In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche
There is an interesting black; or rather grey, swan threat to Chase’s future in the form of Glass-Steagall. Glass-Steagall was the Depression era law that forcibly separated investment and consumer banks for 60 years. Its repeal was one the hallmarks of Bill Clinton’s 1990s financial reforms.
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The real conflict in brick and mortar app payment is that there are two very different technologies in widespread use. This makes systems incompatible and effectively drives a wedge between the different companies offering payment solutions and their customers.
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If news stories about Walmart Pay are correct; the app is an impressive piece of retail technology that puts Walmart well ahead of competitors. The new app actually gives Walmart some capabilities that even Apple Pay lacks.
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Apple Pay might have a major new competitor with some intriguing capabilities. A British startup called Plutus has unveiled plans for Plutus Tap & Pay, a payment app that allows a customer to instantly pay with Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency called Ethereum.
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Chase has become the first bank to go live with a mobile payment solution similar to Apple Pay; Chase Pay. The Chase Pay website is now live; although the solution itself is not yet accepted in any retailers. Instead the digital wallet supports a number of lesser online retailers; including Harry & David, and 1-800 Flowers, in what looks suspiciously like a beta test.
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This could be a major game changer because it could allow people to send untraceable bitcoin payments at the touch of a button. If it works as advertised; StartChat would enable a person in a nation with strict financial controls; such as China or Argentina, to move all of her money out of the country with a smartphone.
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Durden noted that demand for bitcoin has been increasing as the Chinese government has stepped up efforts to halt the flow of currency out of the country. Back in September; when a bitcoin was fetching $230 in the open market, the People’s Republic started trying to enforce a prohibition on moving more than $3,300 (20,000 Yuan) out of the country in a day.
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The Apple-zombie press is hyping up the Current C “postponement” as a victory for Apple Pay, yet it could be a serious defeat for Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) payment app.
The danger for Apple; and Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android Pay, is that Big Retail has concluded that app payment is a niche product that will not drive many sales. The retail giants’ executives think that contactless payment is simply not worth the time and effort.
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Xoom could help PayPal tap a vast market around the world: the unbanked people with no bank accounts or no access to one.
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Bitcoin is a real wild card here because it gives Greeks a practical alternative to both the Euro and whatever paper their government might try to foist upon them.
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