Venmo - Providence Business News

WORTH IT? Lisa Roth Blackman, chief philanthropy officer at Rhode Island Community Food Bank, says the nonprofit had hoped that cryptocurrency might be a useful way for some to make donations, but it hasn’t worked out that way. PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Crypto hasn’t lived up to promise for R.I. nonprofits

Economy 03/29/2024

In 2022, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank announced it would start accepting donations of cryptocurrency, joining a small group of local nonprofits seeking...

FINTECH COLLABORATOR: University of Rhode Island assistant professor H. Zafer Yuksel believes having URI join the Mass Fintech Hub will provide big benefits to Rhode Island students studying financial technology.  PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

URI hoping to close state’s fintech gap with cross-border alliance

Education 03/15/2024

In the relatively nascent sphere of financial technology, Rhode Island – echoing its relationship to the biotech industry – hasn’t caught up with neighboring...

WHEN R.I. COMMERCE Secretary Elizbeth M. Tanner was director of the R.I. Department of Business Regulation, she was a strong advocate for blockchain technology, which she preferred to call "distributed ledger" technology. PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

X Corp. licensing in R.I. part of a bigger tech push?

Economy 09/08/2023

The "currency transmitter" license that Rhode Island recently issued to the company formerly known as Twitter Inc. is a common authorization in business dealings,...

Billions stored on digital payment apps may be unprotected, CFPB warns

Financial Services 06/12/2023

WASHINGTON – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has published a consumer advisory on digital payment apps heavily used by consumers and businesses. A CFPB analysis...

A FEW RHODE ISLAND-BASED nonprofits have either begun, or are beginning to, accept cryptocurrency as a donation option. / AP FILE/KIN CHEUNG

Some R.I. nonprofits beginning to accept cryptocurrency donations

Economic Activity 09/05/2022

PROVIDENCE – Fundraising is a significant element to a nonprofit’s operations in order for the organizations to serve their respective communities. While organizations regularly...