Digital advertising is a booming business, with the market expected to approach $200 billion annually by 2017. But you know what makes it look like pocket change? Banking. McKinsey reports that banks pulled in $1.3 trillion in payment fees two years ago. Facebook is extremely tight-lipped about its interest in this market. COO Sheryl Sandberg snapped off a crisp “Nothing new to announce,” when the question came up during April’s earnings conference call, and company representatives expressed confusion as to our interest. But even JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon and American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault expect Facebook and Google to be a future rival of their mega-banks.
The source of the hubbub is a Financial Times report this spring that Facebook is close to securing a license in Ireland to market e-payment services in Europe and developing economics. With the license in hand, Facebook could facilitate users sending money to loved ones; conduct foreign exchange; or store money digitally or on a plastic card. In theory, it could even open the way to a crypto currency like Bitcoin.
Dispatches From The Front 