June, 2018

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Santander, Ripple Use Blockchain To Settle Global Payments

PYMNTS

Beyond the vagaries of cryptocurrencies, the price swings and headlines, and the investigations and speculation, use cases emerge. If entranced by bitcoin’s ebbs and flows, one would be forgiven for being caught off guard (if they are, in fact, off guard) to find that a major bank is coming to market with a service backed by blockchain, which now is live and available — and can help make sure that funds cross borders with speed and surety.

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Secure By Design: Why Privacy Must Be Baked In To IoT Devices

PYMNTS

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.

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Blockchain Will Test Investors’ Patience, Experts Say

PYMNTS

Blockchain has issued many promises in the financial services space, vowing improved efficiency, heightened transparency and unmatched security. The debate continues over whether distributed ledger technology can fulfill those promises, but analysts today say that, whether these benefits are actualized or not, markets will have to be patient to find out.

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For FinTech And FIs, APIs Everywhere (It Seems)

PYMNTS

Payments are getting ever faster and global in nature. Real-time payments are becoming part of the landscape. PSD2 is reality and open banking is fostering demand for open APIs. To that end, collaborative efforts between banks and FinTechs are on the rise, where joint programs seek to hasten the availability of technology that dovetails with open banking.

Finance 74
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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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Housing Supply And Demand Imbalance Drives Home Improvement Store Sales

PYMNTS

Millennials are finally moving out of mom and dad’s house and creating their own households, which has increased demand in the housing market. At the same time, supply has taken a hit due to a shortage of skilled labor. Rising mortgage rates and lumber prices are only compounding the problem. This imbalance of supply and demand is proving to be a perfect storm for home improvement chains.

Sales 71
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AID:Tech And PharmAccess Deliver World’s First Blockchain Baby

PYMNTS

The first baby born on the blockchain is expected to enter the world at a small clinic in rural Tanzania this week. What does that mean – to be born on the blockchain? Has the world finally gone too far with its distributed ledger obsession? Just the opposite, Niall Dennehy, COO of AID:Tech would argue – more like it’s finally found a use case that is more practical and more noble than cryptocurrencies.

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Big Or Small, Pharmacy Success Often Equates To Offering Convenience

PYMNTS

In the pharmacy business, convenience is often seen as the key to success. Industry giants like CVS Health, Walgreens and Express Scripts, Inc. have become household names, enabling more than 50 percent of prescription drug sales in the U.S. by giving customers what they want most: a smooth, simple experience. Consumers want to refill prescriptions online or on their mobile phones, and they also want to be able to chat with their pharmacists.

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Crowe: Risk Management With RegTech As Strategy

PYMNTS

Marry tech and talent, then risk management can pay dividends, notes an upcoming PYMNTS webinar. However, for many financial services firms, RegTech’s (Regulatory Technology) potential is limited by any number of causes. The technical capabilities can be dizzying and dazzling, of course, spanning the gamut from machine learning to artificial intelligence (AI), to predictive modeling.

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Bank Of America Accused Of Aiding $102M Ponzi Scheme

PYMNTS

Bank of America has been accused in a lawsuit of providing more than 100 accounts, used to carry out a $102 million Ponzi scheme. According to Bloomberg , the class-action suit, Heinert v. Bank of America, N.A., was filed in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida (Ocala) on behalf of people who lost money in the scheme. The suit follows a recent complaint by the U.S.

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Amid Hacks, Bitcoin Is Still Not Ready For Primetime

PYMNTS

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.

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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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Citi’s Treasury Unit Embraces UK Open Banking

PYMNTS

Citi is the first corporate bank to enroll in the U.K.’s Open Banking Directory in an effort to enhance payment and collection services for business clients, the FI said Monday (June 4). Citi announced it is joining the Directory as a Payment Initiation Service Provider (PISP), enabling the bank to pilot payment and collection services for its corporate customers. “We see open banking as a significant development in the banking landscape in Europe and increasingly in other regions, a

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Asian Banks Want Regulators To Allow More FinTech Solutions

PYMNTS

As financial institutions grapple with compliance costs, a finance industry organization in Asia wants regulators to allow new technologies that could help them fight money laundering. For example, the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) would like to see more use of know your client ( KYC ) checks to help reduce costs, Reuters reported.

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Can’t Navigate The Moral And Ethical Implications Of AI? There’s An App For That

PYMNTS

Bank of America and Harvard University have collaborated on a new initiative designed to make the complex technologies behind artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) more universally beneficial and accessible to the global workforce. The mission of the newly formed Council on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence is to address issues of policy and ethics, thereby enabling industries and the individuals who drive them to keep pace with the rapidly evolving interface betwe

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SEC: Some Crypto Coins Are Securities (Not Bitcoin)

PYMNTS

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) leading authority on bitcoin, cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs) has ruled that some well-known cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities. However, the coins offered during initial coin offerings very likely are entirely — or mostly — securities, according to news from CNBC.

Finance 63
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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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In The Blockchain Race, FIs Hustle Not To Come In Last

PYMNTS

The Bank of England caught the financial services world’s attention when its Governor, Mark Carney, spoke about the central bank’s latest initiative to revamp and rebuild its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. “RTGS is being rebuilt so that new private payment systems, including those using distributed ledger, can simply plug into our system,” he stated last week.

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ICBA: Building Bridges For The Next Generation Of Community Banks

PYMNTS

Community banking can be one of the most rewarding and most challenging areas of financial services in which to work — that’s the view, anyway, of Rebeca Romero Rainey, president and CEO of Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) , who recently joined the nation’s leading advocacy organization that exclusively represents community banks. Rainey is a third-generation community banker who spent her entire career at all levels of the industry — literally: She grew up in her family bank, sta

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Are Retailers Ready For Amazon?s Prime Time?

PYMNTS

My plan on Friday evening was to write a hard-hitting piece on a services segment with incredible marketplace friction. Then I went to Whole Foods on the North Shore of Boston Saturday morning to do some grocery shopping. There, right inside the front door, was a nice, young Whole Foods team member, who let me know that the store would soon be offering special discounts to Amazon Prime members who shopped there.

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Uber Raises Fares In Major US Cities

PYMNTS

To help retain drivers on its platform, Uber is raising its fares in cities such as Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles. The increases have come to both “time and distance” rates as well as “booking fees,” Financial Times reported. “We have to make [being an Uber driver] more attractive because the alternatives are becoming more attractive,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told FT.

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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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IBM Targets Corporate Banking With The Cloud

PYMNTS

IBM is teaming up with Intellect Design Arena to deliver new solutions for corporate banks, according to a press release on Thursday (June 7). The technology conglomerate is deploying its IBM Cloud solution in conjunction with Intellect Global Transaction Banking (iGTB), a provider of corporate banking technology. The two companies will jointly develop applications, cloud services and infrastructure for financial institutions (FIs), while iGTB’s CBX S-18 corporate banking platform will be

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FIS: Blockchain Transformation Must Be Deliberate

PYMNTS

Blockchain probably won’t solve all the world’s financial problems, as devoutly as innovators and enthusiasts may hope and believe that it can. At any rate, it’s not going to solve all of them at once with the technology available today. Esther Pigg, SVP Product Strategy of FIS , says blockchain’s potential benefits will instead be discovered gradually, and will change the industry even more gradually.

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Citi Expands Treasury Service API Solution

PYMNTS

After launching its CitiConnect application programming interfaces (APIs) last year, Citi ‘s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) continues to expand the platform. Since its rollout, Citi has processed more than 18 million API calls for account balance inquiries, payment initiation and payment status, the company said in an announcement. Through the API, CitiConnect offers information on account statements, direct debits and FX rates, among other data.

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Banks Test KYC App Based On R3’s Blockchain Platform

PYMNTS

Through a four-day test of a know-your-customer (KYC) compliance system, a group of 39 participants were able to make 300 transactions in 19 countries with an app from Synechron built on R3’s Corda blockchain platform. The experiment’s participants included banks such as BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank — as well as regulators, Coindesk reported.

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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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Hyperwallet CEO: PayPal Acquisition Will Help Hyperwallet ?Pay The Planet?

PYMNTS

From music royalties to airline vouchers, there are many reasons organizations may need to push payments to individuals in various amounts, currencies, forms and frequencies, including real time. For instance, say that a flight has been delayed and all its passengers will need accommodations for the night before catching the rescheduled flight in the morning.

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The Importance Of Cyber War Games For Digital Businesses

PYMNTS

Sun Tzu might approve. As every general and C-suite pseudo-warrior knows, the ancient Chinese military theorist advised that every battle is won before it is ever fought — a saying that highlights the importance of preparation prior to any fight. The recent news that Goldman Sachs is the first financial institution (FI) to sign up with U.K.-based Immersive Labs for its cyber security war games demonstrates the enduring appeal of that adage.

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Airbnb Seeks To Be Ready For IPO In 2019

PYMNTS

As Airbnb builds up a larger profile in the travel space, the home share marketplace is eyeing an initial public offering (IPO). The company wants to be ready to go public on June 30 of next year and aims to have an IPO before 2020, according to reports. At the same time, Airbnb has also created a bonus program to offer employees cash bonuses in 2018 and 2019.

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Frictionless Payments And Top Mobile Banking Innovation

PYMNTS

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.

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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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Amazon Chooses Amex For Small Business Credit Card

PYMNTS

American Express (Amex) and Amazon have teamed up to release a new commercial card product designed for small businesses (SMBs) buying on the Amazon platform. Announced today (Tuesday, June 26), the co-branded card for SMBs in the U.S. is the latest initiative in a multiyear partnership for American Express and Amazon, the firms said. The card solution will include integrated spend management features, enabling small firms to gain insight into purchasing activity.

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How PNC Is Adapting To The Rise Of AI

PYMNTS

The age of intelligence has arrived — artificial intelligence (AI), that is. Industries of all shapes and sizes are looking to use the insights and capabilities offered by the emerging and evolving technology, and it’s now making an impact in the financial services space, too. The global market for AI and machine learning (ML)-enabled solutions is currently valued at $12 billion, per some recent projections , and set to be worth more than $57 billion by 2021.

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Clarity Pursues $50 Million Via ICO For SMB Data Platform

PYMNTS

Clarity , a startup that offers small businesses (SMBs) a way to manage their data , announced plans for a token sale before its official launch. Reports in Cointelegraph on Thursday (June 7) said Clarity will sell $50 million worth of its tokens to raise funds before its debut on the market. The company provides a platform for SMBs to manage their own data with added analytics, file sharing, benchmarking and third-party verification services.

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Multinational’s Next Data Challenge: Know Your Vendor

PYMNTS

Automation may be transforming the procurement department, but when it comes to the buyer-supplier relationship, human interaction is critical. In a survey of B2B buying organizations conducted by SnapApp and Heinz Marketing last year, researchers found that millennial corporate buyers rank their personal relationships with suppliers as the most effective way to evaluate products and services that vendors offer.

Legal 57
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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.