July, 2017

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Jet.com Tests Try Before You Buy

PYMNTS

In eCommerce news: The tug-of-war game just got a bit tighter, and Amazon may be in the crosshairs. Walmart’s Jet.com is helping to push the envelope with its new “ try before you buy ” approach. Approximately 300,000 online product samplings and exclusive offers will be included in monthly eCommerce packages. Through this new promotional effort, Jet.com is hoping to enhance its customer engagement process and is likely to continue to increase its status as a tier one eCommerce company.

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New Hedge Accounting Standard Flashes Green Light

Reval

Treasury & Risk. A new U.S. accounting standard that makes it easier to account for hedges is likely to encourage more corporates to hedge. The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted last month to finalize the new hedge accounting standard, and the final standard is due out in August. Companies interested in using the new standard won’t have to wait long.

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Hive Project Taps Into Cryptocurrency For Invoice Finance

PYMNTS

The Hive Project, a company that uses cryptocurrency and Ethereum blockchain for trade financing , has launched its platform. The company announced Friday (June 30) that its portal is up and running to link SMEs to trade financing by turning unpaid invoices into tradable assets. Every invoice is assigned a unique fingerprint, the firm said, by tokenizing each bill and linking them onto the blockchain.

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AI/BOTS: AI’s Impact on The Digital Retail Revolution

PYMNTS

The digital retail revolution is well underway. Fusing technology into in-store experiences has officially gone mainstream, and retailers are looking for ways to go beyond the traditional mobile app. As we’ve reported in the past, places like Sephora have installed various tablets with embedded augmented reality (AR) features to help customers pick and choose what makeup shades look best on their skin tone.

Retail 85
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The Human Side of Finance: The Intersectionality of People, Culture, Adaptability, and Resilience

Speaker: Melissa Hurrington

Finance isn’t just about the numbers. It’s about the people behind them. In a world of constant disruption, resilient finance teams aren’t just operationally efficient. They are adaptable, engaged, and deeply connected to a strong organizational culture. Success lies at the intersection of people, culture, adaptability, and resilience. Finance leaders who master this balance will build teams that thrive through uncertainty and drive long-term business impact.

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What API Standardization Could Mean For Payments Fraud

PYMNTS

API technology is opening new doors for the world of financial services, a trend that cultivates cooperation and collaboration between FinTechs and banks, once considered competitors. With the speed of payments accelerating and Same Day ACH initiatives continuing to roll out, NACHA has pulled together a group of industry experts to explore API standardization as a way to facilitate faster payment speeds and greater transaction security, among other use cases.

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Diving Deeper Than Machine Learning To Combat Corporate Cyberattacks

PYMNTS

Machine learning is perhaps the hottest buzzword in cybersecurity today. The artificial intelligence technology is deployed by cybersecurity firms in an effort to keep pace with the evolution of cyberattacks, as machine learning algorithms are able to improve predictability the more it is used. But according to Guy Caspi, CEO of cybersecurity company Deep Instinct , machine learning is no longer enough in an age of unprecedented evolution and volume of cybercrime.

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Can APIs Save Traditional Banks?

PYMNTS

Banks were once the great riverbed of financial activity. Today, the flow of cash is gradually being diverted through other, third-party channels because of services that are unavailable from banks. It’s not totally the banks’ fault — their hands are often tied by regulations and processes — but the reality remains that, if they don’t adapt, the commercial banking establishment will slowly evaporate.

Banking 73
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Chatbots: Friend Or Foe Of Retail?

PYMNTS

Automation has come to several industries. From manufacturing to customer service, there have been several parts of today’s workforce that have been automated by some form of smart technology. One in four Americans are currently at risk of having their jobs automated, according to a research paper from Ball State University, “ How Vulnerable are American Communities to Automation, Trade, and Urbanization?

Retail 71
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Open Banking Rolls Out Payments Initiation API

PYMNTS

Open Banking, the U.K. bank-funded entity that was mandated by the Competition and Markets Authority to provide new ways for customers to share their financial data with non-bank providers, has released an API specification for accounts and transaction information and payments initiation. In a press release Open Banking said the new spec was released on its website for review and development by banks and third-party service providers.

Banking 71
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Maximizing Profit and Productivity: The New Era of AI-Powered Accounting

Speaker: Yohan Lobo

In the accounting world, staying ahead means embracing the tools that allow you to work smarter, not harder. Outdated processes and disconnected systems can hold your organization back, but the right technologies can help you streamline operations, boost productivity, and improve client delivery. Dive into the strategies and innovations transforming accounting practices.

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Internet Of Things Nears The Tipping Point

PYMNTS

The world’s not ready for the Internet of Things (IoT). Oh, consumers are excited, and they have embraced connected commerce with both thumbs — and their voice. People have embraced smart technology such as the Apple Watch, Amazon Echo, Fitbit and even connected scales and blood pressure monitors by Withings. PYMNTS’ study in collaboration with Visa, “ How We Will Pay ,” quantifies just how many people are on board.

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CFOs Are Better Off Handing Fraud-Fighting Reins To The Pros

PYMNTS

Fraud is like gluten. It’s in almost everything, and it often goes completely unnoticed. Most organizations have resigned themselves to the fact that, despite their defenses, fraud is just a part of doing business. But fraud costs an average of 7.5 percent of revenue, and the numbers for e-tailers — who never handle a physical payment card — are much higher.

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Nesta Chooses 20 FinTechs For SME Banking Competition

PYMNTS

Innovation foundation Nesta has announced the 20 FinTechs chosen to compete for a $6.5 million prize as the company looks to boost innovation in the small business banking space. As part of its Open Up Challenge, announced in February, Nesta called for FinTechs that are using APIs to disrupt small business banking. The 20 chosen companies will compete for the prize money used to develop next-generation services and apps for U.K. small businesses, Nesta explained, adding that each of the 20 firms

Banking 62
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PayBee Launches To Digitize AR For Indian SMEs

PYMNTS

A new company is launching in India to support accounts receivable and invoice management for businesses. Announcing its rollout on Tuesday (July 25), PayBee said it is looking to digitize the B2B payments process to help companies enhance cash flow management. The company said it integrates with existing accounting, ERP and distribution management solutions already in place within business clients.

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Smarter Card Solutions: Meeting the Challenges of Mid-Market Travel & Expense

Our 2025 Center Travel Survey is clear: as corporate travel increases, so does corporate credit cards distribution, and a rise in off-platform travel booking. This 61% rise causes various challenges: compliance, spend control, reporting problems, and a lack of visibility across organizations. To evolve with the ever-changing needs of travelers, decision-makers need a better solution.

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Swiss Corporates Urge Global Banks To Join SWIFT Gpi

PYMNTS

A group of six multinational corporations in Switzerland is urging banks around the world to join SWIFT’s gpi initiative, news reports said Wednesday (July 19). ABB, Nestle, SBB and others reportedly sent an open letter to banks promoting their support for SWIFT’s gpi (global payments innovation) initiative and urging those FIs to take part in exploring how to improve cross-border payment processes.

Banking 59
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Mastercard Expanding Scan-To-Pay QR Program

PYMNTS

Mastercard is expanding its QR-based programs to create greater choice in retail mobile payments. The company today announced news of its plans to offer QR codes for scan by customers and merchants, building on its QR efforts in India, Thailand, the Middle East and Africa, as well as its collaborations with industry players to create new global QR standards.

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Ethereum Price Jumps After Mastercard Joins Alliance

PYMNTS

Cryptocurrency Ethereum price has jumped more than 50 percent, recovering from losses over the last several days. According to a report , not only did the cryptocurrency that competes against bitcoin have its biggest percent gain during the past 24 hours, but it also had double the volume of bitcoin. The report noted that as of Wednesday (July 19) there is a $10-billion difference between the market caps of bitcoin and Ethereum, and if the prices for Ether continue to increase Ether will be a re

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Cashless Society, Crossing Borders

PYMNTS

The cashless payments movement has a calendar attached to it, at least in China. Cashless Week in China is little more than a week away — running Aug. 1 through Aug. 8 — as Ant Financial Services Group announced earlier this year. The cash-free week will see the firm encouraging China to embrace digital payments, an offshoot of the company’s goal to make China as cashless as possible in five years — using Alipay as a springboard, of course.

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Bringing AI to Finance: How to Leverage Technology for Efficiency and Control

Finance teams are balancing more than ever, but manual processes shouldn’t slow you down. In this ebook from BILL, discover how AI is transforming finance—automating AP, expense tracking, and document management to reduce errors, increase efficiency, and improve financial control. Learn how real companies are using AI-powered automation to streamline workflows, detect anomalies, and gain deeper insights.

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Vantiv On Why Electronic Payments Are SMBs’ Next Natural Evolution

PYMNTS

While there are many reasons why small merchants should be able to take digital and online payments — including better conversion rates, wider exposure to a bigger audience and better data about consumers — Dusty Gomez, SMB product leader at Vantiv , says it all comes down to one main idea: The consumer lifestyle is evolving to a point where customers are constantly on the go.

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The New Colossus

PYMNTS

It used to be that small businesses needing loans could wait weeks or months for a decision from the provider, with pre-qualification steps taking up a huge chunk of the time – and after all that, there was no guarantee that the provider would find them creditworthy. Today, artificial intelligence can do a lot of the heavy lifting at the front end of the process.

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For Millennials, Traditional Banking Is Not Anathema

PYMNTS

Turns out millennials are not the different-kind-of-banking-breed some had thought. It also turns out the much-vaunted social media generation is less inclined to use social media than you’d think. In a survey held from the end of June into early July and conducted by SurveyMonkey , the web-based survey firm queried more than 1,000 adults above the age of 18, 290 of which were defined as 18- to 34-year-olds: millennials.

Banking 57
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Are Contactless Payments Making Cash Obsolete?

PYMNTS

Think long and hard about the last time you carried physical cash or a business asked for cash only as a payment. While there are still some retailers today that have either a cash-only policy or still take cash, most consumers do not typically carry it on them. Just three years ago, The Washington Post reported eight out of 10 people carried less than $50 in their wallets on a regular basis, according to research from Bankrate.com.

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Say ‘Goodbye’ to Clunky Spreadsheets and Say ‘Hello’ to Month-End Automation

Technology is rapidly changing the way accountants perform and manage month-end activities. Spreadsheets, emails, and shared drives no longer need to slow you down. In under four weeks, your team can start reaping the benefits of month-end close automation by vastly reducing spreadsheets, cut down on reconciliation work, speed up the month-end close, and better manage your remote team.

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Groupon And The Big Business Of Beauty

PYMNTS

Beauty is and always has been one of humanity’s favorite topics. English poet Thomas Overbury famously observed that it is only skin deep, while Irish poet Margaret Wolfe Hungerford noted that it is “in the eye of beholder.” And while no one knows who exactly originated the phrase “beauty is pain,” it is quoted widely and liberally in salons, shoe stores and bridal salons nationwide.

Numbers 56
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USAT Raises $43.1M In Underwritten Public Offering

PYMNTS

USA Technologies, the payment technology service provider of integrated cashless and mobile transactions in the self-service retail market, announced news Tuesday (July 25) of the closing of its underwritten public offering of 9,583,332 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $4.50 per share. In a press release, the company said the foregoing included the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase 1,249,999 additional shares from USA Technologies (USAT).

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The Lines Are Blurring Between Alternative, Traditional SME Finance

PYMNTS

Alternative lending has shifted from a competitor of traditional FIs to a collaborator, often lending a digital hand to banks in need of upgrading their systems to provide faster, more agile financing to SMEs. A new report from the state-backed British Business Bank (BBB), however, suggests alternative lenders are becoming an increasingly important part of its operations in a different way, highlighting how the lines between alternative finance (AltFin) and traditional finance continue to blur.

Finance 55
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China’s Amazing Cashless Conversion

PYMNTS

While there is still much in the way of debate in the U.S. and the rest of the developed West about the shape of things to come with the mobile and digital payments revolution that remains in nascent stages, on the other side of the world in China, the waiting has ended. The mobile revolution is here. Paper money — The New York Times writer Paul Mozer recently noted in a column — is seemingly dying a swift and unceremonious death in the Chinese market, as just about everyone seems to be using

Retail 55
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Outsourcing Vs. In-House: The Ultimate Battle For Better Collections

Speaker: Susan Richards

Your past-due accounts are growing, cash flow is tightening, and the pressure is on. The big question: Do you handle the collections internally or outsource to experts? Both strategies come with advantages and risks - but which one delivers the best impact for your business? In this session we’ll dive deep into the in-house vs. outsourcing debate, examining cost-effectiveness, efficiency, compliance risks, and overall recovery success rates.