Reports broke late last week alleging that Bloomberg reporters were using the Bloomberg terminal to track (some might say stalk) employees at its financial services clients such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, all the way up to high-profile individuals such as Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner — even, apparently, the new company's namesake founder, Michael Bloomberg. 

Following a company-wide email on Friday and a Buzzfeed report that this ability was disclosed by a Bloomberg TV reporter two years ago, Bloomberg L.P. CEO Dan Doctoroff acknowledged in a story published by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that the a firewall should have prevented its journalists from accessing such user data long "earlier":Continue reading...

Banking has become more consumer-friendly, particularly through sophisticated ATMs and mobile banking applications, but banks are still hampered by the stereotype that they are largely impersonal. TD Bank's new branding campaign, "Bank Human Again," makes the most of that deficiency.

New TV and web spots, supported by newspaper and digital media including a microsite, show a variety of consumers in what appears to be a cold, gray unwelcoming bank. Each consumer attempts a simple action only to be thwarted by a robotic-sounding voice that spouts bank policy.

In one spot, for example, a customer finds that the chain on the bank's pen is too short for him to write. When he asks about it, a disembodie voice says, "Here's the thing, Martin, banks can't have people taking their pens." TD Bank's answer: plenty of pens with no chains. Not to mention no rope lines, free coin-counting, and a focus on the little things that add up to the big things in customer service.

While a chained pen may seem insignificant, it's a remnant of banks' traditional (inflexible, impersonal) way of doing business. "The new marketing campaign viscerally communicates TD's attributes of unparalleled service and convenience, and our customer-first culture," stated the bank's Chief Marketing Officer Vinoo Vijay.Continue reading...

Back in January 2011, Starbucks became the first national retailer to offer its own mobile payment technology combined with a loyalty program. It led to more than 100 million mobile transactions occurring in its U.S. stores since the launch. 

Now, in a move to push mobile commerce even further, Starbucks is accepting payments in some 7,000 retail locations via Square, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's mobile payment app for iOS and Android smartphones. In addition to laying out cash for that latte, users of Square Wallet can browse menu information and store hours, gain access to their transaction history, and even explore nearby businesses. Since Square Wallet is linked to a debit or credit card, there's never a need to reload a balance, and a digital receipt appears instantly.

It's not only been a huge boost for the Square brand (as Dorsey tweeted, "Immensely proud of the teams at Square and Starbucks: 7,000 stores launched 3 months TO THE DAY after signing the deal. #nailedit"). The announcement by Starbucks seems to come at a time of increased activity that could make 2013 the year of mass adoption of mobile payment technology. Indeed, Dorsey this week announced that "Square is now facilitating over $10 billion of commerce annually for small businesses across the US. Up $2 billion in just 2 months."Continue reading...

Vikram Pandit shocked Wall Street (Exhibit A: the Wall Street Journal homepage) when he abruptly resigned as CEO of Citibank Tuesday after clashing with the board and prompted his right hand, COO John Havens, to exit with him. Pandit's corner office won't remain empty for long.

Sliding right in following his ouster was Mike Corbat, who had been running Citi’s international operations of Europe, Middle East and Africa for less than a year and was clearly being groomed for the role. The WSJ calls Corbat, a Citi veteran and its former head of investment banking, the company's "Mr. Fix-It," writing that Pandit often used Corbat as a repairman of sorts, and his history at the bank backs up that notion.Continue reading...

The Canadian dollar is worth more than the US dollar — if a bit softer this morning — and, now, it's flashier. The Bank of Canada yesterday unveiled the country's new currency, starting with the $100 and $50 notes, that will begin circulating in November. Just don't call the bills plastic — they're "polymer."

“These bank notes evoke the country’s spirit of innovation, and their designs celebrate Canada’s achievements at home, around the world and in space,” Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty stated at the unveiling. “Bank notes are cultural touchstones that reflect and celebrate our Canadian experience.”Continue reading...

With (spoiler alert!) Watson winning the final showdown against Jeopardy! champs Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, IBM has big post-TV plans to put him — er, it — to work. The exercise has been a marketing coup for IBM, as "Watson" and "IBM" have dominated search this week, along with Twitter — as the Twitter Dots tweet-tracker above illustrates.

Some real-world applications for the supercomputer, which is still being promoted on Twitter and Facebook, are in the works, including its first commercial deal.Continue reading...

Arkadi Kuhlmann, CEO of ING Direct, explains the philosophy behind the online banking brand's seven cafes in the US: making the virtual real, with employees on hand to answer questions and help customers. Check out the NYC cafe after the jump, and hear more from Kuhlmann on the ING brand's social media and mobile touchpoints with consumers.Continue reading...

We're not saying that the Taiwanese mock news video above is to thank for killing the so-called Kardashian Kredit Kard — a prepaid Mastercard debit card that the overexposed Kardashian clan lent their name to earlier this month. But shortly after the Connecticut Attorney General launched an investigation and the Apple Daily video parody above went viral, Kim and her sisters abruptly pulled out of the venture.Continue reading...