February, 2020

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Largest U.S. Pizza Hut Franchisee Could Choose Bankruptcy

PYMNTS

The largest franchisee of U.S. pizza chain Pizza Hut is reportedly considering options in the wake of financial woes, including bankruptcy. The news, reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday (Feb. 19), said that NPC International, which owns around 1,200 Pizza Huts, is about $1 billion in debt. In lieu of that, the franchisee has begun negotiations with lenders.

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Google Quits Cookies As Data Privacy Regs Show Fangs

PYMNTS

Looks like the digital advertising and marketing sectors are in for a reckoning. How that will affect merchants’ online promotional activity hangs in the balance. That’s the scoop as 2020 opens, with privacy skirmishes turning to full-scale war on browser cookies. As we know, mostly anonymous corporations have been collecting consumer data online for years, usually without explicit permission, selling it or using it for ad retargeting and personalization.

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Mastercard: Collaboration Is Key To Scaling Real-Time Payments

PYMNTS

With speed being the most obvious value proposition of real-time payments capabilities, it’s not difficult to imagine that corporate payers would be eager to embrace faster payments functionality in their accounts payable (AP) departments. And for many firms, that’s exactly what they’re beginning to do. PYMNTS’ recent Making Real-Time Payments a Reality: Rising Demand for Real-Time Payments report, a collaboration with Mastercard, found that two-thirds of corporate surv

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Mastercard: Online Platforms – And Data – Help Cities Tackle Urban Challenges

PYMNTS

Bright lights, big (and small) cities and Big Data. In the drive to modernize, scale and handle burgeoning populations, cities are harnessing the power of data collection and analytics to improve infrastructure and services. As Mastercard Executive Vice President of Enterprise Partnerships and Head of Global Cities Miguel Gamiño told Karen Webster, it’s an endeavor that demands a long-term view and collaboration.

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From Start to Scale: Driving Growth Through Seamless Payments Implementation

Speaker: Michael Veatch, Senior Director, Implementations & Ella Aguirre, Director of Solution Consulting

Embedding payments can be a transformative step for software companies looking to enhance their platform capabilities, boost customer satisfaction, and drive long-term growth. However, the success of payments hinges on a single thing: implementation. Drawing on real-world insights and experiences, payments implementation experts Michael Veatch and Ella Aguirre will explore actionable strategies that can lead to a transparent, friction-free launch and mitigate potential challenges like technical

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Farming’s AI, Data Driven (And Vertical) Tech Revolution

PYMNTS

Farming has been around for thousands of years – tens of thousands of years, perhaps, according to some estimates. And it is a labor-intensive, resource-intensive and time-consuming endeavor. Consider the fact that, as measured by the Water Footprint Network, it takes about 26 gallons to make one pound of tomatoes, and 67 gallons of water to produce one pound of oranges.

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WhatsApp Pay Gets Approval For Phased India Rollout

PYMNTS

Almost two years after its experimental run, the Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp has received regulatory approval for its WhatsApp Pay platform in India. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) provided the firm with permission to put WhatsApp Pay into operation in a phased manner, The Business Standard reported. . The NPCI’s green light comes after approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

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Sweden’s Central Bank Floats E-Krona As Digital Currency

PYMNTS

Sweden’s Riksbank is assessing e-krona, a new form of digital currency that hopes to take the country a step closer to the creation of the world’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to reports on Thursday (Feb. 20). The e-krona could eventually be used for banking functions — payments, deposits, withdrawals — from a digital wallet, Riksbank said.

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SWIFT: The Road To ISO 20022 Adoption

PYMNTS

PYMNTS recently spoke with Saqib Sheikh, global head of SWIFT’s ISO 20022 program, to learn more about SWIFT’s commitment to assist the financial community in the transition to the new standard in cross-border payments: ISO 20022. Cross-border payments are a fragmented space with disparate standards, service levels, and compliance and reporting regulations varying from country to country.

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Future Tech Comes To eCommerce

PYMNTS

Future tech is no longer the province of high-end retailers. Innovations in 3D and augmented reality (AR) eCommerce are leveling the playing field and bringing conversion-centered visual technology to any online retailer. “There have been amazing shifts in the ecosystem and demand is rising for 3D and AR tools that will help connect consumers with the right products and eliminate uncertainty in the buying journey,” said Ashley Crowder, CEO and co-founder of VNTANA , whose company introduced new

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Less Stress, More Success: Accounting Best Practices & Processes for 2025

Speaker: Amanda Adams, Fractional CFO, CPA

Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Amanda Adams, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.

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JPMorgan Chase To Open UK Digital Bank By Year’s End

PYMNTS

JPMorgan Chase is taking steps to open a digital bank in the U.K. by the end of the year. The banking firm has been talking with London regulators about the idea, according to The Financial Times on Saturday (Feb. 22). The operation will likely include savings and lending products, and it comes just two years after U.S. bank Goldman Sachs launched a digital bank called Marcus in the U.K.

Banking 102
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The Big Spike In ‘CEO Fraud’

PYMNTS

According to the 2019 edition of the FBI’s Internet Crime Report , last year was both a lucrative and diverse year for cybercriminals and scammers. All in, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received a total of 467,361 complaints, with reported losses exceeding $3.5 billion. As for the scams themselves, those varied widely both in terms of tactics and targets.

Invoicing 101
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How Cisco Is Building The Smart Cities Of The Future

PYMNTS

IoT technology has rapidly expanded beyond in-home devices into cities worldwide. Governments and institutions in Europe, India and the United States are experimenting with IoT solutions to enhance city life, and the technology is expected to create between $4 trillion to $11 trillion in value over the next several years. Municipalities could utilize it for everything from street light control and air quality monitoring to transportation safety.

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Uber Co-Founder Kalanick Supports Expansion Of 3D-printed Hotel

PYMNTS

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick is joining other investors in funding the expansion of the 3D-printed hotel concept Habitas , the Financial Times reported on Sunday (Feb. 9). An idea hatched at the Burning Man desert arts festival, the experience-focused hospitality group Habitas was founded in 2014 by Oliver Ripley, Kfir Levy and Eduardo Castillo. .

Startups 101
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Avoiding Lease Accounting Pitfalls in 2025: Lessons Learned from Spreadsheet Errors

Speaker: Abdi Ali, Sr. Lease Accounting Consultant

Join this insightful webinar with industry expert Abdi Ali, who will discuss the challenges that can arise from managing lease accounting with spreadsheets! He will share real-world examples of errors, compliance issues, and risks that may be present within your spreadsheets. Learn how these tools, while useful, can sometimes lead to inefficiencies that affect your time, resources, and peace of mind.

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Revolut Starts Open Banking Service For UK Customers

PYMNTS

Revolut has announced a new Open Banking feature that will allow customers to access all their bank accounts on a single app. The move will make everything easier and more efficient in dealing with people’s finances, according to a press release. For example, the new feature will make it easier for customers to track spending across all their accounts, and allow them a way to budget if they choose.

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Wells Fargo Invests $5M In Blockchain Analysis Startup Elliptic

PYMNTS

Wells Fargo Strategic Capital (WFSC) is backing the London-based blockchain analysis firm Elliptic with a $5 million investment, bringing the startup’s Series B round to $28 million, Elliptic announced in a press release on Thursday (Feb. 13). . WFSC joins existing investors SBI Group and Santander InnoVentures. The funding will enable Elliptic to expand across Asia and collaborate with financial institutions for an increased understanding of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Startups 100
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Creating LATAM’s Commerce ‘Digital Value Chain’

PYMNTS

Instant payments, digital commerce and banking across mobile devices are all gaining ground no matter where you look, geographically speaking. But among the most greenfield markets are those found in Latin America, where mobile devices may have high penetration, but traditional banking services do not. Consider the fact that the World Bank has estimated only 55 percent of adults in the Latin America and Caribbean regions have access to bank accounts.

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Visa To Unload Earthport’s FX Subsidiary

PYMNTS

Visa has announced that it will sell cross-border payments company Earthport’s foreign exchange (FX) business to Pollen Street Capital’s Currency Holdings, according to a report. Visa, which acquired Earthport in May 2019, said the sale will help to speed up Earthport’s growth of its larger core payments business. Earthport FX, which provides foreign exchange services to businesses and individuals, will work better as a core part of Currency Holdings, the company said in a filing with the London

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Back to Basics with Reconciliations

Join us in this webinar, where we share best practices on how to think about the reconciliation work each month, when best to do reconciliations, how they should be prepared, and some common pitfalls to avoid. Learning Objectives: This course objective is to understand how to properly prepare and review balance sheet reconciliations and its impact on the financial statements.

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MoneyGram, Brink’s And The (Possible) Cross-Pollination Of X-Border

PYMNTS

Cross-pollination in financial services — leveraging payments across digital and physical channels — is an emerging trend, especially when it comes to cross-border transactions, and especially with remittances. To that end, MoneyGram has received a $9 million investment from The Brink’s Company, which in turn becomes a significant owner with a roughly 5 percent stake in MoneyGram.

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FinCEN Announces New Digital Innovation Officer/Deputy Director

PYMNTS

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has announced Michael Mosier as its new digital innovation officer and deputy director. Mosier succeeds Jamal El-Hindi, who will serve as the interim chief data officer (CDO) for the Department of the Treasury. In that role, El-Hindi will apply his FinCEN experience to “help lead the vision, design and development of the Treasury’s agency-wide data and information management strategies,” per an announcement.

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US Lawmakers Explore How Blockchain Can Help SMBs

PYMNTS

To explore the positive impacts of blockchain on small businesses, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business plans to hold a hearing next week. Witnesses scheduled to appear include PopCom CEO Dawn Dickson and Ownum CEO Shane Bigelow, as well as Jim Harper, a visiting fellow for the American Enterprise Institute, and Marvin Ammori, general counsel for Protocol Labs, Yahoo!

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Cisco On The Future Of Safe And Smart Cities

PYMNTS

With some analysts projecting a trillion IoT-enabled devices to be in use around the world by 2035, defending the IoT ecosystem is becoming more crucial as emerging technologies spread across business sectors and spark the development of smarter cities, homes and automobiles. In the February Intelligence of Things Tracker , PYMNTS examines how connecting devices can promote efficiency, optimized operations and streamlined organizational structures — but doing so can also create favorable data br

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Usage-Based Monetization Musts: A Roadmap for Sustainable Revenue Growth

Speaker: David Warren and Kevin O’Neill Stoll

Transitioning to a usage-based business model offers powerful growth opportunities but comes with unique challenges. How do you validate strategies, reduce risks, and ensure alignment with customer value? Join us for a deep dive into designing effective pilots that test the waters and drive success in usage-based revenue. Discover how to develop a pilot that captures real customer feedback, aligns internal teams with usage metrics, and rethinks sales incentives to prioritize lasting customer eng

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PayPal And FIS Team On Loyalty Points Redemption

PYMNTS

FIS and PayPal have expanded their partnership so that cardholders of institutions participating in the FIS Premium Payback network can use their rewards points to pay for things at PayPal merchants all around the world, according to a press release. . This new integration means that FIS is the first non-bank payment processor to sync up with PayPal’s Pay with Rewards.

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How Dynamic Supply Chain Analytics Smooths Cash Flow

PYMNTS

Supply chain management has always presented a challenge for global corporates, with digitization and automation technology aiming to reduce friction and enhance visibility. A surge in supply chain technology available — from freight management portals to IoT sensors — also expands a value-add opportunity for corporate end users: All this digitization generates a flood of potentially valuable data that organizations can use to optimize their supply chains, as well as better meet the needs and ex

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Fiat Chrysler To Debut Robot Taxis In China

PYMNTS

Fiat Chrysler , in partnership with Chinese-based AutoX , wants to launch robo-taxis in China later this year, according to an announcement. The automobile maker, one of the “Big Three” in Detroit, has been casting a wide net for autonomous vehicle tech, and wants to keep pace with rivals in Detroit. Hong Kong’s AutoX said it plans to integrate self-driving vehicle tech into a fleet of Chrysler Pacifica minivans — the same vehicle that Waymo , Alphabet’s subsidiary known

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Blockchain-Powered B2B FinTech Roars Back With VCs

PYMNTS

It’s been several months, if not years, since blockchain was the darling of tech startup investors, but this week proved the technology still has a lot to offer venture capitalists. In PYMNTS’ latest B2B venture capital roundup, which yielded $75 million in new funding, startups embraced distributed ledger technology for B2B payments and supply chain management, with 80 percent of total funding landing at blockchain companies.

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Solve Your Firm's Automation Complexities Once and For All

Speaker: Mark Stovel

When it comes to automating, many firms focus on finding the latest tech, believing that efficiency is something achieved through new tools. Yet true efficiency is achieved by delivering real value to clients, not merely by upgraded systems. Without a clear approach, no level of automation can overcome the complexities of serving every client’s needs.