PYMNTS
JANUARY 3, 2017
Whether you believe the hype or not, blockchain technology is attracting massive investments, exploration and competition across the globe. In the last week alone, top players in the distributed ledger space have made progress in their own initiatives, from membership growth within blockchain consortia to the pursuit of distributed ledger-related patents by top banks.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 9, 2017
Supermarkets aren’t generally the sorts of things that generate massive, dedicated fan bases. Certainly most shopper have a preferred grocery store (or at least one they tend to frequent more often than others) — but in general, it is not something most people talk all that often about since on the whole shopping for groceries doesn’t register all that highly on the excitement meter.
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PYMNTS
JANUARY 19, 2017
This year could be the year that blockchain emerges from its current status as a largely hypothetical game-changer to one that’s put to the test. While few working applications of blockchain technology are in use today by financial service providers, the industry continues to place its confidence — and money — behind the technology. The latest is global consulting firm McKinsey, whose new report has put a price tag on the potential of blockchain: $110 billion.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 26, 2017
Dubai’s startup and tech scene has come a long way in the past three decades — the city is now a major business center in the Middle East, attracting investors and entrepreneurs from around the world. In this week’s Tech Center tracker, we take a look at how Dubai is giving FinTech hubs around the world a run for their money. Before we jump into the post, here are a few quick facts about Dubai and its tech scene: Dubai has an estimated population of 2,701,977.
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.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 27, 2017
The U.S. is no longer the world’s largest market for FinTech investment, according to the latest report from Citigroup, released this week. Analysts found that, in the first nine months of 2016, China held the top spot for FinTech investment, with funding raised for that period doubling compared to the same period in 2015. This week, however, venture capitalists in the B2B FinTech space went global, hitting Australia, the U.S., France and India.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 21, 2017
Enterprise tech conglomerate Oracle is growing thanks to the acquisition of an API management firm, Apiary. Reports last week said the takeover will help Oracle offer more robust API building and monitoring services through integrating Apiary’s APIFlow solution, which helps businesses create and manage their APIs. “Oracle’s API Integration Cloud enables companies to secure, consume, monetize and analyze APIs,” said Oracle Senior Vice President of Integration Cloud Amit Za
Accountant Advocate brings together the best content for small business accounting professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 10, 2017
In retail, inventory is what you’ve got and you hope they want. But when it just sits there gathering dust, money isn’t coming in, and space is being wasted. Human judgement — what to offer, where and when, and for how much — drives inventory decisions. But human judgement is, of course, fallible if it does not have the correct information at hand. Technology, as it does so often with every corner of life, can help augment that (retail) judgement.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 26, 2017
eBay has spent much of the last year rethinking its market position and reworking its platform to help it compete more consistently and strongly against Amazon.com (and the rest of retail). And, as of Q4 2017, it looks like those efforts are paying off — literally. The holiday period saw a 3.1 percent rise in quarterly revenue for eBay — some good news that pushed up the price of shares in the online marketplace by 7.5 percent in after hours trading.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 3, 2017
As the old joke goes, for corporate professionals, the procurement department is where you go to retire. Indeed, said KPMG ‘s Procurement and Operations in the Americas Practice Leader Samir Khushalani, historically, procurement has been viewed within the organization as a cost center that deals with straightforward transactions. And while technology progressed, with solutions providers developing company-wide infrastructure for businesses to manage all aspects of procurement, Khushalani
PYMNTS
JANUARY 31, 2017
With its infatuation with Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, it’s safe to say that today’s generation is as concerned with appearances as were previous generations — if not more. The unexpected beauty queen reigning supreme is none other than cosmetic superstore Ulta , where anyone can walk in off the street for countless hair and makeup options. Whereas the latter half of 2016 saw a downward spiral in retail stocks, Ulta was the ray of light shining through with a 38 percent stock surge.
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.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 3, 2017
Heading into the new year, most everyone, retailers included, is looking within to enhance our lives and businesses from knowledge already ascertained and move that understanding forward. In the retail space, experts say the chatbot may be one of the best things a merchant can add in 2017. “Creating better real-time customer experiences based on conversational interfaces.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 4, 2017
Canadian financial technology companies backed by venture capitalists reached a level not seen in nearly two decades, despite a slowdown of investment dollars flowing into FinTechs in the U.S. According to a report by Reuters , while FinTechs may not be red hot in the U.S., in Canada , they are breathing new life into the startup market and have drawn in a new crop of venture capital funds in Canada that are looking for young FinTech companies.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 17, 2017
Google is taking the first steps to integrate its Google Assistant with different paid services. According to a report , citing an APK teardown by XDA, Google’s latest version of its app, 6.11.13 beta, has a string of code which the report said could be a sign that payments are coming to Google Assistant shortly. The report said the string of code shows that Google Assistant can handle credit cards and offer direct links to Google support.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 6, 2017
Hackers — in case anyone was still left wondering — are not going anywhere anytime soon. The environment is simply too rich with targets. And given the tens of billions of IoT devices expected to be logging on — and possibly logging into payments functions — the environment is only getting richer and more tempting. And in an age where cybercriminals seem to be ubiquitously lurking at all times, security becomes every merchant’s, issuer’s, card network’s and consumer’s problem.
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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.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 26, 2017
Industries around the world have caught AI fever. Developers around the world have made more ways than ever for the technology to automate, optimize and enable different services. Facebook, Alphabet, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon and other major companies are all working on AI projects, along with numerous tech startups. One such upstart, which leverages artificial intelligence and image recognition in part to enable commerce, is Clarifai.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 5, 2017
The global mobile wallet market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 35.5 percent from 2017 to 2021, according to research firm Research and Markets. In a press release highlighting the launch of new research, dubbed “Global Mobile Wallet Market 2017–2021,” Research and Markets said the use of 3G and 2G mobile data and broadband around the globe is a big contributor to the growth of the mobile wallet market.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 3, 2017
IT professionals say the reuse of passwords by company employees is a significant concern, reports said Monday (Jan. 2). A new survey by Gemalto found that 90 percent of IT professionals are concerned about employees reusing passwords they use for personal accounts in their professional lives, researchers said. Still, 68 percent of those surveyed said they would be fine with having an employee use the same passwords for personal social media accounts and company accounts.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 26, 2017
Apple has surely managed to deliver a lot of hype with the launch of its mobile payments platform, but according to the numbers so far, it hasn’t really managed to deliver a hit. Which isn’t to say it’s been a wholesale miss, which, in the world of mobile payments, is actually something of a success in and of itself — just ask the former teams from CurrentC or Softcard (we miss you Tappy , you were our favorite muppet).
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
PYMNTS
JANUARY 3, 2017
Consumers aren’t just using their mobile devices to browse; they are also making purchases at a higher rate, according to NetElixir. According to a report , citing data from search marketing firm NetElixir, the conversion rate from mobile devices during the holiday season increased to 1.45 percent from 1.15 percent in the year-earlier period. NetElixir, which based its analysis on 90 million visits to retailer websites, said consumers are still spending more when shopping on desktops compared t
PYMNTS
JANUARY 24, 2017
“The real ‘move the needle’ opportunity in banking is to build a bank from scratch.”. That’s according to financial services vet and Varo Money CEO and Cofounder Colin Walsh, who told Karen Webster recently that the future of banking, for millennials in particular, lies not in branches but in bots who become money coaches. Millennials, Walsh went on to say, get very, very little, if any, advice at all from their bank about what to do with their money.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 30, 2017
Nyca Partners, the venture capital firm focused on the FinTech market, raised $125 million for a second fund. According to a report , Hans Morris, the former Visa president turned venture capitalist, created Nyca Partners in 2014, launching a $30 million fund. The fund invested in a slew of FinTech startups, including Lending Club, SigFig and Orchard.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 4, 2017
Soon, online payments might get more frictionless. Amazon’s patent on its 1-Click payment system will expire this year, meaning online buyers could soon see many other online stores adopting similar methods throughout 2017. Anyone who has used Amazon more than once or bought using voice commands on the Amazon Echo will be familiar with 1-Click. It’s an integral part of the Amazon experience.
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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.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 6, 2017
Quite possibly the sleeper hit of the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2017? Three-time Super Bowl MVP, four-prime Super Bowl Champion, legendary New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Or at least his new technology. Beyond his NFL talents and with his wife, Gisele Bundchen, he has become known for focusing on a stringent and healthy lifestyle. Earlier this year, the couple released the $200 TB12 Nutrition Manual that instructs staying away from sugar, white flour, olive oil, iodized salt, to
PYMNTS
JANUARY 31, 2017
Need a Frappucino? Now, there’s artificial intelligence (AI) for that. Starbucks already has an order-and-pick-up feature on its mobile app, but soon customers will be able to use their voice to order. The company recently announced a new feature that will allow customers seeking a caffeinated beverage or a breakfast sandwich to place their order via voice command.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 3, 2017
Amid several investigations by France into how several African leaders acquired their wealth, the vice president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodorin Obiang, is now on trial for money laundering and corruption, Forbes reports. The trial got under way after the United Nations denied a request by Equatorial Guinea at the end of last year to halt proceedings on the argument that Obiang is covered by diplomatic immunity.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 27, 2017
In your wallet is a driver’s license and possibly a Social Security card. Maybe a credit card or two. Perhaps you keep a passport in a side pocket. All told, bits of paper and plastic that help definitively state that you are who you say you are. Those tangible items can also be gateways to fraud. In an age where bits and bytes are continually encroaching on the things we carry, the question becomes: How are our digital identities shaped, and just who (or what) should hold the key to managing th
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.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 26, 2017
Cross-border payments, trade finance, smart contracts — blockchain has the potential to disrupt B2B processes, but FinTech players are only beginning to take these concepts onto a real-world stage. For one firm, Finlync , the key to unlocking the potential of blockchain in B2B processes is unlocking the underlying data of that activity. The company announced earlier this month that it has developed what it claims to be the world’s first technology to integrate blockchain into ERP systems like SA
PYMNTS
JANUARY 23, 2017
Cash usage in the Americas is at an inflection point. With strong economic growth, the overall cash usage is expected to hit $3.5 trillion by 2020 — up from $3.06 trillion in 2015. And while that’s a sign of positive growth, proliferation of new payment products is chipping away at the growth, according to the brand new Global Cash Index™ Americas Analysis.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 6, 2017
For millions of Americans, opening and running a restaurant is the ultimate achievement of the American Dream. But while creating your own business and being your own boss may sound like fun, keeping that dream alive requires business savvy, and whether restaurant owners want to admit it or not, it also usually requires a helping hand from technology.
PYMNTS
JANUARY 23, 2017
One of the great mysteries of payments is why paper checks still reign — at least in B2B. But the dead tree conduit of supply chain payments may see a displacement in favor of digital financial processes, with a spur from blockchain. At least, that’s the hope. On a Friday (Jan. 20), when the world was watching the 45th president of the United States take the oath of office, PYMNTS’ mind was on, well, payments.
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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.
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