be stored digitally. All can be replayed. If the receiving merchant is prepared to accept photocopies of a passport, driving licence etc and not really care about due KYC identity, then anybody can register as me. Its a complete pain to me when I have to prove it was not, but the merchant/bank has to prove they checked the identity of the fraudster.
Knowing your DNA is a different matter. That contains info which can be used to discriminate (in an even deeper way than just viewing your photo!).
07 Sep 2010 08:20 Read comment
I'm on a roll today.
AFAICS, messing with your credit references is a minefield. Most people stick their head in the sand and hope its all OK, because as soon as you start to try to 'update' it, it gets messy. Once errors get on there, it seems pretty impossible to get it corrected. Even checking it too often can count against you!
03 Sep 2010 12:58 Read comment
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