PYMNTS
OCTOBER 22, 2018
Fair Isaac, creator of the FICO credit score, will be rolling out a new scoring system in early 2019. According to the Wall Street Journal , the UltraFICO Score should help many consumers get approved for loans because it factors in how consumers manage the cash in their checking, savings and money-market accounts, which could serve as an indication of how likely they are to repay their debts.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 18, 2018
Mastercard, the payments company, announced on Thursday (Oct. 18) that cardholder signatures will now be optional for the back of credit cards and receipts. In a press release , Mastercard said it is making the changes due to advancements in technology and security. “With modern, advanced forms of authentication now available, removing the requirement for signature capture at the point of sale and now signature panels on Mastercard cards is an important step in support of our digital evolution,”
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PYMNTS
OCTOBER 17, 2018
Visa announced today the commercial expansion of its Visa Token Service for “credential-on-file token requestors.” This expansion involves adding 20 acquirer gateway and technology partners as token requestors — including the likes of PayPal, Worldpay and Adyen — who can now, or soon will be able to, tokenize credential-on-file digital payments for their merchant and payment clients.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 18, 2018
The global regulatory framework of cryptocurrencies and blockchain remains either fragmented, vague or simply nonexistent. However, Swiss officials recently took steps to get ahead of the regulatory uncertainty surrounding the world of blockchain, focusing on a particularly large hurdle for companies in the industry. In July, reports in the Financial Times said Switzerland is working to open the nation’s traditional corporate banking market to cryptocurrency companies finding it difficult
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.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 22, 2018
Connected devices — smartphones, tablets, voice-activated speakers, smartwatches, in-car dashboard systems — are changing how consumers in the U.S. buy and pay. Not just some consumers, but almost all of them. We have brand-new data that reveals how much change is happening. Using smartphones and apps to autopay at gas stations, or to find and pay for parking, or asking a voice-activated assistant on the other end of a speaker to order a pizza aren’t just what early adopters of cool, connected
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 11, 2018
Alipay , the mobile payment app, said Wednesday (October 10) that hackers stole money from accounts via stolen Apple IDs. Reuters , citing Ant Financial , the payment affiliate of Alibaba, reported the Chinese company said the issue hasn’t been resolved even though it reached out to Apple already. In a post on its Toutiao social media account, Reuters reported it said users who linked their accounts via Apple IDs should lower their transaction limits.
Accountant Advocate brings together the best content for small business accounting professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 29, 2018
Payments and commerce fraud has its own ecosystem, one that includes criminals, servers and other computing devices, IP addresses, compromised payment cards and stolen personal data, and even houses and other physical locations. The various parts come together to produce a nefarious whole, one that targets personal and payment data to enable product or identity theft , account takeovers and other illegal activities that, left unchecked, can ruin lives and take down companies.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 26, 2018
Corporates across the Asia Pacific region are increasing their use of commercial card products, according to a new report from Citi. Reports in The Asset on Thursday (Oct. 25) said Citi’s Asia Pacific Commercial Cards Survey 2018 revealed businesses in the region are expanding their commercial card programs, as organizations shift away from legacy payment tools and use their cards for more spend categories, including procurement and meetings and events.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 11, 2018
A small test market could be ground zero for seismic changes in commerce and payments — and now possibly for cryptos. Consider Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), home to 3 million souls. That’s a third of Manhattan’s population, if one is keeping score. It’s a self-proclaimed blockchain city. Dubai is gearing up for payments via digital coin through a concerted effort between the government and blockchain payments provider Pundi X , with hardware rolling out and a state-created cry
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 19, 2018
Internet hackers have pilfered $882 million of digital currency from crypto exchanges since last year, but one group in particular has netted roughly half that amount: Group-IB noted in a report that a North Korean hacking group, Lazarus, has taken $571 million through an analysis of 14 different attacks, The Next Web reported. In general, hackers turn to methods such as social engineering, malware and spear phishing to target digital currency exchanges.
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.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 15, 2018
In 2009, consumers first coined the term “Whole Paycheck” as a tongue-in-cheek way to describe the sticker shock many felt when looking at their receipts after a shopping trip to Whole Foods. Whole Foods is, of course, the organic grocery chain that Amazon bought for $13.7 billion in June 2017. In 2018, the term can now be more legitimately used to define the portion of consumer spend and overall retail sales Amazon now captures given the expansion of its ecosystem.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 5, 2018
One of the new realities of augmented reality is this: the technology is attracting more investment from China than from sources in North America. This trend happens as activity around AR heats up, with major players in the digital economy apparently positioning themselves to profit as the retail-friendly tech move every closer to mainstream popularity.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 10, 2018
Mastercard has been awarded a patent for a proposed blockchain system that would support multiple types of currency. According to Coindesk , the patent describes how a firm may need to store different types of transaction data on the same platform, which is difficult to do on a single blockchain. So Mastercard wants to implement a method to create a blockchain that enables different blocks that can store different types of information.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 8, 2018
The latest rundown of small business (SMB) finance research uncovers key areas for improvement: Younger small business owners are more often relying on personal credit cards for business purchases, paper remains a staple in the finance department, and, while small business loan delinquency rates overall remain stable, research showed several industries in which they rose last month.
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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.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 3, 2018
Crypto research site Diar claims that startups in the digital currency and blockchain space have notched roughly $3.9 billion in funding via venture capital (VC) investments, CoinDesk reported. The figure, which represents investments over the first, second and third quarters, marks a 280 percent jump from all of last year. In addition, the report noted that the average size of investments in the blockchain and crypto space rose by $1 million this year.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 21, 2018
JPMorgan Chase is doubling down with its FinTech aspirations, gearing up to start development of a new FinTech corporate campus in the early part of 2019. CNBC reported that the campus in Palo Alto, California will be home to more than 1,000 employees. The campus will be located between Facebook and Google in the Stanford Research Park. JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon views technology as a way to keep back the competition from FinTech startups that are luring over millennial customers in dr
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 11, 2018
Much has been said in recent weeks about Ripple and its digital XRP token, where trading has been nothing but volatile. In just over a week, the price has slipped 20 percent. Beyond that trading, noted Forbes , there has been speculation that banks would embrace Ripple to move money through cross-border conduits. In news that may be separated from the vagaries of cryptocurrency trading, Banco Santander said this week that it will use Ripple’s ledger, bringing payments across the bank’s OnePay FX
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 5, 2018
5G is coming. Now if we can just figure out what it’s good for. That’s a little bit unfair, but it does reflect some of the talk around the mobile connectivity standard. What types of business will it support? What will emerge as the “killer use case” for payments and commerce? As one observer put it: “The fifth generation of connectivity, pithily called 5G, will be ready for prime time later this year.
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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.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 26, 2018
Ripple said that its revenues related to the sale of the digital asset known as XRP gained ground in the third quarter of this year, more than doubling over the second quarter (that is, sequentially). The company said in its third-quarter report on XRP markets that it sold $163.3 million in the latest period, up from the $75.5 million in the second quarter.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 10, 2018
Michael Barlow has called several places home: He has moved five times in seven years and lived with different roommates. But through his experiences, he didn’t have the furnishings that he wanted. “I never actually bought nice furniture,” Barlow, CEO and co-founder of Fernish , told PYMNTS in an interview. “I never actually had an inspired home experience.”.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 22, 2018
Tala, the consumer lending app in emerging markets, announced Monday (Oct. 22) a strategic investment from PayPal. In a press release , Tala said the undisclosed investment from PayPal will help the company bring visibility and access to underserved regions in emerging markets across the world. According to Tala, more than two-thirds of the adult population in the world has no formal credit record, which makes it hard for them to access traditional financial services.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 8, 2018
Amazon revealed that it has fired the employee responsible for sharing customer email addresses with an outside seller on its platform. According to the Wall Street Journal , the eCommerce giant said it had identified and fired the employee, and that no other customer data was disclosed. In addition, the seller who received the email addresses was blocked from selling on Amazon.
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.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 15, 2018
When Maryland Attorney General (AG) Brian E. Frosh issued a warning to the state’s small business (SMB) owners last week, he shed light on the fact that, despite business owners’ rising focus on cyberattacks, some scammers continue to use legacy tactics to target their victims. AG Frosh’s warning pertained to a specific small-business cybersecurity threat.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 8, 2018
B2B payments innovators and Warren Buffet have something in common: They are both obsessed with rails. Warren Buffet made rails sexy again when he bought a railroad in 2009. That was the year Buffett took a 77 percent stake in Burlington Northern — in what he described as a “bet on America” and its resilience in the aftermath of the Great Recession.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 5, 2018
An Amazon of banking? That’s the description — perhaps clichéd but still apt — applied to FinTech firm Curve , which is on the hunt for $50 million in fresh capital, according to recent comments made by CEO Shachar Bialick to CNBC. The Amazon comparison came from Bialick, who also said that the three-year-old firm is looking to become more of a platform for services from various providers, explaining why it has not applied for a banking license.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 14, 2018
Venmo , the digital payment unit of PayPal , has raised the fee for instant transfers when moving money from their account to a traditional bank account, according to reports. Reports citing an email Venmo sent to users late last week said the fee is going up to one percent of the transferred amount, with the payment company taking a $0.25 fee at the minimum.
Speaker: Danny Gassaway and Wayne Richards
Finance leaders are prioritizing efficiency and digital transformation, yet many hesitate to automate due to uncertainty. Without a clear understanding of its impact, organizations risk falling behind competitors who are leveraging technology to drive productivity and cost savings. So, how do you make the case for automation within your organization?
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 25, 2018
With the help of travel experts, hotels can tap into a new channel to drive online bookings: Travelers can be inspired to book a reservation after seeing a photo or recommendation from a knowledgeable explorer. In that spirit, SIX Travel provides explorers with a curated list of hotels specifically handpicked by travelers, editors and publishers. The idea is to provide consumers with a simple way to discover and book hotels that is also hyper relevant to them.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 23, 2018
Amazon Business is bolstering its services for small businesses through a new co-branded commercial card with American Express as well as enhanced Prime features for business users. In an announcement Tuesday (October 23), American Express introduced the Amazon Business American Express Card, offering businesses a streamlined checkout experience when purchasing on the Amazon Business and Amazon.com platforms.
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 26, 2018
Visa’s chief executive officer Al Kelly doesn’t think cryptocurrencies are a threat to its business and is ready to implement systems that support it if it becomes more mainstream. In an interview with CNBC Thursday (October 26), Kelly said there has to be a market where cryptocurrency becomes “somewhat like a fiat currency in order for us to be comfortable,” Kelly said in an interview with “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer, noting that crypto isn’t a threat to its business either in the short or medi
PYMNTS
OCTOBER 1, 2018
Ripple, the cross-border payments company and backer of the XRP digital token, said Monday (Oct. 1) that xRapid, its cross-border payments platform, is commercially available with three firms signing on as clients. According to a report in Reuters , citing the companies, the three clients that are using xRapid at the launch are Cuallix, Mercury FX and Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union. xRapid uses XRP to make faster cross-border payments.
Speaker: Jennifer Hill
Payroll compliance is a cornerstone of business success, yet for small and midsize businesses, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of federal, state, and local regulations. Mistakes can lead to costly penalties and operational disruptions, making it essential to adopt advanced solutions that ensure accuracy and efficiency.
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