Patent No. 8229853. 2012.   
Real-time fraud prevention.    

This patented system stops fraudulent credit and debit card purchases before they happen. The locations of the purchases must match what you have indicated in your travel itineraries, and if they don’t, the system will recognize that something’s up and stop the transaction before you fund someone’s extravagant designer-handbag shopping spree.

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How mobile has changed daily news consumption and why you need to understand it

We all know smartphones and tablets have revolutionised how consumers access media content. But away from the big picture there are essential details to consider, such as when consumers access your content.

The Financial Times is just one business investing a great deal of resources in analysing digital usage patterns. The graph below shows subscriber access during the day - the blue section shows desktop and laptop access and the orange section shows mobile devices. 

Full Story: MediaBriefingDaily

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We’re heading for a world with more smartphones than bank accounts – Quartz

Bank accounts are out, smartphones are in. In 2011, some 2.5 billion people in the world were “unbanked” (pdf), as the lingo goes, according to the World Bank. By 2016, more people will have bank accounts, but in regions like the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, even more will have smartphones, research and consulting firm Analysys Mason predicts in a report today.

10 Companies Chasing Innovations That Really Matter | Wired.com

M-PESA/Safaricom

In much of the developing world, credit and debit cards have never caught on, since the telecom networks needed to support their use doesn’t exist. In those same places, however, mobile phone use has exploded. In a phenomenon known as “leapfrogging,” the wires needed to power traditional card-based transactions might never get installed, since everyone will just use their phones instead.

In Kenya, mobile operator Safaricom has developed M-PESA, a way to transfer money and make microloans using text messages — no bank account required. Unlike in, say, the U.S., mobile payments have taken off in Kenya thanks to M-PESA, with millions of users. The company is working on rolling out the service to other countries where a lack of financial and technological infrastructure could cease to be a barrier to joining the 21st-century economy.

Photo: Sipa via AP Images

Announcing the IBM Customer Experience Lab

Yesterday IBM announced the creation of the IBM Customer Experience Lab, an exclusive Research and GBS capability aimed at the front-office agenda of clients in the world of Big Data.  One hundred Research scientists worldwide will work with thousands of GBS business consultants to address the emerging C-Suite Front Office Digitization priorities.

In her remarks at IBM’s annual briefing for financial analysts, Ginni called the front-office transformation of functions like sales, marketing and customer service the most significant wave of business change since the advent of ERP in the 1990s.  To lead in this opportunity, we are scaling access to the highest levels of expertise for CEOs, CMOs, CxOs, public officials, and other global business leaders who recognize the urgency to create new models of engagement and move at the speed of individual attitudes and preferences.

Banorte-lxe, one of the leading banks in Latin America, and Nationwide, the world’s largest building society, are among clients already engaged with the Research and consulting experts of the new lab. During its start-up phase, the Lab will focus on six priority industries — Banking, Insurance, Retail, Consumer Products, Telco and Energy & Utilities — and we are going to select and manage the engagements coming into the Lab through GBS Global Industry Leaders and partners.

The Lab will be co-led by Sarah Diamond, general manager, Global Consulting Services, and Mahmoud Naghshineh, vice president, Services Research, with support across all 12 of IBM’s Research labs globally and a team of innovation leaders selected from the GBS Centers of Competence. Jade Nguyen Strattner has been named director of the CXLab, with overall responsibility for its day-to-day operations and the ongoing integration of Research and GBS capabilities.

IBM uses ‘big data’ tech to keep horse out of your meatballs | VentureBeat

Imagine this scenario: A dinner guest to The Cheesecake Factory in Louisville, Ky. informs his waiter about some funky tasting ketchup. Simultaneously, across the country in Palo Alto, Calif., a customer complains about the color and consistency of the ketchup on his burger. 

Are these two scenarios related and potentially linked back to a bad batch from a supplier? And if so, will The Cheesecake Factory be able to prevent such incidences from occurring?

“You need to take structured data like a restaurant’s location and combine it with unstructured data like the color of the mustard or taste of the ketchup,” said Paul Chang, a program director for the consumer products team at IBM.

7 Social Media Trends for Consumers New Research | Social Media Examiner Here are seven key findings from that report. #1: More Time Invested in Mobile The survey found that consumers are increasingly looking to their smartphones and tablets to access social media. While the PC is still the most widely used device when it comes to social media consumption, the study found that time spent on mobile apps and mobile websites accounted for a 63% increase (compared to 2011) in total time spent. Additionally, 43% of users said they use smartphones to access social media, while 16% connect using a tablet.

In China, virtual reality stores turn open spaces into a supermarket

Innovations like Prague’s QR code grocery store located in subway stations around the city have already shown how the online shopping world can still maintain a presence in public spaces. In China, e-commerce site Yihaodian is now launching its augmented reality stores, which give customers the impression of a physical store while they browse online. READ MORE…