PYMNTS

SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

“It’s better to be a dog in a peaceful time, than to be a human in a chaotic period,” is the literal translation of what has been proffered over the years as English translation of the Chinese saying “May you live in interesting times.”. That, of course depends on who you ask. I recently asked Paul Galant, CEO of Verifone. From his days as CEO of Enterprise Payments at Citi to now CEO of the world’s largest electronic POS technology provider, Galant has seen and lived thru a number of interestin

Manufacturing 109

Manufacturing Economics Retail Budgeting 109

PYMNTS

DECEMBER 8, 2016

Western Union, the global payment services company, announced Wednesday (Dec. 7) it is enhancing its relationship with Viber, the mobile messaging app that counts 745 million unique users around the globe. In a press release , Western Union said it is enhancing its existing relationship with Viber by enabling Viber users in the U.K. to send money domestically and internationally to more than 200 countries and territories via the Viber app.

Leverage 105

Leverage Accounting Banking Technology 105

PYMNTS

OCTOBER 10, 2016

National treasure Kim Kardashian has taught us all a series of invaluable lessons over the years: how to break the internet, that there is no such thing as too much eyeliner and that, if you are on the phone with Taylor Swift, the smart money is on hitting the record button. But of all the lessons we have learned from Kim — and later, Kimye — the most crucial, deepest and most fundamental is that, if one can get themselves behind the velvet rope, one should do so because life in the VIP suite is

Technology 102

Technology Investments Sales Banking 102

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

Investment bankers in Hong Kong were tricked out of millions of dollars by a cash-advance business called Global Merchant Funding (GMF). According to Bloomberg , smooth-talking fraudster Avery Stone and his partners at GMF convinced bankers from prominent international banks to invest in the business to the tune of $32.5 million before disappearing. “This isn’t a deal that went bad; these guys systematically preyed off their friends,” Thomas Gallagher, a GMF investor, told Bloomberg.

Investments 100

Investments Banking Securities 100

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

OCTOBER 24, 2016

While hacks have been nearly endemic over the last several years, they have, at this point, mostly faded to the level of background noise for the average consumer. Sure, the aftermath of having a card compromised is often annoying and involves changing cards stored in digital wallets and with subscription sites, but consumers know that their bank has their back.

Securities 99

Securities Numbers Technology Accounting 99

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

Bitcoin wallet iPayYou continues to work toward a future with bitcoin as the default currency. It was just announced that iPayYou has made a way for consumers to pay for items on Amazon with bitcoin, called Amazon Direct. Now iPayYou users can transfer any amount of bitcoin from their bitcoin wallet to Amazon. Customers can use the Amazon Direct tab to the iPayYou platform to determine an amount of bitcoin to transfer and the destination account.

Currencies 98

Currencies Retail Accounting 98

PYMNTS

DECEMBER 15, 2016

Tokenization as a global standard for securing transactions in a digital world gets turbocharged today. In a mutual commitment to accelerating the adoption of an open digital wallet, global card networks Mastercard and Visa announce their agreement to allow each network to request tokenized credentials from the other when consumers are transacting across any digital medium — in app, online and in store.

Securities 95

Securities Accounting Numbers Banking 95

PYMNTS

DECEMBER 6, 2016

It’s not easy being big. Or being big and regulated. Among other things, it makes running a footrace with FinTech startups — tough. Big and regulated banks — especially these days — are not set up to sprint. Decades of legacy infrastructure and a web of regulations make it tough to adopt a “move fast and break things” mantra — even if the regulators would allow it.

Compliance 94

Compliance Banking Leverage Startups 94

PYMNTS

OCTOBER 24, 2016

Toasting new employment? Odds are increasingly good that you may be clinking your glass over your latest gig. The number of Americans working gig jobs — or short-term, ad hoc positions — grew at a rate of 50 percent from 2005 to 2010, while the gig economy gained 9.4 million new workers, outpacing the U.S. economy as a whole. But there is still much not known about this rapidly expanding portion of the economy, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics stopped collecting data on gigs in 2005 and won’t b

Invoicing 94

Invoicing Planning Numbers Marketing 94

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

OCTOBER 10, 2016

Is closing on Thanksgiving day becoming the new being open on Thanksgiving day? This week, Mall of America, the nation’s largest shopping mall, announced it was bucking the recent trend of opening stores to shoppers on Thanksgiving. Instead, Mall of America said it would close on Thanksgiving so its 14,000 or so employees could have the day off to spend time with their family, although the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the more than 520 stores inside Mall of America will have the option

Retail 93

Retail Planning Sales Marketing 93

PYMNTS

DECEMBER 19, 2016

Blockchain has officially entered the grocery aisles. Walmart has announced that it is now testing new blockchain technology to track and trace produce in U.S. stores and pork in China. PYMNTS covered the testing and lead-up to the kickoff back in November. Now, the technology and use of it are even closer. It’s a pilot program, where sliced apples and cut broccoli will be used to test the blockchain database technology for four months starting in the first quarter of 2017.

Technology 92

Technology Manufacturing Planning Securities 92

PYMNTS

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

One year into the shift to chip-enabled cards — for the U.S., that is — Mastercard said on Monday (Sept. 12) that data shows a “ positive impact ” through the technology across stakeholders, including issuing banks, consumers and merchants. In reference to fraud — the very activity that the cards are designed to thwart — Mastercard stated that fraud data shows a 54 percent decrease in counterfeit fraud costs at retailers who have either completed or are close to completing EMV transitions, as me

Sales 92

Sales Retail Banking Technology 92

PYMNTS

DECEMBER 1, 2016

Visa announced today that it will acquire eCommerce payment authentication leader CardinalCommerce. The move is expected to enable Visa’s global clients and partners to accelerate, scale and secure digital commerce as payments expands to include billions upon billions of connected endpoints. Mark Nelsen, senior vice president of risk and authentication products at Visa, said that the “strategic acquisition combines Visa’s industry expertise and Cardinal’s critical role in payment authentication

Securities 90

Securities eCommerce Planning 90

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

DECEMBER 9, 2016

Botnet attacks are not only growing in popularity among hackers, but they are also delivering a new level of sophistication and danger to businesses and consumers worldwide. In this week’s Hacker Tracker , PYMNTS caught up with security experts at digital security products provider Avast Software to gain insight into the rise of Crimeware-as-a-Service and why the industry should be taking notice of the growing threat of malicious botnets, like Avalanche and Mirai.

Manufacturing 90

Manufacturing Securities Numbers 90

PYMNTS

OCTOBER 26, 2016

It may be easy to see First Data’s SMB POS Clover sitting on a merchant’s countertop and assume it’s just another nice-looking terminal that accepts payments. But as John Beatty , CEO and cofounder of Clover for First Data , explained, that would be overlooking what Clover really is — an operating platform that helps an SMB run its business, eliminating the need for the SMB to have multiple devices on the countertop that support other business-critical applications. “We’re starting to see

Sales 90

Sales Marketing Numbers 90

PYMNTS

DECEMBER 7, 2016

The American Express that exists today would look pretty foreign to its first employees of 166 years ago — since, to state the obvious, a lot has changed over that period of time. Long before American Express was a credit card issuer and a closed loop payments network, it was in the business of moving mail (and other things) quickly from one coast to the other.

Securities 90

Securities Numbers Banking Sales 90

PYMNTS

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Payments take the football field, but consumers call the plays. That’s how Dan Charron , EVP and Head of Global Business Solutions for First Data , sees it and how he describes the latest rollout of its commerce technology solution at CenturyLink Field Event Center and CenturyLink Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks , aimed at taking the fan experience to the next level.

Sales 90

Sales Securities Retail Technology 90

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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

OCTOBER 5, 2016

Did you know that physical trainers and fitness instructors only get paid a very small fraction of the cost you pay the gym per hour? After they’ve pushed you to do a hundred burpees or gotten you to achieve that perfect yoga Crow Pose, they may end up with only $20. When your endorphins wear off, you’ll also notice that your wallet could be a $150 per hour lighter.

Startups 89

Startups Marketing Planning 89

PYMNTS

OCTOBER 17, 2016

Ever seen a UFO? Could it have really been a bird, plane or you-know-who? That’s where 47-year-old nonprofit MUFON comes in to debunk or detail what you saw. “Sometimes, people say they saw a UFO, and immediately, people think they said, ‘I saw a flying saucer,’” said Rodger Roeser, spokesperson for MUFON, which literally investigates unidentified flying objects.

Nonprofit 89

Nonprofit Technology 89

PYMNTS

DECEMBER 19, 2016

It’s a fact. While they enjoy many FinTech innovations, most millennials don’t have a snowball’s chance of earning more than their parents — ever. How big the income gap between those 70 million people and their parents depends on a few things, including how well-heeled their parents are. Not surprisingly, hardest hit are the kids born to middle and lower middle-income families — so, roughly 70 percent of the U.S. population.

Advertising 88

Advertising Credit Risk Retail Banking 88

PYMNTS

OCTOBER 24, 2016

Coyote, bobcat, armadillo and … human skulls. Perhaps counterintuitively, Skulls Unlimited , a company that sells skulls — yes, animal and human skulls — sees its biggest uptick in purchases closer to Christmas, rather than before Halloween. “This time of year, we start getting in more orders. Halloween, not as much, but most people looking for Halloween decorations quickly realize that we’re not offering skulls for that purpose,” said Josh Villemarette , co-owner and son of the fou

Education 87

Education Marketing eCommerce 87

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

SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

If recent emerging reports are accurate, the team at Yahoo is about to bring new meaning to the phrase “having a tough morning.” Yahoo is apparently on the verge of reporting a massive data breach of its service — a giant hack that has exposed the data behind hundreds of millions of user accounts. At this point, that is about all that is known on the hack: Several sources close to the situation were not able to say much more about it other than commenting on its scale and the fact th

Sales 87

Sales Accounting Securities 87

PYMNTS

OCTOBER 3, 2016

Though for a few years there it really looked like it might simply become retail standard, it seems that starting the Thanksgiving weekend sales crush on Thanksgiving may fizzle out after all. According to reporting over the weekend, an increasing number of big retailers are actually taking the national day of thanksgiving off. So far, the known opt-outs include Home Depot, Nordstrom , Costco, BJ’s, Fred’s Pharmacy, GameStop, Harbor Freight, Lowe’s, Pier 1 Imports, Petco, PetSmart, Sam’s C

Retail 87

Retail Sales Numbers Accounting 87

PYMNTS

OCTOBER 5, 2016

Small and medium-sized businesses eager to attract and retain loyal customers are even more eager to harness the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Software based on these technologies can make predictions on customers’ behavior, assess their potential as repeat purchasers and automate communications that will stimulate buying behavior, or even do it for them.

Communication 86

Communication eCommerce Investments Leverage 86

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Fact. Digital commerce has been a reality for more than two decades. Fact. The launch of the iPhone in 2007 and the App Store in 2008 opened everyone’s eyes to the impact that mobile would have on payments and commerce. Fact. Twenty years and hundreds of millions of smartphones later, the digital payments experience is anything but consistent anywhere — online, in-store and in-app.

Securities 86

Securities Numbers Sales Technology 86

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