March, 2018

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Consumers Paid $34.3B In Overdraft Fees In 2017

PYMNTS

Overdraft fees have reached their highest level since 2009, which was at the end of the Great Recession. Consumers paid $34.3 billion in overdraft fees during 2017 compared to $33.3 billion in 2016, The New York Post reported. Despite the increase, consumers aren’t, in fact, overdrawing their accounts. Instead, Moebs Services says the uptick was caused by credit unions increasing their overdraft fees.

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HSBC Ready To Test Blockchain Trade Finance

PYMNTS

Banking and financial services firm HSBC says its blockchain-based trade finance solution is ready to launch — in pilot phase, at least. According to Wednesday (Feb. 28) reports by the Global Trade Review , the bank’s senior innovation manager, Joshua Kroeker, held a media call and announced that after developing the trade finance solution for about two years, HSBC is “confident enough to actually do a live transaction” using its blockchain technology.

Finance 79
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Entrepreneurs Know What’s Holding Them Back – And What They Need To Succeed

PYMNTS

A lack of access to capital. The red tape of regulation. The burden of administrative tasks. These are all common reasons why a small business owner may struggle to grow their company, and the latest analysis on the topic certainly points to these factors as having an impact on SMB growth across the world. But the most recent research suggests entrepreneurs are also clear about what is helping them grow, and what they are looking for in terms of technology, professional support and beyond.

Finance 77
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Amex Files Blockchain Faster Payment Patent

PYMNTS

American Express has reportedly filed a patent related to faster payments and blockchain technology, reports in CoinDesk said. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office released the patent application filed by American Express Travel Related Services Company, the payment technology firm’s travel unit, which outlines the use of blockchain technology to accelerate payments between two parties.

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Less Stress, More Success: Accounting Best Practices & Processes for 2025

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.

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FLEETCOR And Ripple In Payments Pilot Program

PYMNTS

Commercial payments provider FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. announced news on Thursday (March 1) that it has entered a pilot program with enterprise blockchain solution firm Ripple and Cambridge Global Payments , the international payments provider focused on B2B and owned by FLEETCOR. The companies said in a release that under the terms of the agreement with Ripple , Cambridge — which processes more than $20 billion in B2B cross-border payments annually, across 13,000 business clients — will pilo

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Mastercard Talks Securing Innovation, And Innovating Security

PYMNTS

In financial services today, security and innovation can work with each other, and against each other. FinServ cybersecurity is, of course, a prime target for innovation. But customers’ constant demand for cutting-edge products and services is adding to the load of already heavy security burdens. At the same time, providers must ensure a positive, consistent customer experience.

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OANDA API Opens Real-Time FX Tech To Third-Party Apps

PYMNTS

Foreign exchange solutions company OANDA is enhancing its application programming interface (API) that opens up its foreign exchange (FX) technology to third-party apps. The company announced news on Thursday (March 8) that its Exchange Rates API has been updated to include real-time FX rates. According to OANDA, the API supports updates to FX rates every five seconds, enabling third-party developers to integrate this solution into their own mobile apps.

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Cloud Elements CEO: Too Many APIs, Not Enough Integration

PYMNTS

APIs – that is, application program interfaces, or bits of code that allow two software programs to communicate with one another – are a hot topic and a hot commodity within financial services, as well as many other spaces. The API defines the correct way for a developer to write a program that requests services from an operating system (OS) or another application.

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UK Bank Industry Trade Group Launches Review Of SMB Mistreatment

PYMNTS

UK Finance , an industry trade association, is launching an independent investigation into the way the market’s banks treat small businesses (SMBs), according to Reuters reports on Thursday (March 29). The group appointed Simon Walker to lead the review, which will specifically look at the way banks handle complaints filed by small business borrowers.

Finance 66
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HSBC Enables PayPal For Supplier Payments

PYMNTS

HSBC is introducing PayPal support for corporate payments across borders. An announcement Thursday (March 29) said HSBC now lets its corporate customers use PayPal for supplier payments via a partnership between the two entities. “Our collaboration with PayPal will significantly expand the payments network accessible to our clients through HSBC, allowing them to send payments to a much wider range of counterparties in a fast and efficient manner,” said HSBC Global Head of Payments in Global Liqu

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Avoiding Lease Accounting Pitfalls in 2025: Lessons Learned from Spreadsheet Errors

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.

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How Analytics Can Help Fashion Brands And Retailers

PYMNTS

What does it take for a fashion brand to stay on top of the trends? A lot of market data. But not all brands excel at crawling the web for information relevant to their businesses. “A lot of brands are having a hard time keeping up with the pace of consumer changes,” StyleSage ’s Director of Marketing and Digital Strategy Elizabeth Shobert told PYMNTS in an interview.

Retail 65
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Uphold Rolls Out Support For Ripple’s XRP

PYMNTS

Adding to the list of cryptocurrencies that users can buy or trade on its platform, Uphold has announced that it has added support for Ripple ’s XRP currency. Already, users can exchange digital currencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash on Uphold, CoinDesk reported. Uphold’s decision comes after the company conducted a Twitter poll that revealed Ripple was the digital currency voters most wanted added to the platform out of four choices.

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Curing Medicine’s Epidemic Of Noncompliance

PYMNTS

The New York Times wrote in April 2017 that the U.S. was in the throes of an epidemic for which there was not only a cure, but one that would cure every single adult suffering from it. The disease: medication nonadherence. According to data from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores , as many as 30 percent of prescriptions are never filled, and 50 percent of those prescribed for chronic diseases don’t take their medication properly.

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How Affirm Wants To Push ‘Honest Financing’ Into Physical Retail

PYMNTS

Despite the nearly continuous drumbeat of doom and gloom from the world of physical retail, there is, according to Affirm CRO Rob Pfeifer, something of a curious side phenomenon unfolding at the same time: Online brands – famous and famously successful online brands – are branching out into physical retail. “Brands are moving to the real world for a reason,” Pfeifer said.

Finance 64
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Back to Basics with Reconciliations

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.

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Whole Foods May Test 10 Percent Prime Discount

PYMNTS

It’s possible that Amazon Prime members may see more discounts at Whole Foods. The grocer reportedly displayed signs that advertised 10 percent discounts for prime members at a store in Texas, CNBC reported. The signs were reportedly placed in a store in Austin on Wednesday (March 28). But the signs had apparently been removed by Thursday (March 29).

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NACHA And IFX Forum Join Forces To Boost API Development

PYMNTS

NACHA and the Interactive Financial eXchange (IFX) Forum have announced plans to combine their organizations to improve the development of standardized Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The partnership, which is expected to be finalized at the end of the first quarter, will speed up the creation and rollout of standardized banking APIs. “The powerful combination of IFX Forum’s established leadership in financial industry standards, along with additional technical expertise in the area o

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Amazon, Walmart Announce New Blockchain Ventures

PYMNTS

Blockchain is now an official word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Of course, the FinTech industry doesn’t have to look it up, but the dictionary now defines blockchain as a technology that enables the keeping of records of financial transactions in a digital database as part of a publicly accessible network. The addition of blockchain to the dictionary is symbolic of the technology’s continuing proliferation.

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Feds File Charges In International Fraud Scheme Involving A Picasso

PYMNTS

For their alleged roles in a massive stock fraud and money laundering scam involving a Picasso, the U.S. Department of Justice has criminally charged 10 defendants. Prosecutors named U.K.-based Beaufort Securities Ltd and two of its managers, among others, in the case, according to news from Reuters. Prosecutors said Beaufort and managers Peter Kyriacou and Vinesh Canaye manipulated the prices of U.S. stocks through “pump-and-dump schemes,” while hiding their ownership in the companies.

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Usage-Based Monetization Musts: A Roadmap for Sustainable Revenue Growth

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

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TSYS’ McHugh: Why Integrated Payments Is What’s Next

PYMNTS

In technology, and especially in payments, the competitive landscape is a heated one. The question, when eyeing the competition and trying to stay ahead of the curve, usually boils down to “build or buy?” But sometimes the strategy can be tweaked a bit to “buy and build.”. In an interview with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster, Philip McHugh, EVP and president of TSYS Merchant Solutions , laid out the strategy in a space — namely merchant services — that is rapidly evolving, and where TSYS has made a string

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PayPal Files Patent Application To Speed Up Crypto Payments

PYMNTS

PayPal looks to increase the adoption of cryptocurrency as a payment method by recently filing for a patent application. CoinDesk , citing an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office titled “Expedited Virtual Currency Transaction System,” lays out a method by which private keys are traded from buyer to seller in an effort to cut down on the time it takes for payments to go through between a customer and a merchant.

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How To Battle The Friendly (And Not So Friendly) Fraudster? APIs, Rich Data And Collaboration

PYMNTS

Whether friendly fraud or genuine fraud, for merchants and card issuers, the impact is growing and comes with a host of negative consequences for the entire ecosystem — especially customers. Lost revenues and chargebacks. Friction. Bad customer experiences. And sometimes — in the case of friendly fraud — relationships severed altogether. To that end, on Thursday (March 15) Ethoca debuted its Integrated Solution Suite, which spans offerings across Ethoca Eliminator, Ethoca Alerts and Enhanced Rep

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The AI Method To Fighting Fleet Card Fraud

PYMNTS

Credit card skimmers are a headache for fuel retailers, but there is more than one way that fraudulent actors can target fleet spend. In addition to stolen credentials and skimmed cards at the fuel point-of-sale, employees are often able to overspend with their commercial fleet card products, or file fraudulent expense reports. These tactics cast a wide net of fraud over the fleet card industry – from issuers and acquirers to fleet managers, employers and employees themselves.

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Harness the Potential of Your Enterprise Knowledge

The first Market Momentum Index: AI and Unstructured Data Management, conducted by Deep Analysis with support from AIIM and M-Files, surveyed 500 enterprises across various industries to assess their readiness to employ AI. The results reveal that AI is already far more embedded into organizations' operations than previously realized. These findings and more insights have been brought to you in the "Market Momentum Index: AI and Unstructured Data Management.

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Cascade To Power Crypto Card Loading

PYMNTS

This time last year, if a customer asked Cascade about cryptocurrency loading, the startup had to tell them, “We don’t do that.” Its partner banks weren’t supporting the feature, so neither could Cascade. But as more and more people started asking about it, Founder and CEO Spencer Schmerling began to recognize the big opportunity in front of him. That’s why Schmerling said the startup is now launching a crypto loading capability, among other new services and API enhancements.

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NEW REPORT: Wells Fargo On Leveling Up Its Digital Banking Game

PYMNTS

Online and mobile banking interfaces have become must-have features for financial institutions in the digital age. Fifty-five percent of Americans have a full-service banking app on their phone, and 16 percent check these apps at least once per day. Customers think of these digital offerings as crucial to their banking decisions. More than 50 percent reportedly believe it’s important for banks to provide mobile deposits, P2P services and account openings.

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Shopify: Online’s Biggest Liability Is A Friction-Filled Checkout

PYMNTS

Losing out is always a bitter pill to swallow, but the worst defeats are the ones that are seemingly snatched from the very jaws of victory. The Bill Buckner between-the-legs-bauble, the Aaron Boone Green Monster killer, the David Tyree helmet catch – the moments when fate intervenes in the form of a small bad choice cascading out of control. The unforced errors that take wins that looked like sure things and nudge them ever so slightly – but permanently – out of reach.

Retail 60
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Why Toys R Us May Signal The Start Of An Insolvency Spike

PYMNTS

It was a coincidental happening that the same month Atradius released its latest insolvency forecast – which found that insolvencies around the world are low, thanks to a strong economic outlook and low interest rates – news of the Toys R Us bankruptcy hit the headlines and sent shockwaves throughout its supply chain. The backlash continues, as suppliers have reportedly criticized ongoing bankruptcy proceedings that could lead to the defunct retailer leaving more than $450 million in invoices un

Retail 60
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Solve Your Firm's Automation Complexities Once and For All

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.

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Retailers See A Future For Drones Beyond Delivery

PYMNTS

Ever since 2013, when Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the eCommerce giant was working on a 30-minute drone delivery program called Prime Air, people have been saying that delivery is the big retail use case for drone technology. Domino’s furthered the point by delivering a pizza by drone in 2016. Regulatory red tape has so far kept either delivery program from becoming a reality, but the technology was there and the value proposition was clear, as retail and logistics companies worldwide struggle to

Retail 60
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How Gift Certificates Evolved From Paper To Wearables

PYMNTS

In the 1930s, gift certificates made their debut at major department stores. But they weren’t available to everyone. Clerks were told to hide the certificates and only sell them to select customers who asked for them. Years later, McDonald’s brought gift certificates to the masses with its Christmas gift certificate program. With their fast food debut, other merchants — along with malls — started offering them.

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Ripple And 61 Japanese Banks To Roll Out New Payment App

PYMNTS

Ripple — the blockchain company whose technology powers the cryptocurrency XRP — has created a new payment app in which transactions are settled instantly. According to news from CNBC , the new app was created with a group of 61 banks in Japan. Dubbed Money Tap, the mobile app will launch in the fall and will be initially offered through SBI Net Sumishin Bank, Suruga Bank and Resona Bank, three of the consortium partners.

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How Luxury Timepieces Can Become A Subscription Business

PYMNTS

Luxury timepieces — and other collectibles — are often purchased as keepsakes. But what are consumers to do if they want to try them on for size and style before making a commitment? Eleven James seeks to solve that problem by allowing its members to essentially borrow a luxury timepiece for three months at a time, or even longer. The company maintains a collection of a few thousand timepieces from more than 30 brands, and members can experiment with different styles without having to make a lon

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Travel and Expense Policy Success: Your Essential Checklist

Setting the stage for successful organizational change always begins with clear, thoughtful communication. When it comes to rolling out a new travel and expense (T&E) policy, establishing a well-structured communication plan is key to ensuring that all employees understand the changes and their impact. By following a step-by-step approach, you can guide your organization through the transition, fostering smooth adoption from the outset and improving compliance.