Category: Featured News

Peeple mobile app for rating people rolls out in North America

The controversial application has been causing a massive stir since last year and it is now launching.

Following a significant controversy in 2015, Peeple, a mobile app with the nickname “Yelp for people” has made its North American launch so that users will be able to rate and review others.

The design of this mobile application lets individuals rate and review anyone they know.

This doesn’t just mean celebrities and people in the public eye. This mobile app lets users give star ratings and reviews for neighbors, co-workers and anyone else they know. Peeple was first unveiled in October 2015 and faced serious criticism from the media as well as across social media and among celebrities. A tremendous number of people objected to the idea of being able to be reviewed in the same way that restaurants or products were being reviewed online.

Some new rules are now allowing the mobile app to proceed forward with its strategy to let users rate each other.

The initial description of the Peeple app explained that users would be capable of adding any name they wanted to the service so they would be able to create a review and a rating for that person. That individual would not be able to opt out of their presence on the app and of that review. That created a tremendous concern in the media and among social media users with regards to the risk of bullying.

Furthermore, positive ratings could be immediately displayed on the app, but low star rankings and negative reviews were required to be placed in a 48 hour hold. In that way, the individual leaving the review was supposed to be given enough time to “work it out” with the other person in the form of a private message.

Public outrage voiced over the mobile app features forced changes to be made to the application before it could be published. Now, Peeple is required to allow ratings only for people who have opted into the network. That way, an individual’s name cannot be added to the service by someone else. As a verification of the person’s identity, sign-ins are conducted through a person’s Facebook account, which is required to have been active for six months before it is approved. A second identification verification is required in the form of a phone number.

No NFC technology needed for latest TD Canada Trust mobile payments solution

The new Canadian smartphone based option will allow Visa cards to be used without near field communication.

TD Canada Trust, one of the largest Canadian banks, has now launched a mobile payments solution that allows shoppers to use their Visa cards through their smartphones in order to make a purchase, regardless of whether or not the device uses NFC technology.

This not only makes it possible for more device models to be compatible, but it also beats many tech giants to this market.

At the moment, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and other top mobile payments services in the United States have yet to make their way into the Canadian space. This has allowed TD Canada Trust to make its way into this market and build its user base before the competition gets too fierce. Moreover, it has done so without the use of NFC technology, which has become the standard for many of the other popular mobile wallets, but that is not compatible with the majority of smartphones currently used in Canada.

The NFC technology free mobile payments app has now launched for the bank’s customers to use.

NFC Technology - TD BankThe TD Bank app has been updated so users with Android devices running 4.4 and higher will be able to add their TD Canada Trust issued Visa card and proceed to make mobile payments with their smartphones. Even without near field communication, the devices can be tapped against point of sale terminals in order to compete a purchase transaction.

This mobile app has managed to accomplish this goal through the use of Host Card Emulation (HCE), which removes the need for NFC SIM cards. It also meals that virtually any Android device (as long as it is running on 4.4 or newer and as long as it is running on any of the wireless networks within the country) will be compatible.

While this isn’t the first Canadian bank to implement this type option, absent of NFC technology, within its app – as the RBC Wallet for Android was launched several months ago – TD’s updated mobile app does represent a significant addition to the country’s mobile payments selection.