NEW YORK, NY — (Marketwired) — 10/08/13 — , an innovative digital check payment platform, announced today that it uncovered a 1972 newspaper story, titled “Cashless Society Predicted by Credit Card Use,” that claimed cash and paper checks would disappear with the mass adoption of credit cards and the unveiling of ATM machines at more than 5,300 banks owned by the Interbank Card Association. According to the article written by Bette Tambling, which appeared in the January 26, 1972 edition of The Fresno Bee, the combination of credit cards and ATM machines would allow consumers the means to carry money for only emergencies. The story claimed that paper checks and money would essentially become obsolete since the consumer could make unlimited purchases using their new credit card from Master Charge. The remarks made in the 1972 article about credit card and ATM use are similar to the same claims made by most mobile payment vendors today who claim the smartphone will become the mobile wallet of the future.
“It-s fascinating to know that 40 years ago Americans thought we-d ditch our purses and wallets and just walk around with a credit card to pay for things,” said Jay Bhattacharya, CEO and co-founder of Zipmark. “I think the lesson learned from the 1972 article about evolving into a -Cashless Society- is that technology will improve the way we conduct transactions but at the end of the day it probably won-t completely replace paper money. At Zipmark we-re not looking to eradicate the check like most alternative payment providers, instead we built a platform that improves the check by creating its digital twin.”
The 1972 article went on to explain how Mrs. Lillian Helling, a former teacher and 1962 Miss Colorado crowned winner, was touring the U.S. promoting the features and advantages of using a Master Charge credit card. To view an image of the “Cashless Society” story, please click .
Bhattacharya will be discussing his views on the future of digital transactions during his panel presentation occurring this Wednesday at Money2020 in Las Vegas. The national conference includes the Who-s Who of startups and established firms in the financial services industry.
Other online and mobile payment platforms either use credit cards or indirect holding accounts to move money in addition to having to log into their service every time you want to process a payment. Online payment features offered by banks and credit unions frequently take several days to pay a bill because a paper check is often times sent via U.S. mail service or traditional ACH is used. These processes add complexity and “wait” time. Zipmark replaces these hurdles by literally connecting the payer and payee-s accounts so money can be received and available the next business day. Paying with a digital check using Zipmark is now as simple as clicking a button, but without all the delays associated with delivery and settlement.
Before founding Zipmark, Jay started MMV, a mobile banking SaaS provider, which was acquired by Intuit in 2011. During his tenure, as co-founder and head of business development, the company raised $28 Million of venture capital from Citi Ventures and SK Telecom, and implemented mobile banking services in 25 countries. Prior to that, Jay was at Citigroup for 7 years where he was responsible for their emerging payments strategy and helped launch Citi Ventures.
Zipmark-s goal is to remove barriers between businesses and their money by bringing the checkbook into the 21st century: reducing the amount of time and money it takes to make a check payment, eliminating the possibility for bounced checks and taking all risk out of the equation for payer and payee alike. Zipmark was launched in 2010 by Jay Bhattacharya and Jake Howerton, and is based in New York City. Zipmark-s investors are Village Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, NYC Seed, High Peaks Venture Capital, Scout Ventures and the New York City Investment Fund.
Disclaimer: Zipmark is a registered trademark of Zipmark, Inc. All other copyrights and trademarks within the release are property of the respective brands.
Zipmark press contact:
David Splivalo
703.798.2395
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