December, 2020

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Bahamas Launches Digital Sand Dollar; Adds To Rise Of Central Bank Digital Currencies

PYMNTS

Facebook’s Libra might be fading a bit as a perceived threat to monetary systems that have been in place around the globe for centuries. But the race is still on for central banks to develop their own digital versions of fiat to take their place alongside bills and coins. To that end, the Bahamas may stand out as an epicenter of sorts for the rise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

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Futuring Treasury function post crisis by François Masquelier, CEO, Simply Treasury

Simply Treasury

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Central Bank Of Russia: Electronic Money Could Render SWIFT Obsolete

PYMNTS

Digital currencies could render the SWIFT global payments network unnecessary, RT.com reported, citing the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). Olga Skorobogatova, first deputy governor of the CBR, said 30 countries are working on their own national digital currencies, some of which could launch in five to seven years. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), as of July, some 36 central banks published studies on the concept of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) also known as a di

Banking 142
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CFPB: Santander Must Pay $4.75 Million For Credit Reporting Violations

PYMNTS

Santander Consumer USA was ordered to pay $4.7 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the CFPB said in a press release. According to the release, Santander allegedly knew that it provided incorrect consumer data to the three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs). Santander is an originator and servicer of non-prime auto loans and leases and provides credit information to CRAs via monthly data files, according to the CFPB

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Automation, Evolved: Your New Playbook For Smarter Knowledge Work

Speaker: Frank Taliano

Document-heavy workflows slow down productivity, bury institutional knowledge, and drain resources. But with the right AI implementation, these inefficiencies become opportunities for transformation. So how do you identify where to start and how to succeed? Learn how to develop a clear, practical roadmap for leveraging AI to streamline processes, automate knowledge work, and unlock real operational gains.

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Financing Gets Flexible As eCommerce Sellers Brace For Seasonality Whiplash

PYMNTS

With the holiday shopping season in full swing amid the global pandemic, online commerce is booming. Digital Black Friday sales this year hit $9 billion, a 22 percent increase from 2019 figures, according to recent Adobe research. And the surge in eCommerce isn't isolated to the B2C world, either: as social distancing requirements and shutdowns migrate corporate buyers online, wholesalers, distributors and other B2B vendors are likely to face a similar holiday boon this year to fulfill rising cu

eCommerce 142

More Trending

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Millennials Pivot Toward Homeownership; Economic Ripple Effects Still Unknown

PYMNTS

It was only a few short years ago that the conventional wisdom was that millennials were shaping up to be slower entering the homebuying market than their Gen X siblings and baby boomer parents. The theory most famously put forth by the Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell is that millennials were scared by the mortgage market meltdown that triggered the Great Recession in 2008, preferred to live in cities and were unwilling to tie themselves to a single location the way previous generations had

Economics 141
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Square Said To Mull Buy of Jay-Z’s TIDAL Music-Streaming Service

PYMNTS

The highly competitive streaming-audio industry could be starting the New Year with some consolidation, a new report suggests. Jack Dorsey — the billionaire CEO of Square and Twitter — is said to be interested in buying TIDAL , the audio service owned by billionaire music legend Jay-Z. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the outspoken Dorsey has been seen with Jay-Z and his singer-wife Beyonce recently, and is reportedly interested in adding a music feature to payment platform Square’s growin

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eBay On Turning Friction-Filled Payments Experiences Into Consumer Loyalty Opportunities

PYMNTS

The 2020 holiday shopping season is picking up, and consumers are heading online or to reopened brick-and-mortar stores to shop and pay for gifts. They are using everything from cash to mobile wallets to complete these transactions, requiring retailers to race to accommodate a wide variety of payment methods. Supporting a host of simple and frictionless payment options is often a complicated endeavor from the retailer’s perspective, said Keala Gaines , vice president of global payment services f

eCommerce 139
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Bitcoin Breaks Through $20,000 Mark, Hits Record Highs

PYMNTS

Bitcoin continued its ongoing surge in price Wednesday (Dec. 16), heading above the $20,000 mark for the first time ever — eclipsing its previous record high set in 2017. The price of a bitcoin traded higher by 5.6 percent, hitting around $20,600. CNBC reported that the surge was fueled by cryptocurrency fans along with a big boost from big-name investors such as Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller.

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Data Talks, CFOs Listen: Why Analytics Is The Key To Better Spend Management

Speaker: Claire Grosjean

Finance teams are drowning in data—but is it actually helping them spend smarter? Without the right approach, excess spending, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities continue to drain profitability. While analytics offers powerful insights, financial intelligence requires more than just numbers—it takes the right blend of automation, strategy, and human expertise.

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GoDaddy Agrees To Buy Poynt To Boost Digital Payments Technology

PYMNTS

GoDaddy has agreed to acquire Poynt , which lets businesses sell and accept payments anywhere through its suite of products, according to a press release. GoDaddy plans to pay $320 million in cash at closing, along with $45 million in deferred cash payments subject to various performance and employment standards in the next three years, the release stated.

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Visa Says Frictionless B2B Payments Are The Future; Rails Must Adapt To New Use Cases

PYMNTS

In payments, speed is everything. So, it’s no surprise that in a fireside chat with PYMNTS Karen Webster, Visa ’s Alan Koenigsberg , global head of new payment flows at Visa Business Solutions; and Tim Summers , vice president of Visa Direct global segments and market development, said B2B payments between buyers and suppliers are poised to pick up speed as they travel round the globe.

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POS Lender Affirm Delays IPO Until At Least January

PYMNTS

Point-of-sale (POS) lender Affirm is putting on hold its initial public offering (IPO), which had been scheduled for this month, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. WSJ did not give a definitive reason for the delay in Affirm Holding Inc.'s plans but suggested it may be for the same reason video game-maker Roblox also put off an imminent IPO: fear of missing out at the corporate level.

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Report: Fraudsters Have Modified Approaches In Wake Of eCommerce Boom

PYMNTS

Digital trust-and-safety company Sift said that 2020 has been a “banner year” for online shopping sales, but that scammers have modified their approaches to take advantage of the boom, according to an announcement. The company said that malicious actors are moving away from the usual “spray and pray” strategy that entails conducting dozens or hundreds of lower-value transactions with stolen payment data, and are instead making fewer and larger attacks.

eCommerce 133
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What Your Financial Statements Are Telling You—And How to Listen!

Speaker: David Worrell, CFO, Author & Speaker

Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.

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Form3 Partners With Mastercard To Advance Real-Time Payments 

PYMNTS

London cloud-processing platform Form3 is partnering with Mastercard to enhance and streamline real-time payments worldwide. “Our partnership with Mastercard will enable Form3 to accelerate its ambitions to grow on an international scale while complementing the services we have today and those we are building for the future,” Michael Mueller , founder and chief executive officer of Form3, said in a press release on Wednesday (Dec. 16).

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Apple Aims At Debuting Car In 2024

PYMNTS

Apple is advancing its self-driving car project, according to a Reuters report, and will look at debuting a new product by 2024 that could also come with new battery technology. Project Titan, the Apple automotive effort, has been working on a self-driving vehicle sporadically since 2014, working from scratch. Apple hasn't always kept up with it, sometimes drawing back to focus more on the software the company is known for, Reuters reported.

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’Twas The Night Before COVID Christmas

PYMNTS

’Twas Christmas with COVID, We were all stuck at home. Can’t go out, it’s not safe, We’re advised not to roam. The holiday Zoom calls have been scheduled with care, To talk to the relatives who cannot be there. . The children are nestled asleep in their beds, As visions of PS5s dance in their heads. Ma on her mobile and me on the tablet, Spent Christmas Eve cementing our new digital-first habits. .

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Grocers Rush To Reinvent Themselves

PYMNTS

Although the digital shift brought on by the pandemic has rapidly reshaped the entire retail industry, its impact on the grocery segment in particular has been especially pronounced. In fact, according to a new Omnichannel Grocery Report from ACI Worldwide and PYMNTS, 17.2 percent of all consumers have switched from in-store to online shopping. Ordering for home delivery has become particularly popular, as 23 percent of U.S. consumers — 57 million people — say they are ordering more groceries on

eCommerce 132
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Forecasting Failures Are Costly: Heres How To Fix Them

Speaker: Dave Sackett

Traditional budgeting and forecasting methods can no longer keep pace with today’s rapidly evolving business environment. Static budgets, rigid annual forecasts, and outdated financial models limit an organization’s ability to adapt to market shifts and economic uncertainty. To stay ahead, finance leaders must leverage a future-forward approach—one that leverages real-time data, predictive analytics, and continuous planning to drive smarter financial decisions.

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Amazon Puts Off Merchant Fulfillment Fee Hikes Until June

PYMNTS

Amazon is postponing its logistics fee increase to help accommodate businesses affected by the pandemic, a company letter from Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO Jeff Wilke stated. Wilke wrote that the eCommerce giant will continue to take on the extra costs without increasing fees until June 1, 2021. "We are doing this because we want to provide stability and support for you during what will likely remain a challenging winter as vaccine distribution gets underway," Wilke said in the letter.

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‘Ship-ageddon 2020’ Just Keeps Getting Worse

PYMNTS

With eCommerce volume way up for the holiday shopping season, we knew it was going to be a tricky year for gift shipping. The reports of potential delays and earlier-than-average shipping windows for Christmas delivery rolled in right on time in early December. UPS imposed shipping restrictions on some large retailers such as Gap, Nike, L.L. Bean Inc., Hot Topic Inc., Newegg Inc. and Macy’s as the shipping giant struggled with unprecedented demand from the pandemic-driven eCommerce surge.

eCommerce 131
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Amazon Delivers Record-Breaking 1.5 Billion Holiday 2020 Packages

PYMNTS

Amazon is reporting a record-breaking holiday shopping season that saw more than 1.5 billion toys, electronics and household goods delivered amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. “Amazonians around the world have truly shown what it means to be customer-centric and support our communities this year,” Jeff Wilke , CEO of worldwide consumer at Amazon, said in a press release on Tuesday (Dec. 29). .

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First Court Date Set For SEC Lawsuit Against Ripple

PYMNTS

A lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against digital payments firm Ripple is heading to virtual court on Feb. 22, according to legal documents filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York. Legal counsel for those named in the suit — Ripple Labs, CEO Bradley Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman and Co-founder Christian Larsen — were called to appear in an online pretrial conference with Judge Analisa Torres. .

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Are Robots Replacing You? Keeping Humans in the Loop in Automated Environments

Speaker: Erroll Amacker

As businesses increasingly adopt automation, finance leaders must navigate the delicate balance between technology and human expertise. This webinar explores the critical role of human oversight in accounts payable (AP) automation and how a people-centric approach can drive better financial performance. Join us for an insightful discussion on how integrating human expertise into automated workflows enhances decision-making, reduces fraud risks, strengthens vendor relationships, and accelerates R

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Afterpay US CEO: Buy Now, Pay Later Is In Right Place, Right Time

PYMNTS

For a 6-year-old Australian startup that’s only been doing business in the U.S. for two years, Afterpay — with its buy now, pay later (BNPL) interest-free installment loans — has gone from relative obscurity to the front page of the financial section this holiday season. Although the installment concept is hardly new, Afterpay’s platform and growing catalog of retailers has brought fame and fortune to the company and its founders.

Retail 129
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FinTech Step Aims To Create The Concept Of ‘Family Banking’

PYMNTS

We’ve all heard the horror stories. The 6-year-old who get his hands on Mom’s iPad and manages to rack up $16,000 worth of credit charges for online gaming. The teenager with a Fortnite habit who manages to clean out Dad’s checking account via the debit card linked to the gaming account. These aren’t bad kids necessarily so much as they’re kids that simply don’t know the damage they’re doing at the time.

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eCommerce FinTech Katapult To Go Public By Merging With SPAC

PYMNTS

Katapult Holding, Inc. and special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) FinServ Acquisition Corp. said on Friday (Dec. 18) that they have entered into a definitive merger deal. The arrangement will create a combined firm that will run as Katapult and is intended to trade on the Nasdaq with the “KPLT” ticker symbol upon closing, according to an announcement.

eCommerce 128
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FinCEN Issues Warning About COVID-19 Vaccine Scams, Cyberattacks

PYMNTS

As the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine continues to roll out to medical workers and high-risk populations, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is asking financial institutions to be extra vigilant when it comes to cybersecurity. . “Already, fraudsters have offered, for a fee, to provide potential victims with the vaccine sooner than permitted under the applicable vaccine distribution plan,” FinCEN said in a statement on Monday (Dec. 28).

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Book of Secrets on the Month-End Close

Based off SkyStem's popular e-Book, the book of secrets to the month-end close will be revealed in this one-hour webinar. Learn leading practices when it comes to building a strong and sustainable month-end close that has room to grow and evolve. Learn about the power of precise estimates, why reconciliations are critical to closing the books, how and when to automate, and how the chart of accounts play into your close process.