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Softcard
JVL Ventures, LLC d/b/a Softcard (formerly Isis Mobile Wallet), was a joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon which produced a mobile payments platform known as ''Softcard'', which used near-field communication (NFC) technology to allow users to pay for items at stores and restaurants with credit and debit card credentials stored on their smartphones. The partnership was first announced on November 16, 2010; following a trial period in 2012, the service officially launched nationwide on November 14, 2013. The official Softcard app was available for NFC-compatible smartphones using the Android operating system and later on Windows Phone 8.1. On February 23, 2015, it was announced that Google—which had developed a competing system known as Google Wallet, backed by Sprint and MetroPCS—had acquired certain assets and intellectual property from Softcard. The Softcard service was discontinued on March 31, 2015, and the three founding carriers pledged support for Google ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near-field Communication
Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 cm (1 in) or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used to bootstrap more-capable wireless connections. Like other "proximity card" technologies, NFC is based on inductive coupling between two so-called antennas present on NFC-enabled devices—for example a smartphone and a printer—communicating in one or both directions, using a frequency of 13.56 MHz in the globally available unlicensed radio frequency ISM band using the ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface standard at data rates ranging from 106 to 424 kbit/s. The standards were provided by the NFC Forum. The forum was responsible for promoting the technology and setting standards and certifies device compliance. Secure communications are available by applying encryption algorithms as is done for credit cards and if they fit the crite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Google Wallet
Google Wallet (or simply Wallet) is a digital wallet platform developed by Google. It is available for the Android, Wear OS, and Fitbit OS operating systems, and was announced on May 11, 2022, at the 2022 Google I/O keynote. It began rolling out on Android smartphones on July 18, co-existing with the 2020 Google Pay app and replacing the 2018 one. History The "Google Wallet" brand name was first used for the company's mobile payment system of the same name, which was introduced in 2011 before being merged with Android Pay into a new app called Google Pay in 2018. The old Wallet app, with its functionality reduced to a peer-to-peer payments service, was rebranded Google Pay Send before it was discontinued as well in 2020. In 2020, the Google Pay app underwent an extensive redesign based on Google's India-focused Tez app, expanding into an all-encompassing personal finance app. This replaced the Tez app on the Play Store, while the 2018 Google Pay app continued to co-exi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Android Pay
Google Wallet (or simply Wallet) is a digital wallet platform developed by Google. It is available for the Android, Wear OS, and Fitbit OS operating systems, and was announced on May 11, 2022, at the 2022 Google I/O keynote. It began rolling out on Android smartphones on July 18, co-existing with the 2020 Google Pay app and replacing the 2018 one. History The "Google Wallet" brand name was first used for the company's mobile payment system of the same name, which was introduced in 2011 before being merged with Android Pay into a new app called Google Pay in 2018. The old Wallet app, with its functionality reduced to a peer-to-peer payments service, was rebranded Google Pay Send before it was discontinued as well in 2020. In 2020, the Google Pay app underwent an extensive redesign based on Google's India-focused Tez app, expanding into an all-encompassing personal finance app. This replaced the Tez app on the Play Store, while the 2018 Google Pay app continued to co-exis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discover Financial
Discover Financial Services is an American financial services company that owns and operates Discover Bank, which offers checking and savings accounts, personal loans, home equity loans, student loans and credit cards. It also owns and operates the Discover and Pulse networks, and owns Diners Club International. Discover Card is the third largest credit card brand in the United States, when measured by cards in force, with nearly 50 million cardholders. Discover is currently headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Riverwoods, Illinois. History In 1981, Sears purchased the Dean Witter Reynolds brokerage firm organization and Coldwell, Banker & Company (real estate franchise) as an attempt to add financial services to its portfolio of customer services. In 1985, Sears also acquired the Greenwood Trust Company. Altogether, these companies operated as a Sears subsidiary called Dean Witter Financial Services Group, Inc. The plan to create a one-stop financial-services center in Sears ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Privately Held Company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is offered, owned, traded, exchanged privately, or Over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter. In the case of a closed corporation, there are a relatively small number of shareholders or company members. Related terms are closely-held corporation, unquoted company, and unlisted company. Though less visible than their public company, publicly traded counterparts, private companies have major importance in the world's economy. In 2008, the 441 list of largest private non-governmental companies by revenue, largest private companies in the United States accounted for ($1.8 trillion) in revenues and employed 6.2 million people, according to ''Forbes''. In 2005, using a substantially smaller pool size (22.7%) for comparison, the 339 companies on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows Phone 8
Windows Phone 8 is the second generation of the Windows Phone mobile operating system from Microsoft. It was released on October 29, 2012, and, like its predecessor, it features a flat user interface based on the Metro design language. It was succeeded by Windows Phone 8.1, which was unveiled on April 2, 2014. Windows Phone 8 replaces the Windows CE-based architecture used in Windows Phone 7 with the Windows NT kernel found in Windows 8. Windows Phone 7 devices cannot run or update to Windows Phone 8, and new applications compiled specifically for Windows Phone 8 are not made available for Windows Phone 7 devices. Developers can make their apps available on both Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 devices by targeting both platforms via the proper SDKs in Visual Studio. Windows Phone 8 devices are manufactured by Microsoft Mobile (formerly Nokia), HTC, Samsung and Huawei. History On June 20, 2012, Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 8 (codenamed Apollo), a third generation of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sprint Corporation
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it Merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US, merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The company also offered wireless voice, messaging, and broadband services through its various subsidiaries under the Boost Mobile (United States), Boost Mobile and Open Mobile brands and wholesale access to its wireless networks to mobile virtual network operators. In July 2013, a majority of the company was purchased by the Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank Group. Sprint used CDMA2000, CDMA, Evolution-Data Optimized, EvDO and LTE (telecommunication), 4G LTE networks, and formerly operated iDEN, WiMAX, and 5G NR networks. Sprint was incorporated in Kansas. Sprint traced its origins to the Brown Telephone Company, which was founded in 1899 to bring telephone service to the rural area arou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MetroPCS
Metro by T-Mobile (formerly known as MetroPCS and also known simply as Metro) is an American prepaid wireless service provider and brand owned by T-Mobile US. It previously operated the fifth largest mobile telecommunications network in the United States using code-division multiple access (CDMA). In 2013, the carrier engaged in a reverse merger with T-Mobile US; post-merger, its services were merged under T-Mobile's UMTS and LTE network. Metro by T-Mobile competes primarily against Dish's Boost Mobile, AT&T's Cricket Wireless and Verizon's Visible as part of the wireless service provider brands. History Early history Metro was established in 1994 as General Wireless, Inc., by Roger Linquist and Malcolm Lorang. ''PCS'' referred to the industry term, Personal Communications Service. Its service was first launched in 2002. As of February 2005, MetroPCS had about 1.5 million subscribers in the country. At the time, the company operated through 21 licenses in Greater Miami, T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mobile Payments
A mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet, is any of various payment processing services operated under financial regulations and performed from or via a mobile device, as the cardinal class of digital wallet. Instead of paying with cash, cheque, or credit cards, a consumer can use a payment app on a mobile device to pay for a wide range of services and digital or hard goods. Although the concept of using non-coin-based currency systems has a long history, it is only in the 21st century that the technology to support such systems has become widely available. Mobile payments began adoption in Japan in the 2000s and later all over the world in different ways. The first patent exclusively defined "Mobile Payment System" was filed in 2000. In developing countries, mobile payment solutions have been deployed as a means of extending financial services to the community known as the "unbanked" or "underbanked", which is estimated to be a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barclaycard
Barclaycard (; stylized as barclaycard) is a brand for credit cards of Barclays PLC. , Barclays had over ten million customers in the United Kingdom. History Barclays launched Barclaycard on 29 June 1966, initially as a charge card, but following Bank of England agreement to the offering of revolving credit, it became the first credit card in the United Kingdom on 8 November 1967. It enjoyed the monopoly of the credit card market in the United Kingdom, until the introduction of the Access Card in October 1972. Barclays was not the first issuer of a credit card in the United Kingdom though; Diners Club and American Express launched their charge cards in 1962 and 1963 respectively. Barclaycard was originally a BankAmericard licensee, and became part of the Visa network on its formation in September 1976. In 2021, Barclaycard cut credit limits for over 100,000 customers. Acquisitions Providian In July 2003, Barclays took over Monument, the United Kingdom branch of the U.S. bank ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Point-of-service
A point of service plan is a type of managed care health insurance plan in the United States. It combines characteristics of the health maintenance organization (HMO) and the preferred provider organization (PPO). The POS is based on a managed care foundation—lower medical costs in exchange for more limited choice. But POS health insurance does differ from other managed care plans. Enrollees in a POS plan are required to choose a primary care physician (PCP) from within the health care network; this PCP becomes their "point of service". The PCP may make referrals outside the network, but with lesser compensation offered by the patient's health insurance company. For medical visits within the health care network, paperwork is usually completed for the patient. If the patient chooses to go outside the network, it is the patient's responsibility to fill out forms, send bills in for payment, and keep an accurate account of health care receipts. References Glossary Federal Employ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mobile App
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on desktop computers, and web applications which run in mobile web browsers rather than directly on the mobile device. Apps were originally intended for productivity assistance such as email, calendar, and contact databases, but the public demand for apps caused rapid expansion into other areas such as mobile games, factory automation, GPS and location-based services, order-tracking, and ticket purchases, so that there are now millions of apps available. Many apps require Internet access. Apps are generally downloaded from app stores, which are a type of digital distribution platforms. The term "app", short for " application", has since become very popular; in 2010, it was listed as "Word of the Year" by the American Dialect Society. Apps a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
