Mobile Commerce Insider Week in Review

While it has been available in the U.S. for the past six months, Pay At Table and Order Ahead gives you the ability to pay for your food using your phone and you can also order it before you get to the restaurant. This is all accomplished without the use of NFC technology which makes it good for iPhone users as well.

Now the U.K joins the U.S in the ability to take advantage of PayPal’s (News - Alert) technology. This UK implementation kicks of PayPal’s wider roll-out of payment services around Europe. You can now use PayPal to pay for items in more than 2,000 restaurants and shops around Britain, but this particular Android (News - Alert) and iOS implementation is new. 

Malicious hackers are always on the lookout for ways to make money without expending much effort. IT seems that their latest antics may yield more melted smartphones than actual money. Some innocent sounding Android apps apparently contain hidden software that “mines” the cryptocurrencies known as Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin.

The problem that this type of malware delivers to your smartphone is shorter battery life and the possibility of overheating and burning out components in your devices. Some reports says that this has already led to thousands of Dogecoins being mined.

According to data from the Gartner (News - Alert) Group that was compiled by Statista, the number of devices that will be shipped with Google’s Android software is expected to overtake all other operating systems by 2015. What does this mean for crytocurrency miners?

Speaking, as it were, about Bitcoin, it seems that Beijing based Vircurex has put halt to and frozen all withdrawals and deposits of any type of crytocurrency. The company has about 90,000 registered users and accounts.

Vircurex does have a plan of action first it will introduce an additional balance type called “Frozen Funds.” Funds in this balance type cannot be used to trade or withdraw. It will then use Bitcoins that were stored offsite to distribute based on a distribution logic that they came up with.

It appears that Vircurex may be taking from Peter to pay Paul. Vircurex is now banking on new customers flocking to its service to generate enough profit to pay off the first lot. This is just in another series of attacks on companies that manage Bitcoin as well as Litecoin and Dogecoin. It wasn’t that long ago that Mt. Gox put a halt to all transactions.

According to Mt. Gox the reason for the disappearance of its Bitcoin and how much has gone missing is still under investigation. The company is currently under the process of going under a court led restructuring bankruptcy which is estimated at $64 million.

American economist, Paul Krugman said that in order to be successful, money must be both a medium of exchange and a reasonably stable store of value. The problem with Bitcoin is that it remains completely unclear why it should be a stable store of value. It seems to be alright as a payment source, yet very unreliable as an investment source. So how stable is it?

Yowza!! Did that get your attention? That is what Spindle is hoping for. Yowza!! puts paperless coupons in your pocket. Well actually, it would do that if you kept your smartphone in your pocket. Spindle recently acquired Yowza!! and it will start putting it to good use.

Spindle will release Yowza!! in stages. This will happen over a 30 day period. Both the iOS and Android platforms are supported. The Yowza!! platform will offer a variety of benefits for both merchants and consumers. This includes timely and relevant mobile offers based on the buyer's location and preferences. 

These are just a few of the stories that we worked on this week. Believe me when I say that I cannot even begin to scratch the surface of everything that has been going on just this week alone. You will have to take some time and sort through all the information that we have for you. It is something that I suggest you do on a regular basis.

The world of mobile commerce is growing and changes are constantly happening all over the globe. It is impossible to know everything that happens as mobile commerce continues to forge ahead and make major strides. It is impossible to mention everything that is happening and all that we’ve looked at just this week alone. The best way to stay current is to keep checking in with us. You can stay current by checking out the details to these stories and many more by going to Mobile Commerce Insider and keeping an eye what is going on in the mobile world of commerce.