2012-11-28 marketingweek.co.uk - Is it the end of the line for cash?

[Akka]

Getting rid of cash has long been on the agenda of credit card providers, which trade on the fact that they can provide transaction data to the retailers they service. But now a new wave of virtual ways to pay means that consumers could soon be using new currencies Bitcoin and Ven to pay for goods too. Meanwhile, the UK’s three largest mobile networks got together earlier this month to work with retailers on consistent technology that will allow people to pay via a mobile ‘wallet’.

WTF is VEN?

...The ECB report outlines the workings of another virtual currency, Bitcoin. It is based on a peer-to-peer network, operates at a global level and can be used as a currency for all kinds of transactions, both virtual and for real goods and services. Bitcoins are not pegged to any real-world currency and the exchange rate is determined by market supply and demand.

Jon Matonis, board adviser to Bitcoin, says: “As digital currency gains momentum, it will unleash a new wave of global productivity and innovation. Primarily, this will be made possible by ‘frictionless’ transacting opportunities and free flow of capital without regard to national borders or national taxation schemes.”...

Full article: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/trends/is-it-the-end-of-the-line-for-cash/4004877.article

[grondilu]

Getting rid of cash has long been on the agenda of credit card providers, which trade on the fact that they can provide transaction data to the retailers they service. But now a new wave of virtual ways to pay means that consumers could soon be using new currencies Bitcoin and Ven to pay for goods too. Meanwhile, the UK’s three largest mobile networks got together earlier this month to work with retailers on consistent technology that will allow people to pay via a mobile ‘wallet’.

WTF is VEN?

VEN is quite a famous alternative currency.  I'm suprised you don't know the name, at least.

[Akka]

I really haven't heard from it until now.

Strange how you sometimes just miss things.

[TraderTimm]

Hardly a competitor to bitcoin, looks like a 'token' capture currency:

http://www.hubculture.com/groups/dev/projects/1046/wiki/

Can I trade my Ven back to national currencies like the Dollar, Euro or Pound?

No, but you can use it to buy thousands of items in the Ven economy, to trade to others instantly, and to keep score on transactions with your friends or other organizations.  As more developers add functions to Ven, and more websites enable their pages to accept Ven payments, the universe of items you can engage with using Ven grows, making the currency ever more relevant to its community of users.  If you can get what you want using the currency, there's no reason to need to cash out to a national currency.

And it has a relationship with Facebook, which of course means it is about as tenuous as Zynga, lol.

Ven/USD is around 9, versus 12.30 for bitcoin.

[Gabi]

Can I trade my Ven back to national currencies like the Dollar, Euro or Pound?

No

Kk, it's bullshit.

[Raoul Duke]

Can I trade my Ven back to national currencies like the Dollar, Euro or Pound?

No

Kk, it's bullshit.

Let me sell you this great thing I have here. No, you can't sell it to other person lolz