Sat.Jul 13, 2019 - Fri.Jul 19, 2019

article thumbnail

Monopoly Goes Cashless And Board Games Gain Popularity

PYMNTS

In this age of live multi-player online gaming, and virtual reality, and all things digital, it can be easy to think of board games as an artifact of the analog world. No doubt many households have a collection of board games in the closet or basement, but so many of them do nothing so much as collect dust, perhaps pulled out during the holidays after the presents are opened and the kids are getting fidgety.

article thumbnail

Top-Performing Investment Teams: 10 Ingredients to Their Secret Sauce

CFA Institute

What do top investment teams have in common? What makes some succeed while others fall short?

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

Why Transforming Your FP&A Matters

Jedox Finance

“Transformation!” is the clear message from Chief Financial Officers. To do that we must address the mindset of the entire FP&A team. Operating within your organization’s framework, as we discussed in the previous posts in this blog series , will frame how your FP&A team carries out this mandate. We asked several Financial Planning and Analysis professionals to share their perspectives on the mindset needed for success now and in the future.

article thumbnail

PayPal On Its Xoom Into The Continent And The UK

PYMNTS

Call it remittance on a global scale, or P2P without borders. PayPal said on Monday (July 15) that it is launching Xoom, its international digital money transfer service, in the United Kingdom and 31 markets spanning Europe. The company said “the service will benefit millions,” including more than nine million people living in the U.K., and will pay out remittances to other individuals living in Nigeria, India, China, the Philippines and beyond, across 130 countries.

Banking 80
article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

How Bitbuy Is Keeping Crime Out Of Crypto

PYMNTS

More than $1.2 billion is estimated to have been lost to cryptocurrency scams, thefts and fraud in the first quarter of 2019, and cybercriminals and scammers are not the only ones putting digital asset users at risk. Canadian exchange QuadrigaCX ’s former CEO, Gerald Cotten, allegedly embezzled approximately $195 million of clients’ money, for example, and his recent death left the company without the passwords required to access most of its customers’ holdings.

More Trending

article thumbnail

Samsung, Tech And Banking Cos Team To Use Blockchain For Mobile Identity

PYMNTS

A group of companies in South Korea are collaborating on a blockchain network to be used for mobile authentication services, according to reports. . Samsung Electronics; banks KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank ; telecom companies SK Telecom , LG Uplus and KT ; and Koscom , an IT service subsidiary from the Korea Exchange, are all part of the group. The companies want to let users protect their own data with the service, which will also allow people to save information from institutions as well as oth

Banking 76
article thumbnail

Samsung Pay Offers Payments, Credit To Indian Marketplaces

PYMNTS

Samsung has reached an agreement with an online marketplace for financial products in India that will allow consumers to apply for credit cards and loans through the Samsung Pay app. In a deal Samsung signed with Paisabazaar.com, India’s largest online marketplace for financial products, predictive algorithms will connect customers with the lenders most likely to say yes, FinExtra reported.

article thumbnail

SWIFT gpi Service For Multi-Banked Corporates Goes Live

PYMNTS

More than 50 of the world’s largest companies have already started using a new service that enhances payment flows, allowing a single view of transactions across multi-banked corporates. SWIFT announced July 17 that its global payments innovation (gpi) service now offers a full go-live function, giving corporates the power to initiate and track payments across multiple banks, SWIFT said in a press release.

Banking 75
article thumbnail

How PSD2 Is Changing ING Bank’s API Strategy

PYMNTS

Banks and merchants are racing to meet the Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) deadline as September 2019 approaches. Banks are innovating their application programming interface (API) platforms to allow for more third parties, while online merchants are prepping for a potential loss in revenue due to the security frictions that SCA might bring. Both are looking to maintain quick, efficient service to which end customers have become accustomed when it comes to online purchases and transactions

Retail 75
article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

US Treasury Secretary Sees Libra As National Security Threat

PYMNTS

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin believes that Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency could pose as a national security threat. In a press conference on Monday (July 15), Mnuchin warned that Libra “could be misused by money launderers and terrorist financiers” and that it was a “national security issue.”. “Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have been exploited to support billions of dollars of illicit activity like cyber crime, tax evasion, extortion, ransomware, illicit drugs and human traffick

article thumbnail

Is China The Roadmap — Or Red Flag — For Digital ID Verification?

PYMNTS

Establishing a trust factor is vital to cross-border economics and digital identity , but the roadmap is far from clear. There are billions of individuals online, trillions of dollars in commerce exchanged digitally, and a myriad of approaches to online verification. In terms of authentication, should there be government mandates, private sector ingenuity, or a combination of both?

article thumbnail

In The Dark About GDPR’s SCA?

PYMNTS

Strong customer authentication (SCA) looms on the horizon for businesses based in Europe. The latest PSD2 Tracker shows that a majority of European citizens are aware of GDPR – and the reverse seems true here in the States. Yet online commerce is indeed about to usher in a sea change in how companies deal with security and privacy , as similar laws may span the globe in the coming months.

article thumbnail

Uber Releases Open-Source Conversational AI Platform Called Plato

PYMNTS

Uber AI, the ride-hailing company’s artificial intelligence division, has released an open-source AI platform called the Plato Research Dialogue System, according to a report by Venturebeat. . The platform is made to build, train and deploy conversational AI agents for people to gather data from both prototypes and demonstration systems. . “Intelligent conversational agents have evolved significantly over the past few decades, from keyword-spotting interactive voice response (IVR) systems to the

article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

Taking The Cash Out Of Cashing Out Tips

PYMNTS

You may have noticed in recent years that the cash you have in your wallet, pocket or purse tends to last longer than it used to. Drew Edwards, CEO at Ingo Money , sure has — a situation he says was brought about by the increasing use of Uber instead of taxis, digital payment options offered by valets and other factors. But there is one place where cash still has a big role: Tipping.

article thumbnail

Facebook Slapped With $5B FTC Fine, But Still Has Lots Of Friends

PYMNTS

The most interesting story about Facebook since the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke is one that hasn’t really been written. And it’s the one about the value platforms can create for their customer groups, at scale. Despite the news over the last year or more about its involvement in fake news, election tampering and user data breaches – and even before that about the bullying, live beheadings and murders broadcast and shared on its platform – people still show up at Facebook’s doorstep every s

article thumbnail

Curve Captures $55M In New Funding

PYMNTS

Referred to as an “over-the-top” digital banking platform, London-based Curve has cleared $55 million in its latest funding round. Curve’s claim to fame in financial services is allowing customers to consolidate their many cards into a single Curve card and app. The theory is that centralization will allow consumers better control over their spending.

article thumbnail

Germany’s FlixMobility Reaches $2B Valuation With Massive Funding Round

PYMNTS

German AI-driven mobility startup FlixMobility has raised $531 million in a new funding round, and is now valued at more than $2 billion, according to reports. . The funding amount is the largest for any German outfit so far this year. The company is perhaps best known for its FlixBus network, with its lime green vehicles that offer cost-effective traveling options.

article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

Why ING Is Taking A Platform Approach To PSD2 And Open Banking

PYMNTS

The second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) is changing how banks share data and interact with third-party providers and FinTechs, which are now relying on open banking information and application programming interface (API) access to build out new products. The regulation is also altering banks’ end customer interactions as new players make their way to the financial stage.

Banking 65
article thumbnail

WeSwap P2P Currency Exchange Seeks $2.89M In Crowdfunding

PYMNTS

After hitting the 500,000 user mark, currency exchange service WeSwap has rolled out a Seedrs crowdfunding round. The company is seeking a £2.3 million ($2.89 million) raise, according to reports. The raise is the company’s third on Seedrs and had previously brought in funds from 3,868 investors of more than £3.5 million ($4.4 million). It will support an IW Capital-led Series B investment round.

article thumbnail

Many Retailers Aren’t Prepared for PSD2 – But Are Consumers?

PYMNTS

The second Payment Services Directive ( PSD2 ) groundwork laid out in 2016 is about to come to fruition in a few months – Sept. 14, 2019, to be exact. The deadline is looming for merchants and payments providers to comply with new requirements for authenticating online payments in Europe. Firms must soon put more stringent fraud decisioning processes in place, and strong customer authentication (SCA) protocols must be built into checkout flows for online transactions that begin in Europe.

Retail 65
article thumbnail

How Technology Can Unlock Trust In Cross-Border Transactions

PYMNTS

Trust is important for all of payment, commerce and financial services – it is more or less the glue that holds transactions together. Without foundations of trust, no transaction can get off the runway. And when it comes to cross-border transactions, that importance increases exponentially, simply by the nature of that activity. The parties don’t know each other, and are often separated by language and time zone barriers that can make communication a tremendous challenge.

article thumbnail

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

article thumbnail

For Mastercard/OpenText and the Automotive Industry: Have Trust, Will Trade

PYMNTS

To keep the wheels of commerce — or the commerce of wheels — turning, trust is key, among lengthy supply chains, and vendors large and small. In the automotive industry, hiccups amid the supply chain — for deliveries or for payments, can have outsized ripple effects. Mastercard said late last week that it has partnered with OpenTex t, focused on enterprise operations management in a bid to streamline supply chain and finance activity.

article thumbnail

In Banking Innovation, Eyeing The Needs Of The ‘Digital Native’

PYMNTS

TS Eliot wrote: “Between the idea/And the reality/Between the motion/And the act/Falls the shadow.”. The same observation might apply to financial services. Depending on where you look, the chasm yawns wide when it comes to innovating with new technologies or features. In a PYMNTS interview with Karen Webster, Joe DeRosa, EVP of Global Sales at i2c , discussed the findings of the July 2019 Innovation Readiness Playbook , subtitled “Leveling the Playing Field for Different-Sized FIs.

Banking 62
article thumbnail

SumUp Snags $371M Loan Backed By Bain, Goldman

PYMNTS

Six-year-old digital payments startup SumUp has managed to secure a 330 million-euro ($371 million) loan, backed by Bain Capital Credit and Goldman Sachs Private Capital. The new funds will reportedly go toward financing expansion, according to Bloomberg. The firm is reportedly looking to grow its customer base in the 31 markets where it is already doing business.

article thumbnail

SoftBank Ventures Asia Notches $270M To Fund Startups

PYMNTS

The Seoul venture capital division of Japanese multinational holding company SoftBank has raised $270 million, or 317 billion won. The new fund of SoftBank Ventures Asia will invest globally in early-stage startups, with Asia being the cornerstone, Reuters reported Friday (July 19). Investors include South Korea’s National Pension Service. SoftBank Ventures Asia indicated the new fund will close in the next six months.

article thumbnail

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.