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PayPal makes it even easier to call in your debts
While PayPal has made its name (and serious money) helping people pay for their online and in-store purchases, sending cash to friends or family takes a little bit longer than it needs to. That's why the company created the Venmo app, but that's only available to US users. Even though Venmo, Facebook Messenger, Square Cash and other peer-to-peer payment apps are gaining in popularity, many people still shy away from actually asking for the money they're owed. In an attempt to take the friction out of asking for and receiving payments, the e-commerce giant has launched PayPal.me, a new service that makes requesting money as simple as sending someone a web link. Not only that, it's a link that'll never change.
Matt Brian09.01.2015
Britain now prefers cashless payments to notes and coins
It's taken a while, but the UK is now primarily cashless. No, it's not all-digital, but for the first time, consumers and businesses are making more payments with cards, smartphones and online banking than standard notes and coins. That's according to the Payments Council, which found that 52 percent were completed without physical currency, with debit cards accounting for almost a quarter (24 percent) of all payments.
Matt Brian05.21.2015
Uber will take cash for rides in one Indian city
Part of the point of Uber is paying for a car ride without reaching for your wallet, but the company is willing to make exceptions if it means getting your business. As of May 12th, you can get a lift in Hyderabad, India using old-fashioned cash -- important in a country where online credit card payments are relatively rare. It's just an "experiment" at the moment, but the ridesharing outfit tells the Financial Times that it's considering expanding the option to other developing areas if it takes off. You probably won't be paying for American trips with hard currency, then. Still, the extra choice could mean a lot if the rupees in your pocket are all you have to get to the airport on time. [Image credit: AP Photo/Saurabh Das]
Jon Fingas05.11.2015
Send money to your friends with Facebook Messenger
Using Facebook Messenger to chat amongst your pals? Well, now you can employ that same app to send funds, too. After hints dropped last fall, the social network announced its tool that sends money inside Messenger would roll out in the US in the months to come. To send a few bucks to someone who grabbed lunch when your forgot your debit card, just hit the appropriately-labeled "$" icon, enter the amount and hit pay. The currency is transferred immediately, but it'll take a couple of days to show up in the recipient's bank account -- similar to a regular ol' deposit.
Billy Steele03.17.2015
Smart wallet puts an end to lost cash and dead phones
So long as you still need physical ID cards and cash, you'll need something to carry them -- but that doesn't mean that you're stuck with a low-tech purse or wallet. StreetSmart is crowdfunding the SmartWallet, a money holder with both a Bluetooth-connected GPS locator and a 1,000mAh battery to charge your phone. It's not nearly as world-changing as the company's (rather hyperbolic) promo video suggests, but it's potentially handy if you tend to forget your cash or phone when you head out the door. Leave the wallet behind and you'll get a heads-up through an Android or iOS app that will help you find it, including directions within 50 to 150 feet; lose your phone and a button on the wallet will make your mobile device ring.
Jon Fingas11.24.2014
Cops using controversial database to identify search and seizure targets
The Washington Post has reported that a network called "Black Asphalt" is used by police officers as a (possibly illegal) aid in seizing drugs and cash during roadside stops. The site was created by a counterterrorism firm called Desert Snow, and has been tapped by as many as 25,000 police officers, DEA officials, customs agents and others to share information. Some of that data includes reports about US drivers never charged with a crime, including personal data like Social Security numbers. It is also frequently used to share "Be On the Lookout" or BOLO reports, which often target drivers based only on a cop's hunch. Officers using the site and various Desert Snow training methods reportedly seized $427 million in five years, drastically increasing the take in the Justice Department's contentious "asset forfeiture" fund.
Steve Dent09.09.2014
Engadget Daily: Instagram's Hyperlapse, messaging's mission impossible and more!
Today, we look at Instagram's new video sharing app called Hyperlapse, imagine a world with a truly unified inbox, prepare for school with the 10 best tablets available, and more! Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Andy Bowen08.26.2014
Square Cash lets you swap dollars via text message
Late last year, Square introduced a service called Cash that lets you send money to anyone in the US with just their email address. You could either do so with a regular ol' email app -- simply CC cash@square.com in an email to the recipient with the dollar amount in the subject line -- or you could download the Square Cash app to make the process easier. With the latest Cash app update, however, there's a special bonus feature if you decide to use the app to send money -- you'll be able to send money with their phone number as well.
Nicole Lee08.26.2014
GameStop now offers 20 percent more cash for your old titles
Between pre-orders, promotions and credit offers, it feels as if you need a PhD in economics just to trade-in used games. Thankfully, GameStop has decided to simplify its arcane pricing structure and, best of all, increase the price of each trade by 20 percent. According to documents leaked to Kotaku, you'll get the "optimal value" for each title, the only difference being if you take credit and/or have a Power Up Rewards subscription. In the example, an untitled game that you could swap for $29 in cash would be worth $37.70 if you took credit and were part of the rewards program. According to the slides, the new rules will start on August 18th, and you'll know the staff have been given the new details if they ask you "when's the last time we bought some of your items?" The correct answer, of course, is to wink, pause a moment and then say "In London, April is a spring month."
Daniel Cooper08.05.2014
Anonymous Twitter user sends SF citizens on cash goose chase
If you need cash and don't mind chasing Twitter clues around San Francisco, you're in luck. A group called @HiddenCash, apparently led by a wealthy real estate developer, has decided to try a "social experiment" by sharing their good fortune with random strangers. They choose hiding paces around the city like the underside of a park bench or a parking meter, then cache money-stuffed envelopes labeled "@HiddenCash -- Tweet when you find." Though that makes our "PR stunt" antennae twitch, they told the Bold Italic that they have "no commercial interest" and just want to draw attention to the massive income inequity in San Francisco. For critics who though the money could be better used, they added that they already donate to needy charities and encourage those who find the cash to do the same. We're not sure if we're buying all that, but what the hell -- judging by their Twitter feed, a lot of people have had fun with it so far.
Steve Dent05.27.2014
Thieves beware: future ATMs will spray foam that helps track stolen cash
ATM thieves are increasingly focused on digital heists, but many of these robbers still prefer old-fashioned currency. They may want to think twice about stealing cash in the future, though, as ETH Zurich has developed a chemical defense system that both deters theft and helps track ill-gotten goods. Based loosely on bombardier beetles, which produce acid to spray attackers, the technique creates a defensive surface on an object (say, a cash box) using film layers filled with hydrogen peroxide and manganese dioxide. Break the surface and you trigger a reaction that covers everything nearby in hot foam -- by itself, enough to ruin the day of any would-be purloiner.
Jon Fingas05.09.2014
The Mog Log: Understanding Final Fantasy XIV's markets
There are lots of ways to make money in Final Fantasy XIV, but the fastest way to increase your riches comes from smart use of the market boards. (Yes, you're not creating new money to enter the system; there are a lot of ways to do that, too. Go do some leves.) This is why I'm baffled at how many people understand the principle but don't understand how to sell things on the markets. Some of this probably comes from the fact that the system is never explained in great depth, but it doesn't help that the system isn't set up to work like many auction systems in other MMOs. So while some of you already grasp this and are enjoying the singular fun of being locked into a pricing war with three other people, others aren't sure how to get their Fleece to sell. Let's talk about some market truths you might not have realized.
Eliot Lefebvre11.02.2013
The Soapbox: Game companies exist to make money
I'm going to start this article off with a statement, and it's going to be divisive, but not for the reasons you might expect. A good chunk of you reading this are going to read the line, roll your eyes, and immediately think that I've just written the most obvious thing ever. Some of you might even take to the comments to start calling for my termination just from this line alone. Ready for this? Game companies exist to make money. All right, so it was probably all of you rolling your eyes. This is pretty basic stuff, right? Except I'm willing to bet that some of you who rolled your eyes at that sentence still don't really get it. You understand that companies are trying to make money, but you don't really grasp what that means in a larger sense. So let's just accept that some of you are going to read this article and nod along the whole time without learning a whole lot. The rest of you will head to the comments and start demanding my head.
Eliot Lefebvre10.15.2013
Heckler Design's iPad Cash Drawer brings minimalism to sales terminals
Carrying cash can be a drag, but it's often an even bigger nuisance for shopkeepers with iPad point-of-sale terminals. Because of a focus on swiping plastic, storage solutions for your dollar bills take a back seat. The WindFall Cash Drawer is Heckler Designs' stylish US-made option that, according to the company, offers the smallest footprint of any drawer currently available -- it's probably the brightest, too. Cash Drawer follows the aesthetics of the Arizona designer's other pieces; namely, heavy-duty steel construction, rounded corners and minimalist design. Is your storefront already rocking a WindFall stand for Apple's slate? Well, you're in luck, as the nouveau till sports a secure mounting and cable management system for it. Sure there's a slight bit of irony surrounding its current lack of pricing, but don't let that get you down. When it launches this fall, it'll be available exclusively from ShopKeep POS.
Timothy J. Seppala08.07.2013
Square Cash appears on invite-only site, lets you send money with an email
Square's been venturing beyond those tiny credit card swipers as of late. Last week, the company introduced its nifty $299 Stand POS system for iOS, and now it appears to be branching out to individuals, with a to-be-announced service called Square Cash. There's not much info to share at this point -- TechCrunch recently discovered a dedicated landing page for the new service, which looks to be invite only at this point. There does seem to be an option to request an invitation, but the button isn't properly linked, so we weren't able to make our way to the proper form in order to take a closer look. A handful of help articles do shed some light on the service, though. To send money, you'll simply send an email to your recipient with the dollar amount in the subject line and "pay@square.com" in the cc field. Once your friend or associate receives the email, they'll type in the debit card account number of their choosing and Square will fund the associated checking account within 48 hours. Each payment costs just 50 cents to send, and there's no cost to receive -- it's not quite clear whether or not you can use a credit card to fund the transfer, but with fees of less than $1, we imagine you'll need to use a checking account. Square has yet to formally introduce the service, but we're guessing an announcement will be coming soon.
Zach Honig05.20.2013
Apple's $17 billion bond deal is the largest in history
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple made the largest corporate-bond deal in history on Tuesday, when it raised US$17 billion in bonds -- the first time the company has offered bonds in 20 years. In response, The New York Times asks, why would cash-rich Apple do this in the first place? Analysts tell the NYT that the debt actually can boost returns to shareholders, something Apple has already taken steps to do when it announced its dividend and share-repurchase program last week and in March 2012. In the process, Apple was using historically low rates to its advantage. The company can step around the taxes it would need to pay by repatriating some of its overseas cash stockpile, buying the company more time to lobby Congress to its advantage. We reported shortly before the deal took place that Apple was filing the required SEC paperwork. The company plans to return $100 billion to stockholders by the end of 2015. Its next dividend payout is May 16.
Megan Lavey-Heaton05.01.2013
Daily iPhone App: Dungeon Hunter 4 is a hack-and-slash that asks for cash
I got to see Dungeon Hunter 4 in action a few weeks ago at GDC, and now the app is out and available for free on the App Store for you to try out for yourself. I'm torn on this one, unfortunately. On the one hand, this is an excellent game -- the graphics are extremely well done and the controls are excellent. While it is a little repetitive, this is a very respectable dungeon-crawling action game, similar in tone to the very famous (and much-loved) Diablo series. If you liked Dungeon Hunter 2, you'll be glad to see that the series has abandoned arenas for an actual story again, and I think all three of the game's classes are well-balanced and fun to play. That's all fine and dandy, but the issue here isn't with the game, it's with the business model. Dungeon Hunter 4 is a freemium title, and I'd go so far as to say it's viciously freemium. It's up to you what the most annoying of its many in-app purchase tricks are, but they include putting a timer on potions so that you have to wait or pay to use them frequently, teasing the player with better items for sale right there in your own personal inventory, or making you wait in real time (or pay, again) for item upgrades and crafting. One of these ideas might not be so bad, but including all of them means that a good quarter of your time in Dungeon Hunter 4 is taken up with the game tempting you to spend money, rather than just enjoying your time in the game's virtual world. It's up to you whether that works or not. Personally, I like Dungeon Hunter 4 -- I won't spend any money in it, but I get a kick out of the action RPG gameplay, and I can see sitting down for some multiplayer sessions with friends. If everyone who downloaded this game played like me, however (without spending any money at all), then Gameloft would go out of business, or have to fall back on a premium model. So it's up to you -- if you feel this is a worthwhile way to sell games, then by all means, give them your money. If you think making the monetization systems almost as complex as the game itself is a mistake, then it's probably better to move on and try something else. Ridiculous Fishing, for example, is an excellent title that leaves gameplay and monetization completely separate.
Mike Schramm04.11.2013
Warren Buffett speaks out on Apple's cash pile
Warren Buffet was on CNBC yesterday, and the famous investor had some opinions about Apple, its stock price and the enormous pile of cash it's sitting on lately. His basic thoughts, not surprisingly, were just for Apple to keep making money. "The best thing you can do with a business is run it well," said Buffett, "and the shares will respond." Apple recently had a big investor try and sue them to get dividends from the company's cash back to the shareholders, but that lawsuit failed, and Buffett says he wouldn't have worried about it. "I would ignore him," Buffett said of the investor David Einhorn. "I would run the business in such a manner as to create the most value over the next five to 10 years." Which makes sense -- while stockholders might not be happy about not getting paid cash right now, no one will argue with an extremely valuable business that grows even more valuable in the future. Buffett also shared a story of Steve Jobs calling him when Apple made a little extra cash, and Buffett advised him to get some of the stock back. "When Steve called me, I said, 'Is your stock cheap?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Do you have more cash than you need?' He said, 'A little.' [laughs] I said, 'Then buy back your stock.' He didn't," Buffett remembers. And Buffett finished his story with a wise bit of advice for Tim Cook, Apple and really any investor out there: "If you could buy dollar bills for 80 cents, it's a very good thing to do." Obviously, Apple is working hard on R&D spending, and the company could go through its vast cash reserves very quickly if that's indeed what it wanted to do. But instead, the strategy should probably be to keep making the company even more valuable, because both Apple and its shareholders will benefit if that happens.
Mike Schramm03.04.2013
WSJ: Apple will respond to Greenlight Capital lawsuit by Wednesday
The pace is picking up in the lawsuit filed against Apple by Greenlight Capital fund manager David Einhorn. The Wall Street Journal reports that 1 Infinite Loop will issue its response to the suit by this Wednesday, February 13, with Greenlight expected to follow up with its comments by Friday in the US Court for the Southern District of New York. George Riley of O'Melveny & Myers, a longtime Apple attorney and close friend of Steve Jobs, will be arguing the case. Apple is eager to address the suit quickly, before its scheduled shareholder meeting on February 27. The suit is likely to be a top topic during the meeting, as it concerns the belief of Einhorn and other shareholders that Apple should share more of its earnings -- particularly a more than $100 billion cash stockpile -- with investors. We'll have more on the story after Apple files its response in court.
Randy Nelson02.11.2013
Fund manager David Einhorn sues Apple, wants cash to go back to shareholders
David Einhorn is a fund manager at Greenlight Capital, and he's leading the charge with a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the company hasn't done enough to make sure its shareholders receive the benefits of their success. Apple's been making plenty of money lately, of course, but Einhorn's problem isn't with the making, it's with what Apple is doing with that money. The company from Cupertino has built up a cash bank of nearly $100 billion, and investors have already made it clear they're not happy that Apple hasn't turned that money back into bonuses for shareholders. "We understand that many of our fellow shareholders share our frustration with Apple's capital allocation policies," says Einhorn. "Apple has $145 per share of cash on its balance sheet. As a shareholder, this is your money," he told fellow investors. And so Einhorn has filed suit in a New York court to try and modify a proposal Apple has pending, and change the company's stance on paying off its shareholders. We'll have to see how this plays out. Certainly Apple has a duty to its stockholders, and that is definitely a lot of money (more than any one company's ever seen before). But Apple's R&D costs are rising all the time. If Tim Cook has a good reason to have such a big cash pile, odds are it'll come out in this case.
Mike Schramm02.07.2013