Tag: Digital payments

United Way Worldwide embraces digital currency

| September 18, 2014

United Way Worldwide teams with Coinbase to accept Bitcoin donations

United Way Worldwide, a non-profit leadership and support organization, has announced its partnership with Coinbase, a commerce platform that specializes in Bitcoin. Through this partnership, United Way will begin accepting Bitcoin donations, making it the latest non-profit group to show some support for the digital currency. Bitcoin is somewhat controversial, but it has become accepted among non-profit organizations that attempt to attract support from a wide range of people, both online and off.

Bitcoin is gaining more support throughout the world

Bitcoin is sometimes seen as a dangerous sort of currency because some people associate it with hackers and malicious groups. The currency is, however, not affiliated with any singular group or demographic, serving only as a medium of commerce. The real issue that Bitcoin has is its volatility. Currently, one Bitcoin is worth $468, but the value of a single Bitcoin can change dramatically at any given moment. The currency’s value is affected by many factors, particularly its unregulated nature.

Digital currency could help non-profit groups engage a wider demographic of supporters

Digital Currency - Bitcoin Through the Coinbase platform, United Way will be accepting donations into its Innovation Fund. The organization is embracing the opportunity to make it easier for donors to support causes that they are interested in. The organization suggests that embracing innovation is one of the ways it can encourage others to do the same. As such, United Way may serve as an example of how non-profit groups can accept digital currency and attract more support from a wider demographic.

Bitcoin is having a major impact on the mobile commerce space, allowing businesses to engage mobile consumers more effectively

Bitcoin has become particularly favored in the mobile commerce space. A growing number of retailers and other businesses are beginning to embrace digital currencies because it gives them more access to mobile consumers. Mobile commerce has helped bring digital currencies from obscurity, showing that they can be used as an effective medium of commerce. As mobile payments continue to become more common, Bitcoin is likely to receive more acceptance as a legitimate currency.

Mobile payments will soon outpace payments from laptops and desktops

| June 26, 2014

New study highlights the growth of digital payments throughout the world

Mobile spending is growing at an alarming rate and may soon replace spending from desktops and laptops, according to a new study from Juniper Research. The study highlights the growing prominence of mobile commerce and the role that smartphones and tablets are playing in the field of mobile transactions. While consumers can shop online using their desktops and laptops, mobile devices allow them to shop online from anywhere in the world at any given time.

Global digital payments expected to hit $4.7 trillion by 2019

The study predicts that global digital payments will reach $4.7 trillion by 2019, up from the estimated $2.5 trillion digital payments that will be made this year. Much of this growth is being attributed to mobile shopping. Consumers favor shopping from mobile devices because it provides them with a more convenient option when compared to traditional shopping. Notably, tablets are showing more mobile commerce activity than smartphones.

China will continue to be a prominent mobile commerce market

mobile payments may surpass computer paymentsAccording to the study, China is likely to play a major role in the continued growth of mobile payments. The country’s largest e-commerce organization, Alibaba, accounted for 20% of all global business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer sales in 2013. The company has been playing a more dominating role in the mobile space. Alibaba has established a powerful position in the mobile commerce sector with its Alipay application.

Market continues to become saturated with mobile platforms from many companies

Other markets are expected to play prominent roles in the growth of mobile commerce as well. Banks, retailers, and telecommunications companies in Australia, Poland, and the United Kingdom have all shown strong interest in engaging mobile consumers. These organizations are responsible for supporting the growing mobile commerce infrastructure, providing consumers with the platforms they need to conduct mobile payments. The mobile market is currently heavily saturated with a wide variety of mobile commerce platforms, some of which are less appealing to consumers that others. Security is currently one of the greatest challenges facing the growth of mobile commerce throughout the world.