PYMNTS

JUNE 21, 2018

A connected world is a convenient world for both work and play. Too often, however, the price of convenience is privacy. If data within the Internet of Things (IoT) is not secured properly, it puts people’s overall safety in jeopardy — and it’s not just about loss of sensitive personal data. In fact, according to UL , the even greater threat is that an attacker could take over the functionality of poorly secured devices.

Securities 79

Securities Manufacturing Compliance Communication 79

PYMNTS

JUNE 21, 2018

What’s a currency to do when it can take down the internet ? Gain in price, amid growing clamor for it, of course. No need to trace the minute details of bitcoin’s pricing. $6,500 or $6,600. Maybe more. Maybe less, and maybe a lot more or a lot less. Check back with us in a few minutes! Beyond the vagaries of price — where some watch technicals, looking for a “floor” or a “peak” and signs amid volatility and rolling averages — fundamentals matter.

Currencies 65

Currencies Securities Communication Banking 65

PYMNTS

JUNE 20, 2018

Banks are turning to digital technology to enhance the customer experience — and reduce payment friction — in an effort to boost top and bottom lines. In meetings and calls with analysts last week, executives from top banks such as Bank of America , JPMorgan Chase and Citi — along with payment companies such as Visa — explained how they are leveraging technology to drive innovation.

Banking 60

Banking eCommerce B2B CFO 60

PYMNTS

JUNE 22, 2018

As BBVA steps up its digital efforts, the bank is merging its Beeva and i4S units to form a company called BBVA Next Technologies. The company’s 1,200 tech workers will focus on areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), the blockchain and cloud computing, according to their press release. “BBVA Next Technologies is a company that specialises in emerging and disruptive technologies, that strives to stay ahead of the curve, looks at the future and aims to recruit the best tech talent,” BB

Reconciliations 57

Reconciliations Technology Banking Investments 57

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

Investments

PYMNTS

JUNE 21, 2018

Putting a digital spin on makeup try-ons, L’Oréal is using augmented reality (AR) to enable beauty advisers to virtually put suggested products on a customer’s face as part of a consultation. The feature, which is dubbed Live Makeup Consultation, will launch for L’Oréal’s NYX Cosmetics brand, Retail Dive reported. With L’Oréal’s technology, customers can ask for product recommendations through video chat.

Technology 56

Technology Retail Planning 56

PYMNTS

JUNE 18, 2018

Walmart has been awarded three patents for blockchain-backed technology, according to a report Monday (June 18) in Cryptovest. One of the patents covers a system that would let households manage their electricity bills through cryptocurrency, and would be operated with a public blockchain. “Currently, energy providers deliver energy to locations that inefficiently use the energy, which leads to increased energy costs for consumers,” the Walmart patent filing said.

Retail 56

Retail Securities Technology 56

PYMNTS

JUNE 21, 2018

What is the key to meeting consumers’ payment preferences? According to a survey of 2,300 respondents, it all comes down to the three Cs: convenience, certainty and choice, the latest edition of the Disbursement Satisfaction Index reveals. In terms of convenience, speed is priority. When it comes to getting paid, consumers want quick and easy access to their funds – without the common frictions involved with a paper check.

Securities 55

Securities Accounting Banking 55

PYMNTS

JUNE 19, 2018

Pity the poor fraudster. Fraud has no choice but to roll with the punches, and the flurries are enough to daze a boxer as skilled as Ali. Get a toehold in a consumer’s account with a card and whammo, here comes EMV. Grab a piece of an ID and blam! Machine learning rears its mechanical head. We’re being tongue in cheek, of course. We pity no fraudsters.

Numbers 55

Numbers Accounting Banking Securities 55

PYMNTS

JUNE 21, 2018

Facebook announced that it is testing out subscriptions with a small number of groups to support group admins who lead the communities. “Group admins build safe and supportive communities that people come back to every day,” wrote Alex Deve, Product Director, Groups, at Facebook. “We know that admins invest their time and energy to maintain their groups, and some have told us that they would like tools to help them continue to invest in their community and offer more to members.”.

Numbers 54

Numbers Investments Planning 54

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.

Accounting

PYMNTS

JUNE 20, 2018

Perhaps not since the adoption of chip and PIN payments has there existed so much potential for disruption in the point-of-sale market. The rise of mom-and-pop entrepreneurs, the coffee truck operators, craft makers and others has opened the door for the smaller POS operators to capture new business. That’s how Andrew Byrne, chief operating officer at London-based payment services firm myPOS , told it during a recent interview with PYMNTS.

Concentration 54

Concentration Construction Sales Technology 54

PYMNTS

JUNE 21, 2018

It’s one of the ideals of payments and commerce, a vision that drives so much research and experimentation: Making it through a store checkout lane without fishing for a card or waving a mobile phone, or even checking into a hotel after an exhausting flight without producing a driver’s license and credit card to gain access to the room. Transactions anchored around biometrics , and biometrics only, represent a seemingly utopian future that seems to get closer every year.

Retail 51

Retail Technology Securities Banking 51

PYMNTS

JUNE 19, 2018

Big-name eTailers like Amazon, eBay and Walmart have made it easier than ever to buy just about anything online. When it comes to shopping for big-ticket items like pre-used or new commercial vehicles, though, the online shopping process is anything but easy. In fact, it is frequently rife with friction. For sellers, the process might entail anxiously waiting to receive payments.

eCommerce 51

eCommerce Sales Construction Transportation 51

PYMNTS

JUNE 21, 2018

As the world continues its path to becoming more digital, risks are increasingly finding their way into transaction processes, and that calls for a different approach to transaction monitoring. FinTech companies have been doing their best to take disruptive approaches that are more automated and efficient than those of their traditional financial services counterparts.

Compliance 51

Compliance Leverage Banking Startups 51

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.

Accounting

PYMNTS

JUNE 18, 2018

Emailage , the online fraud prevention startup that uses email addresses to assess risk, announced this week that it’s expanding its geographical footprint and establishing new offices in regions of interest, which has included strategic hires and reappointments. The news is significant because, although Emailage had customers in Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, the Middle East and Asia (EMEA), it has not always had a formal presence there.

Startups 51

Startups Accounting eCommerce Banking 51

PYMNTS

JUNE 18, 2018

Square , the payments company founded by Jack Dorsey, has received a license to enable residents in New York state to buy and sell bitcoin via its Cash App. In a press release , the New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo said the agency approved Square ‘s application for a virtual currency license. The payments company has a money-transmitter license from the Department of Financial Services (DFS).

Currencies 51

Currencies Financial Systems eCommerce Marketing 51

PYMNTS

JUNE 20, 2018

Danny Meyer is defending his restaurant group’s decision to test out cashless transactions, saying they are not looking to exclude prospective guests. Meyer owns Union Square Hospitality Group , and five of its restaurants are now cashless: Daily Provisions , Martina , Caffe Marchio , Vini e Fritti and Tacocina. In addition, Shake Shack had previously experimented with going cashless at one location.

Planning 50

Planning Accounting Banking 50

PYMNTS

JUNE 19, 2018

WhatsApp , the Facebook-owned messaging app that counts more than 200 million monthly users, has launched a payments feature in India during the past several months which now has around a million users. According to a report in Quartz citing sources, WhatsApp is in the process of fixing any issues with the payment feature and adding more functionality during beta testing of the service, which kicked off in February.

Compliance 50

Compliance Banking Marketing Accounting 50

Advertisement

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.

Reconciliations

PYMNTS

JUNE 19, 2018

PayPal said on Tuesday (June 19) that it will buy payments payout platform Hyperwallet for $400 million in cash. The deal will give PayPal greater strength in eCommerce and online marketplaces, PayPal said in a statement. Marketplace sales accounted for 50 percent of all online sales in 2017, according to an estimate provided by PayPal. “eCommerce platforms and marketplaces are leveling the retail playing field by connecting buyers who have specific needs with groups of sellers that can meet the

eCommerce 50

eCommerce Currencies Leverage Retail 50

PYMNTS

JUNE 21, 2018

Source-to-pay solutions provider Zycus is teaming up with CRM software firm Salesforce to enhance its own digital transformation strategy, the companies announced Wednesday (June 20). Zycus said it will use Salesforce’s marketing automation solution Pardot to enhance customer engagement and acquisition in India. “B2B marketing automation is the best way to make sure an entire organization is aligned around the customer journey — from awareness to acquisition, to advocacy teams,”

B2B 49

B2B Sales Marketing Technology 49

PYMNTS

JUNE 21, 2018

Sources say Robinhood Markets is in talks with regulators about offering banking services to its more than 4 million users. According to Bloomberg , one source claims that the California-based firm is engaging in conversations with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which charters and regulates all national banks and federal savings associations.

Banking 49

Banking Startups Valuation Currencies 49

PYMNTS

JUNE 20, 2018

Workplace , the enterprise communications app owned by Facebook , announced Wednesday (June 20) that it has launched Workplace For Good, which gives Workplace Premium free to nonprofits and staff at educational institutions around the globe. In a blog post , Workplace said the goal is to help nonprofits and educational institutions create change around the world. “Over the last 18 months, we’ve seen thousands of nonprofits and educational institutions transform the way they work on our pla

Nonprofit 49

Nonprofit Education Communication Investments 49

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

Sales

PYMNTS

JUNE 20, 2018

Following a beta accessible by invitation only, Amazon is rolling out Prime Wardrobe to all of its U.S. Prime customers. An executive with Amazon said the idea behind the service was to take the “pain points” out of shopping, ABC News reported. Kate Dimmock, the fashion director at Amazon Fashion, told ABC News, “What we kept hearing from our customers was that they wanted to shop for fashion with us, but they wanted to try things on.

eCommerce 49

eCommerce Retail Sales Marketing 49

PYMNTS

JUNE 20, 2018

The U.K.’s accounting watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), has now levied more fines in two days than it has in the entirety of 2017, according to Bloomberg reports on Tuesday (June 19). The FRC issued fines totaling $19 million against PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and KPMG last week, while the regulator also sent KPMG an unprecedented warning that its auditing processes are subpar.

Accounting 49

Accounting Auditing Financial Reporting Numbers 49

PYMNTS

JUNE 20, 2018

Warehouse clubs are designing smaller stores , with a focus on omnichannel features and a carefully chosen selection. They are also seeking to borrow from Amazon by offering free shipping benefits to members. In the restaurant space, third-party aggregators are becoming a popular preference as QSRs are turning to in-store kiosks. And gig workers are expected to be a large chunk of overall U.S. income this year. 32,000: The square footage of a new Sam’s Club store in Texas, with a smaller select

Numbers 48

Numbers Planning Retail 48

PYMNTS

JUNE 20, 2018

There are only so many new variations of coffee for the summer: There’s cold brew, nitro and … and citrus-flavored coffee soda? Keepers Co. seeks to shake up the cold coffee beverage industry by putting a spin on a beverage once confined to, say, french vanilla or hazelnut. “We’re trying to change the perception of what coffee could be,” Keepers Co.

Economics 48

Economics Planning Retail 48

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.

Marketing