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IRS reminds 10,000 taxpayers that cryptocurrency is subject to taxes
By the end of August, an estimated 10,000 taxpayers will receive letters from the IRS warning them that they may owe back taxes on unreported cryptocurrency earnings. While it might not be immediately obvious, you must include cryptocurrency earnings when you file federal taxes. As with tax evasion for traditional currency, anyone convicted of evading crypto taxes could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
GM thinks you'll buy stuff through your car's dashboard
As more cars roll off production lines with WiFi and LTE capabilities as standard, brands are falling over themselves to find ways to monetize this connectivity. Jaguar and Shell have partnered for in-car fuel payments, while BMW and Ford are bringing Alexa to your dashboard. Now, General Motors (GM) has unveiled a new on-board marketplace where drivers can buy coffee and gas, and make restaurant and hotel reservations, without getting out of their car.
The Coin universal card is ready for 2012
If your wallet is bursting at the seams with credit, gift and loyalty plastic, the Coin universal card is supposed to lighten the load. Just add all your information to the app, sync it with Coin and get ready to buy all the things with a swipe or an NFC tap. Except when you can't. While the premise and feature set are intriguing, and in some cases helpful, in practice, it feels like too little too late. With Apple Pay, Android Pay. Samsung Pay and others already working on the future of transactions, Coin might have missed the boat.
Yelp Platform offers takeout orders, salon and dentist appointments to follow
Well Seamless, it looks like Yelp will see your online food orders and raise you a trip to the yoga studio to burn off that bean burrito. Today the online repository of business reviews launched Yelp Platform, an online transaction system that will let customers order meals and book appointments through partner sites like Delivery.com, Eat24, Booker and Demandforce. At launch only a select number of restaurants are supported, including Harry's Pizza Bar in New York and Layalay in San Francisco, but more will be added in the coming months as Yelp Platform is expanded to additional categories. Now you'll be able to read reviews for that greasy Mexican joint down the block (check its health inspection score while you're at it) and order the steak taco platter all from the same page. Plus, you'll be able to punch in your order both on the web (desktop or mobile) and from the iOS app. Android support should be coming shortly. Of course, this means that Yelp will have to convince restaurants to support Delivery.com and Eat24. Either that, or it'll have to learn to play nice with the newly minted Seamless-GrubHub conglomerate.
Pay-to-trade could change the landscape of MMO economies
If you've noticed that it's become more difficult to buy, sell, or trade goods in an MMO these days due to the sheer amount of player-bound items, you're not imagining things. A writer for Gamasutra penned an article in which he discusses the decrease of in-game trade and suggests that studios might be missing out on a great source of potential revenue. First, he acknowledges why studios have moved to restrict trade. It keeps the headache of managing an economy to a bearable amount, it cuts out duping and exploits, and it stems revenue losses that are caused by third-party traders. However, the author says that the hassle could be worth it if studios were smart and got in on the action by creating a pay-to-trade economy. "In the real world, we pay huge sums in the form of taxes and fees to keep transaction costs low," he writes. "So here's my question for developers: How much would your players pay you in exchange for the ability to trade?"
Google Checkout for web merchants to be retired on November 20th
Although Google Checkout was rolled into Google Wallet at the end of 2011, it's still been an option for folks who peddle their wares online to collect payments. Come November 20th, however, the service will officially shut down. While Page and Co. recommend US-based merchants switch to the revamped Wallet, they're partnering with Braintree, Shopify and Freshbooks to offer discounted migration options as well. As for developers using Checkout for transactions through the Chrome Web Store, Google Play and Offers Marketplace, they'll be automatically transitioned to the Google Wallet Merchant Center in the coming weeks. [Image credit: StockMonkeys.com]
LevelUp unveils payment docks that take both NFC and QR codes, leave out the guesswork
Most stores accepting mobile payments usually have to take just one format, whether it's Google Wallet, Square or another flavor that you probably can't use. LevelUp is convinced you shouldn't have to choose platforms: it just revealed a new payment dock that will recognize both the company's existing QR code system as well as NFC. It's much easier sight on the eyes than typical NFC terminals, to boot. Just don't expect a one-for-one recreation of systems like Google Wallet or Isis. Rather than expose your banking details by holding them in a chip, LevelUp's NFC is just used to move the transaction along -- if it's used to get things started, shoppers can either switch to a QR code or complete the transaction with a second tap. The company is mostly planning to replace its existing payment points across the US with the NFC-aware models. Bluetooth 4.0 is an option for the future, however, which could make LevelUp even more of a Swiss Army Knife for the world of mobile commerce.
Square intros flat-rate payment option at $275 per month, hits small business sweet spot
Square is most often pitched as heaven for small businesses, but that 2.75 percent cut per transaction is sometimes a problem for stores that are too successful. Enter a new flat rate option. Shops that don't take more than $250,000 a year in Square payments, or charge more than $400 in a given sale, can instead pay a flat $275 per month regardless of how many swipes they take. The deal makes the most sense for businesses handling more than $120,000 a year through the reader, establishing a definite limit to its usefulness; this isn't exactly for a budding jeweler (or Starbucks). Even so, the simplicity of the rate might be very alluring for companies that aren't keen on surprise costs or working out the math, and it's a contrast to the half-steps towards flat rates taken by VeriFone and other, more traditional outlets going mobile.
Square now available at Walgreens, Staples and FedEx Office
While a roster of competitors are trying to get their foot in the mobile payments door, Square's busy getting a foothold in retail stores. With Walgreens, Staples and FedEx Office locations now carrying the credit card reader, it's available at more than 20,000 physical shops throughout the US -- joining Apple, Best Buy, OfficeMax, Radio Shack, Target, UPS and Wal-Mart. Bringing it home from a brick and mortar establishment will set you back $9.95, but Square's sweetening the pot with a $10 rebate for new users. However, if your entrepreneurial snail mail-loving heart desires, you can still have one mailed to you by signing up online. Eager to start swiping plastic? Lookout below for the full press release.
Google brings in-app subscriptions to Android
Developers can never have too many options when it comes to ways to take your money. Google has opened the doors to In-app purchases, carrier billing and now, in-app subscriptions. Perhaps it wasn't enough that game creators be able to lure you in with perks and content you could purchase for a one-time fee, now devs can choose to hit you with a monthly charge for the privilege of using their wares. Of course, it's not all that bad. Subscription-based games aren't the only potential uses here. Customers can now buy monthly or annual subscriptions to services or publications as well. There's even a publisher API for extending the subscription beyond the walls of Google Play and your Android device. Glu Mobile will be first out the gate, turning on subscriptions in properties like Frontline Commando, but we're sure plenty of others will follow. Soon enough you might be able to get your New York Times subscription or Spotify Premium account without ever leaving the comfort of the Android app. Any handset with Google Play 3.5 or higher installed should have access to subscriptions starting today.
Royal Canadian Mint aims to kickstart digital currency with MintChip developer challenge
Bitcoin may not have yet grown much beyond a relatively small base of enthusiasts, but it looks like the Royal Canadian Mint is hoping that its backing will help its own new digital currency catch on in a bigger way. While less decentralized and different than BitCoin in a number of other respects, it is similarly an all-digital currency, and one that requires no personal data to be shared during transactions. Those transactions can be both large and very small (with an emphasis on the latter), and handled in a variety of ways, including over the web or directly between two devices with the necessary hardware (a MintChip-enabled microSD card is one proposed option). While a more formal unveiling is apparently coming later this month, the Mint has already kicked off a challenge where it's inviting developers to create applications that use MintChip technology -- something that, for the near future, will only be available to said developers. Complete details on it can be found at the link below.
Square's perimeter gets larger, now sold at UPS and OfficeMax locations
What's a company to do once it grabs a million merchants? Grab a million more, naturally. Following an online rollout and a wider spread to Apple Stores, Jack Dorsey's own Square is expanding to OfficeMax and UPS locations. A couple of months back, the outfit announced that it was handling some $11 million in payments per day (a wild increase from $4 million per day in July), and with the new agreements, Square payment devices are being sold at 10,000 retail locations. The hardware itself will sell for $9.99 in stores, but each buyer can redeem a $10 credit to their bank account. Beyond this? It's reportedly hoping to "upgrade the experience of running a business, end-to-end, on the iPad," with the outfit adding "in-depth merchant analytics to its iPad experience, allowing merchants to access information about which inventory is selling well, and what they can do to help make more money." Oh, and in case you couldn't guess, Square's also looking to staff up even more to tackle all of 2012's goals -- three cheers for job creation, yeah?
Verizon Wireless and Cricket handshake over spectrum, anticipate FCC nod of approval
Verizon Wireless and Cricket are looking to swap spectrum holdings, according to a recent FCC filing. The proposed license exchange would see VZW's Block A 700MHz holdings in Chicago handed to Cricket for the purpose of LTE service in the second city. Big Red's purported gain has less to do with its burgeoning 4G build out and more to do with increased high-speed wireless coverage, as the bounty of AWS-1 and PCS licenses it might acquire would bolster its extensive nationwide network. The transaction still has to receive FCC approval, but both parties involved appear confident the transfer of radio waves won't raise any red flags for the Commission, nor impact existing subscriber service. That's all she wrote for now, but we'll keep an eagle eye out and update you as this develops. In the meantime, hit up the source below to peruse the application.
Engadget giveaway: win one of five Nexus S 4G phones with $1,000 Google Wallet credit!
We're pretty excited about Google Wallet, but the service is currently only available for Nexus S 4G phone owners, leaving most of you waiting for broader implementation. Well, how would you like to skip the line, getting to test it out on a Nexus S 4G of your very own? Google has supplied us with five phones to give away -- the company is even throwing in $1,000 (yes, one THOUSAND dollars) of prepaid credit to help fund those first few dozen taps. There's one catch: you'll need to use your Nexus S 4G with a Sprint plan, though the carrier is throwing in one month of demo service to get you started. Check out our in-depth preview for a detailed look at the service, and simply leave a comment after the break to be entered to win -- after checking that you meet the entry requirements, of course.
A week with Google Wallet (video)
Contactless payments have been something of a curiosity in the credit card industry. MasterCard's PayPass has been around for the better part of a decade, but merchants and banks alike seem hesitant to adopt the technology required to make the system work, and inconsistent implementation adds to the confusion -- particularly for customers. Google's new mobile phone-based Wallet service has the potential to transform the technology from its current status as a transaction turkey, to a future as a checkout champion. But will it work? We spent a week with a Wallet-enabled Nexus S 4G, using the device to pay whenever we encountered a MasterCard PayPass terminal. Unfortunately, that wasn't often enough, limiting us to just a handful of transactions in the first week. Still, with Google just beginning to roll out the service and only a limited selection of launch partners ready to go, it's impossible to deliver a complete verdict just yet. Jump past the break for an inside look at Google Wallet, including a video of the service in action, and a brief look at what the world of contactless payments may look like in the future.%Gallery-130759%
Trion's End of Nations MMORTS will be free-to-play
Sure, you'd like to play Trion's upcoming MMO/RTS mashup called End of Nations, but you're not sure if you want to pony up for the retail box, and then shell out another few bucks a month for a subscription. That's a lot to spend on a game you might not like, right? Good news for you, then: Trion has announced that End of Nations will be a free-to-play title. Free players, according to the official website, will get access to "the entire game," including co-op, the metagame, and the huge multiplayer games as well. The company will offer an optional subscription that will feature "a significant amount of value and convenience extras," though exactly what those are Trion hasn't yet said. But the company does emphasize that winning the game will be built around "strategy and skill," not paying the most money. There will also be an in-game store with "a wide selection" of more customization and convenience items. And no credit card will be required for the actual game -- everything will be purchasable either with in-game wealth or Trion Credits (which can be bought with real currency). Stay tuned for more hands-on with the game from Gamescom next week.
The Lawbringer: What World of Warcraft can learn from other microtransaction models, part 1
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play? Microtransactions are here to stay. We were wary and scared in the beginning -- it was a brave new world, having the gall to ask consumers for a couple of bucks for horse armor. DLC (downloadable content) and microtransactions evolved over time to include better customization, new missions and levels, convenience purchases, and more. The industry began to shape itself around the growing need for better revenue models, as well as conforming to the needs and wants of players while remaining (hopefully) pure in motive. With the huge success of the free-to-play model in the United States and Europe, a feat which many said was not going to go over too well outside of the Asian markets, paying for your game over time instead of up front has become a staple, an afterthought, to gamers. World of Warcraft isn't going true free-to-play any time soon, of course. The subscription model works for WoW in a fairly unique way. The number of global subscriptions for WoW make up such a huge, defined income that removing that income from the table in favor of the "5-percenters," the people who presumably pay for items in-game, would be almost criminal in terms of corporate mismanagement -- unless, of course, you could make more money on those 5-percenters than you do on 11.4 million monthly subscriptions, which seems like a hefty move to make.
Square payment system is coming back in full force by 'late summer'
Unsurprisingly, given the small company and big ambitions behind the project, the Square mobile payments system got off to a shaky start earlier this year. Hardware shortages were resolved relatively quickly, but setting up the proper fraud prevention infrastructure without transactional limits -- which, shockingly, were disfavored by merchants -- threatened to shelve the little credit card reader for a long while. Not to worry, though, as today the Wall Street Journal has word that Square is looking to be back in business, kicking ass and taking card numbers, before the summer is through. We're now at an advanced stage of said season, so it shouldn't be too long before those dongle-assisted microtransactions start flowing again.
Square delays reader distribution, says it's examining transaction limits
Two weeks back at WWDC, Square told us that the company was "catching up with demand" of its little plastic credit card reader for the iPhone, and that it would "be there really soon." But it looks like things won't quite "be there" as soon as they thought. They've decided to delay the mass roll-out of the devices, with Jack Dorsey telling users that the company "released parts of Square before they were fully baked." That coincides with what our readers were saying in the comments on the original interview -- that the reader devices were taking a long time to be shipped out to users. Dorsey also agreed with the other issue our commenters brought up (that the service's transaction limits, which Square originally put in place to counteract fraud, are too low), and said that those limits would be addressed soon. Dorsey doesn't say how "soon" that may be -- there's still no ETA on when the readers will go out, and Square is still working on how exactly it will change or update those transaction limits. Basically, there is no fix in sight for those frustrated by the company so far. So it looks like Square isn't quite where it wants to be yet. But then again, think about the problems it's having: it can't keep up with demand for free readers, and people want to transfer even more money through the service. Those are pretty good problems to have. Square is definitely taking its time while working out the kinks, but the fact that it just can't keep up with demand is far from a condemnation of their business model.
VeriFone credit card reader gets deal to be in Apple Stores
The Square credit card reader for the iPhone has gotten most of the buzz around here, especially after we saw that impressive demo at Macworld a few weeks ago. But VeriFone's competing reader has been given the green light by Apple itself: the unit has been granted a deal for shelf space. VeriFone will be selling its PAYware Mobile units inside Apple's retail stores coming up as soon as the end of March. I'm not quite sure what the reasoning is behind this one on Apple's side, as the PAYware service seems to be a little more clunky than the Square solution: you have to pay both an activation fee and a monthly fee on top of the per-payment charge that Square asks for, and the reader itself is much bigger, taking up the iPhone's dock rather than just using the headphone port like Square's. Whatever Apple saw in them, you'll be able to get VeriFone's system right along with an iPhone or iPod touch all at the same time.. No matter which system eventually prevails (if indeed anyone needs to prevail at all -- there's certainly more than one credit card company, so there's no reason why there couldn't be more than one payment system on the iPhone), this does seems like a model that will change a lot of business transactions in all sorts of industries. It'll be interesting to see how the curve takes off once these things are up and running.
