Using an e-mail address or mobile phone number, consumers will be able to send money to anyone they know, whether it is to repay a friend for concert tickets or dinner, contribute to a fundraiser, pay team dues, pay allowances or even pay the babysitter.  Payments will be deposited directly into the recipient’s account and confirmation of payment will be sent to the recipient’s e-mail address or mobile number.

Yesterday, I spoke with Steve Shaw, a member of the strategic marketing team for Fiserv. He pointed out that this is a great step in creating more convenience for money transactions:

“Right now, if you owe someone money, you usually have to write a check, or go online through a third party. Once we launch our person to person payment system early next year, though, all you have to do is send the funds. It’s convenient especially for those who already have online banking — they won’t even have to get a new password. They can set everything up from one of the 3,000 financial institutions we are already working with.”

For those who do not belong to an institution that makes use of Fiserv, Shaw says that there will eventually be a roll-out of a consumer site that works similarly to PayPal in making payments. However, unlike PayPal, recipients won’t be charged for receiving funds. “There might be fees for the sender,” Shaw acknowledges, “but that will be up to the banks to decide whether or not to charge senders a convenience fee.”

Shaw also points out that with this bank-centric model, there is no need to give out payment information to third parties, or hold money in other places. Fiserv’s system would be protected by security measures common to the financial services industry, and have the added benefit of not needing paper checks, or to have to wait three to four business days for the money to be deposited. “Funds should be available the next day in most cases,” Shaw says.

BudgetPulse recently rolled out a fundraising option that is similar, but it works through an intermediary, like PayPal or Amazon, and doesn’t offer direct P2P payments.

Image source: Daylife

Post from: EveryJoe

P2P Payments on the Way

As you can see from the image above which is a screen capture from my email Inbox, everything looks normal and appropriate and legitimate right? However, if you hover your mouse over the links you’ll see that the link is actually going to direct you to a bogus website that’s been setup to collect your information. I’m sure if you went to the site (which I don’t recommend and which is why I’m not even typing the URL you’ll see) it would look just like the PayPal website too.

If you look at the code behind the email in your Inbox, which Outlook automatically displays for Junk Mail, we can see in the image below the bogus links much more clearly.

The lesson here is that before you go clicking on links in emails. Take a minute to hover over them before clicking and just make sure they’re going to take you to the place you’re expecting to go. Otherwise, you’ll end up in a place where you really don’t want to be.

Post from: EveryJoe

E-mail Security with Phishing Scams

While perusing ScummVM’s website today like I do on occassion… just to see what’s to be seen, ya know… I read that they are no longer accepting PayPal donations.

Why, you might ask? Is it because they’re a bunch of kind hearted developers that don’t need any stinkin’ money to develop the greatness known as ScummVM? That they like being poor, perhaps? That they like struggling through life, like bums on a street, because it’s easier? (that made no sense… it’s early… bare with me.)

NO. BECAUSE PAYPAL IS THE DEVIL REINCARNATED.

According to emails between PayPal and ScummVM’s main dude, Ender, PayPal has asked ScummVM to take down any donation buttons or anything having to do with PayPal, because ScummVM is in direct violation of PayPal’s policies.

To this, I say “BULL CRAP”. It’s not like they’re selling this fine piece of software. They just need some help to keep the project going. I know what it’s like. I’m a programmer and I AM POOR. I DON’T EVEN HAVE A PSP OR NINTENDO DS. Life IS HARD.

I’m exaggerating… that’s what I do best.

PayPal claims that since ScummVM can run games on systems that they were not meant to run on, that it was an emulator and therefore PayPal cannot be used as a way to accept donations.

Let’s not mention that several companies that have used the Scumm engine are actually happy that ScummVM has written a system their older games have played on and have actually given over the Copyright stuff to their games… This includes a deal ScummVM is about to have with LucasArts.

If the evil LucasArts thinks ScummVM is okay, so should PayPal!

EVAL.

Anyways. Go support the ScummVM clan and send PayPal a nasty email. Tell them you think they suck and should have their toenails ripped out by an angry badger.

Post from: EveryJoe

A PayPal SMACK DOWN