“T-Mobile, the self-titled “Un-Carrier,” is further separating itself from the competition by getting into the booming world of mobile banking with “T-Mobile Money.” The new service also comes with extra benefits for T-Mobile’s wireless customers.”
Venmo Halts New Developer Access To Its API
“This is not how you run a platform. Developers remember. Pull the rug out from under them once, and they’ll be reluctant to stand with you in the future. So despite having a record-setting January with $1 billion transferred in its peer-to-peer payments app, Venmo just shot itself in the foot.”
Chase ATMs to give cash via smartphones
“NEW YORK — The machines are definitely getting smarter. JPMorgan Chase said it is upgrading its entire fleet of ATMs this year to include several new perks — including the option to withdraw money using a smartphone.”
Verizon Shared Data Plans – Analysis: Costs down, customers pay more
Verizon (VZ) posted a pretty impressive holiday quarter (one-time charges aside) with a good outlook on Tuesday, and the company’s share price rose as a result. There were also plenty of interesting takeaways from the carrier’s earnings call, but The New York Times’ Brian X. Chen zeroed in on one item of particular interest. Verizon launched new “Share Everything” plans last summer that make smartphone data more expensive for many users. The best thing about these plans for investors — and, not coincidentally, the worst thing about the plans for subscribers — is that Verizon is now making more money off of smartphone data as costs associated with transmitted that data are falling. As Chen noted, Verizon’s average monthly revenue per wireless account grew 6.6% to $146.80 in the holiday quarter.
The main reason for the growth is simple: 23% of Verizon’s wireless accounts are now subscribed to Share Everything plans. The beauty of Verizon’s new plans, as the report points out, is that data is getting cheaper for Verizon to transmit even though the carrier is charging more for it. “The company says the 4G LTE network is five times more efficient than its predecessor, 3G,” Chen wrote. ”That means the more people who buy devices that connect to the newer network, like the iPhone 5, the more money the company will eventually gain.” As an added bonus, Chen noted that Verizon’s faster data networks also cause users to eat through their data allowances more quickly. This eventually prompts them to buy more expensive plans with higher data caps, which of course net Verizon even more cash.
from BGR
Bill Gates says he has no more personal use for money
Bill Gates is, without a doubt, a very wealthy man. The co-founder and Chairman of Microsoft is currently the richest man in the US and the second richest man in the world, with an approximate net worth of $63.4 billion. However, in a new interview Gates says that all that money doesn’t mean much to him on a personal level.
In a chat with the Telegraph website, Gates says bluntly:
I’m certainly well taken care of in terms of food and clothes. Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organization and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world.
That organization is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has used its resources to help fund efforts to stop deadly diseases in third world countries along with efforts to improve education in the US. So far, the group has given out a whopping $28 billion. Gates says that 95 percent of his wealth will go towards the foundation and that the money will all be spent within 20 years of his and his wife’ death.
Gates says there is no specific religious reason for wanting to help others with his vast wealth, saying, “… it’s about human dignity and equality. The golden rule that all lives have equal value and we should treat people as we would like to be treated.”
