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Sephora, the beauty retailer, announced on Thursday (March 14) the launch of a new credit card program. The company said in a press release that starting in the spring, it will offer the Sephora credit card, Sephora Visa® credit card and Sephora Visa Signature® credit card to its retail customers. The credit cards will provide customers with more ways to earn rewards for their purchases, the retailer said in the release.
Digital banking customers of today aren’t looking for the bank with the newest features — they’re looking for the bank that can keep their data safe. Any security mishap can send customers to one of the other digital banking apps that are ready and waiting for them. In the new Digital Banking Tracker , PYMNTS examines the ways digital banking is changing as security measures grow more stringent, and challenger banks look to amass more customers.
Innovation has always been important for community banks, but the driving force of digitization over the last decade has greatly sped up the pace, said Kevin Tweddle, chief innovation officer for the Independent Community Bankers of America ( ICBA ). That push, he noted, hasn’t come from within the financial services industry proper, but primarily from the so-called “GAFA group” of Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple — and the many ways they’ve made doing business simpler and smoother for consume
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.
Here’s an exercise that may come off as too academic – like a debate over how many angels fit on a pinhead – but is really among the most vital for not only PYMNTS readers, but pretty much any other business operators: What is the perfect payments experience? That question formed a hook for a recent PYMNTS discussion between Karen Webster and Kurt Bilafer, executive vice president and chief revenue officer at Yapstone.
Anxieties that automation will replace humans have waned in the accounting sector, as industry players begin to realize that technology can actually help accountants play a more important role for their small business (SMB) customers as advisors and guides, rather than replacing their roles outright. With the first tax season post-tax reform nearing completion in the U.S., the small business accounting sector has seen even more evidence that the advisory role of SMB accountants remains of promin
Anxieties that automation will replace humans have waned in the accounting sector, as industry players begin to realize that technology can actually help accountants play a more important role for their small business (SMB) customers as advisors and guides, rather than replacing their roles outright. With the first tax season post-tax reform nearing completion in the U.S., the small business accounting sector has seen even more evidence that the advisory role of SMB accountants remains of promin
Volatile times make for sleepless nights for corporate executives, particularly those whose job it is to manage the cash positions of their organizations. For corporate treasurers, Manish Kohli, global head of payments and receivables at Citi , told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster, three concerns tend to top the list: geopolitical uncertainty, cyber threats and disruption resulting from the emergence of new business models in an interconnected global market.
Money moves only as fast as payments infrastructure will allow. To that end, there’s a bottleneck. The gig economy is gaining steam, as roughly a third (more than 35 percent) of U.S. workers are participating in part-time or project-based employment, and increasingly they want to get paid when the work is done. Roughly 85 percent of the several thousand gig workers we surveyed said they would work more often if they could be paid faster.
NACHA, national administrator of the ACH network, said a third processing window for same-day transactions will be postponed for six months until the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Fed Board) approves the initiative. In September of 2018, NACHA said it would expand same day ACH transactions and establish a “new window” that would “allow Same Day ACH files to be submitted until 4:45 p.m.
Online commerce solution provider BigCommerce is adding business-to-business eCommerce to its suite of services. The company said in a press release Tuesday (March 12) that, along with a slew of partners, it has launched BigCommerce for B2B to provide B2B sellers with resources to more efficiently sell online. The firm is working with several partners that offer their own B2B solutions, which integrate their tools into the BigCommerce for B2B platform.
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.
The U.S. Commerce Department is expanding its Trade Finance Advisory Council (TFAC), having recently appointed 21 new members to the group in an effort to explore innovation in and access to trade finance. Among the new members is blockchain company R3, according to Bitcoin Exchange Guide reports on Thursday (March 14), which will be represented in the Council by the firm’s Head of Trade and Supply Chain Alisa DiCaprio.
Some of the largest global financial institutions are taking steps further into Mexico’s small business lending and finance space, the result of heightened competitive pressure imposed by FinTechs and alternative lenders in the market, reports in the Wall Street Journal said Thursday (March 14). The publication pointed to Goldman Sachs as the latest FI giant to grow operations in Mexico, after it provided a $100 million credit facility to Credijusto, a FinTech startup that makes three-year
Ladies and gentlemen, it has finally arrived. From this day forward (March 14), businesses covered by the European Union’s (EU’s) Second Payment Services Directive ( PSD2 ) are supposed to have a testing regime that conforms to the FinTech regulation. However, that’s only the foreshadowing. The bigger deadline comes on Sept. 14, bringing requirements related to strong consumer authentication and other tasks designed to establish a secure, Open Banking environment.
Paytm, the India-based eCommerce and digital wallet company, has announced a new mobile banking app called Payments Bank, according to reports. The app, available for download in the Google Play store and coming soon to iOS, will allow customers to check balances, request debit cards, pay with their phones and more. The company also said users can get customer support all day, seven days a week, via the app.
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.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DDPA) in the Netherlands has released its own General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fining policy, according to reports , and is the first European Union (EU) country to do so. The GDPR stipulates that the maximum fine levied against a company can be 4 percent of its global revenue or €20 million, whichever is higher.
In eCommerce, friction is a four-letter word. However, friction done right — for the right consumer, for the right transaction, at just the right moment — can actually enhance the consumer experience. In other words, friction with a dash of intelligence mixed into the process can cut down on fraud, which helps, well, everybody in the commerce ecosystem — from consumers to issuers to merchants.
The movement to bring blockchain to cross-border payments proceeds apace. Might SWIFT be giving a nod, at least partially, toward the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT)? As noted by OracleTimes , it seems the messaging network that ties banks and other financial firms together may indeed be open to DLT — if not directly, then deployed by some of its network.
For proponents of open banking , the regulatory initiative seen in the U.K. and Europe is a natural progression from the surge in FinTech solutions offered to consumers, small businesses and enterprises. While policymakers target protection and customer ownership of data, one of the most prominent selling points for open banking is the ability for data to move seamlessly between once-siloed platforms.
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.
To lift a few lines from T.S. Eliot, “between the idea and the reality … life is very long.” That sentiment is a good place to start when thinking about commerce, specifically omnichannel — an idea that has come, and perhaps keeps coming, and where the reality has yet to catch up to that promise. In an interview with PYMNTS, Vijay Sondhi, CEO of NMI , noted that the promise omnichannel had five or 10 years ago was vast, and held with it the idea that commerce, as an activity, would be seamless a
Financial institutions (FIs) must carefully balance staying compliant and keeping their customers safe, all without introducing frictions that could scare customers away. However, despite the friction points that can get introduced into the process due to anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, FIs have no choice but to comply, or they risk fines and loss of customer trust.
Chipotle Mexican Grill has teamed up with Venmo to expand its loyalty program amid huge growth of its digital platform. The quick-service restaurant (QSR) has introduced the points-based program, called Chipotle Rewards, in select markets, CNBC reported. CEO Brian Niccol said the rewards program was what Chipotle customers had most requested, and that the company has recently been putting more energy into its digital offerings.
As the financial services space focuses on digitizing offerings for their small business customers, much of these efforts are targeting online banking portals accessed via desktop. But mobile devices are an increasingly important part of a small business’ financial management strategy, adding another channel on which banks and FinTechs must innovate to disrupt and improve SMB finances.
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
Score one for the Midwest: Verizon said this week (March 13) it will launch its 5G network in Chicago and Minneapolis on April 11. The announcement from the mobile network provider serves as the latest demonstration that 5G is coming, and that retailers and payment services providers should get ready to operate in the 5G world. It’s probably too much to say that 2019 will be the year of 5G – deployments and use cases, especially in retail and payments, are unlikely to hit a critical mass this ye
Money laundering is a major threat in the United Kingdom , one some watchdogs say is not being taken seriously enough. As a major player in cross-border banking and global finance, the country doesn’t just need to combat domestic financial crimes: It is also at risk of becoming a hub for transmitting and investing criminal funds obtained overseas. .
Mastercard and B2B payment network Finexio are entering into a strategic partnership to strengthen their supplier payment offering. In a press release , Finexio said it will allow customers to pay their vendors using Mastercard-branded virtual cards, part of their broader effort of promoting digital B2B payments in the U.S. “The electronic payments space is growing at an accelerated rate; however, traditional paper checks remain the primary vehicle used for business payments,” said F
The release of a new Google app development tool is among the latest steps to try to bring more mobile accessibility to people with disabilities — a push that’s been going on in the background of digital retail and associated areas almost since the beginning. Here’s the news announced this week (March 13) by Google , via a blog post from Sid Janga of the company’s Central Accessibility Team: Google has launched an open source project called Accessibility Scanner for iOS.
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.
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