PYMNTS

JANUARY 10, 2018

When Mastercard launched the Start Path accelerator program in 2014, the goal – according to VP and senior business leader, Amy Neale – was to make it easier for emerging companies to enter “our world” through a combination of operational support, commercial access and some strategic funding. “And when we talk about our world, we mean not just payments, but FinTech more broadly – and, even more broadly than that, commerce,” she said.

Construction 77

Construction Start-ups Retail 77

PYMNTS

JANUARY 15, 2018

From market pressures in the U.S. that have encouraged data sharing between banks and FinTechs to regulations in the U.K. and EU like Open Banking and PSD2 that require such cooperation, APIs are emerging as an essential piece of the equation for payments innovation. That rings especially true in the areas of B2B payments and cross-border payments, which are complex, require the movement of data along with funds, and often involve multiple parties that have to all be on the same page about a tra

B2B 77

B2B B2C Technology accounting and finance 77

PYMNTS

JANUARY 5, 2018

Amazon has expanded into cooking with its latest round of new skills , with the announcement on Thursday (Jan. 4) of the launch of the Smart Home Skill API. In a blog post , Amazon developer Mike Maas said that developers can now build skills to enable U.S. customers to control microwaves via Alexa, its voice-activated digital assistant. Support for other types of cooking devices, such as convection ovens, will be launched soon, the executive said.

Entertainment 74

Entertainment Start-ups 74

PYMNTS

JANUARY 16, 2018

One might just call this the age of unattended retail. Increasingly, retailers and other merchants are looking to give customers a more convenient and efficient experience by offering products and services via unattended kiosks. These machines mean that customers can interact with merchants more quickly, without having to waste time standing on a long line or dealing with a slow-moving employee.

Retail 74

Retail Florida Technology accounted 74

PYMNTS

JANUARY 17, 2018

The corporate expense management market doesn’t look like it once did. The traditional strategy of handing an employee a corporate card, hoping they make responsible purchases and depending on accurate expense reports has evolved into a market that embraces automation, artificial intelligence, mobility and an array of card products, from P-cards to virtual numbers.

Expense Management 74

Expense Management Technology accounts payable B2B 74

PYMNTS

JANUARY 10, 2018

Old and new tech are both coming into play in B2B API. The ever-changing value of bitcoin has been making headlines, and delivering and dashing investors’ dreams along the way. And recently, B2B API players have been tuned in, paying close attention to the cryptocurrency’s rising and falling star. But, more than just watching the cryptocurrency’s value slide up and down, players in the space have increasingly been exploring its underlying blockchain technology — and what that tech could do for B

B2B 74

B2B Gaming Technology Maine 74

PYMNTS

JANUARY 19, 2018

Two years after Amazon launched monthly Prime memberships, the eCommerce retailer is increasing its monthly membership fees by nearly 20 percent, Recode reported. The monthly fee for Amazon Prime will jump from $10.99 to $12.99 in the U.S., which works out to an increase of 18 percent. On an annual basis, monthly memberships will now cost consumers $156 a year.

Retail 73

Retail Government 73

PYMNTS

JANUARY 29, 2018

It’s time to talk more about what we’re really trying to accomplish for consumers — and for our businesses — and less about the tactics some are trying, with mixed success, to accomplish that. It’s seemingly all about tactics these days. The 2018 predictions seem more like a laundry list of trends and tactics that’ve emerged over the last several years than a discussion of the profound impact these trends have had on the consumer and business payments experience.

Start-ups 67

Start-ups Sales accounted Account 67

PYMNTS

JANUARY 10, 2018

Stripe has announced an addition to its Stripe Atlas toolkit that will help founders file their corporate tax returns in minutes. This new tool can be especially important for resource-strapped startups, which often have difficulty with the tax process even with the help of an adviser. In fact, 54 percent of Atlas founders reported making a mistake when filing last year’s returns, including paying the incorrect amount, filing late or missing required filings entirely.

tax return 67

tax return Tax Delaware corporation tax 67

PYMNTS

JANUARY 26, 2018

Sometimes eCommerce retailers need to verify a customer’s identity at checkout, but the authentication process often leads to lost sales. Methods like a one-time password sent by text message (SMS), for example, can cause many consumers to abandon their online shopping carts. Customers are more inclined to go through with a purchase when retailers use alternate authentication methods.

Retail 66

Retail Technology Sales accounted 66

PYMNTS

JANUARY 16, 2018

Musicians have a complicated relationship with monetizing their art. They create the songs, but the record labels that distribute them tend to own the song catalogs, which, over the decades, has led to a series of thrilling legal disputes over ownership. Think Paul McCartney’s now 40-year fight for the rights to the Beatles albums , or Prince’s decade-long standoff with Warner Brothers.

Construction 66

Construction Legal Technology Retail 66

PYMNTS

JANUARY 1, 2018

Michael Lawrence Collins. Going to college pays off, on average. But to maximize the chance that a college education offers a satisfactory return, students need to think like investors. They need to carefully consider which degrees pay off and why, and they need to make informed decisions about the type of degree and major they select. Investors in financial markets consider many complex variables to mitigate risks and maximize returns.

Education 66

Education Mississippi 66

PYMNTS

JANUARY 8, 2018

It’s a problem with which most commuters are familiar, though many likely wish they were not. They wake up, get ready to go, walk to their bus or train stops and reach for their transit tickets only to realize said ticket is sitting on a dresser or bedside table. Even if they muster up the patience to take that long walk back to their homes and then again to the stations, their troubles might not be over.

Alaska 64

Alaska Transportation New York Start-ups 64

PYMNTS

JANUARY 2, 2018

Less than five months before the compliance deadline for the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), most top UK and US firms are still overestimating their state of readiness, a study suggests

64

64

PYMNTS

JANUARY 13, 2018

The American psyche has a complicated relationship with robots. On the one hand, we love robots. When we think about our happier futures, friendly, helpful robots are often envisioned beeping and bopping in the background, quietly improving our lives. Rosie from “The Jetsons,” the “Danger, Will Robinson!” bot from “Lost in Space,” “WALL-E,” Johnny 5 from “Short Circuit,” R2-D2 (C-3P0 and BB-8) from “Star Wars” — popular culture is filled with robots we love.

Maine 64

Maine Retail 64

PYMNTS

JANUARY 26, 2018

Contract, or 1099, workers aren’t a new workforce phenomenon by any stretch of the imagination. But in the era of on-demand services – and a seemingly ever-proliferating number of platforms that match employees to short-term labor contracts – the last decade has been the emergence of the golden era of the gig economy worker. Initially, the rise of the gig economy was adaptive: The U.S. economy was in dire shape, companies were skittish about investing in employees and the labor force rapidly fou

New York 63

New York payroll Technology 63

PYMNTS

JANUARY 26, 2018

Enterprise software company CapLinked is rolling out a way to secure data stored on blockchain platforms. This week, the company announced the launch of TransitNet, a blockchain framework to protect digital assets and data stored on blockchain for enterprise clients. Companies can deploy the protocol via application program interface (API), CapLinked explained in a blog post , to secure transactions and data surrounding key enterprise deals like M&A, licensing, financing and more.

B2B 62

B2B audit Technology Finance 62

PYMNTS

JANUARY 18, 2018

The regulatory pressures on banks is not only fierce, it’s also continually changing, forcing financial institutions (FIs) to invest vast resources to stay on top of evolving rules. Regulation has undoubtedly acted as a catalyst to major financial services trends in areas like small business (SMB) lending, faster payments and, most recently, open banking and collaboration with FinTechs.

Technology 62

Technology B2B 62

PYMNTS

JANUARY 31, 2018

In life, 40 percent of anything is a lot. In online banking, 40 percent abandonment is … intolerable. As many as four in 10 consumers have at some point in their journey into online banking found the process frustrating enough to give up, as estimated by Signicat. The survey from that identity assurance provider, conducted across 2,000 individuals, found that when it comes to applying for financial products at a financial institution (FI) — from checking accounts to credit cards — 40 percent of

Start-ups 61

Start-ups Technology Government accounted 61

PYMNTS

JANUARY 12, 2018

No more signatures. Visa said today (Jan. 12) in a blog post that it is making the signature an option — and no longer a requirement — for EMV chip-enabled merchants across North America. That shift, for contact or contactless payments, goes into effect April 2018. At the same time, Visa said in its posting that it will continue to invest in initiatives tied to advanced analytics and biometrics.

Sales 61

Sales Technology 61

PYMNTS

JANUARY 2, 2018

A scanner can identify a vulnerability, but only a deep understanding of cyber exposure will tell you about the seriousness of that risk. Here's how and why.

60

60

PYMNTS

JANUARY 31, 2018

In what was described by eBay as an effort to improve customer experience and offer sellers a more competitive cost structure, eBay announced news on Wednesday (Jan. 31) that it will intermediate payments through a multi-year implementation that may last through mid-2020. This move marks a significant change in how buyers and sellers will interact and transact across the company’s online marketplace — namely, by letting shoppers complete their purchases within eBay’s website.

E-commerce 59

E-commerce accounted Account accountant 59

PYMNTS

JANUARY 22, 2018

Technology services, merchant services, payments processing: These terms woefully minimize the range of needs merchants face in today’s mobile, digital world — and they often fall short of accurately describing the solutions innovators are bringing to market to help merchants maximize their potential. That potential, said Shane Happach, head of Global Enterprise eCommerce at Worldpay , lies at the center of the blurred lines that now define commerce.

Technology 59

Technology B2B Retail Sales 59

PYMNTS

JANUARY 15, 2018

China steps up its regulation of cryptocurrency trading by going after online platforms and mobile apps. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported China’s regulators are eyeing internet-based platforms and mobile apps that provide customers with exchange-type services. Last year, Chinese authorities banned trading in cryptocurrencies, but recently the country has been seeking out alternative cryptocurrency trading venues.

Government 58

Government 58

PYMNTS

JANUARY 23, 2018

It’s been about a year in the making. But here we go with Amazon Go, newly out of beta this week and available to the public, in what the eCommerce juggernaut hopes will be a brick-and-mortar retail game changer. It seems the brick-and-mortar arena continues to entice online merchants, as the store opened its doors at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters. The shopping is done via mobile, by app specifically, and customers get to leave with what they’ve bought without having to wait to checkout.

Retail 58

Retail Gaming Sales accounted 58

PYMNTS

JANUARY 16, 2018

Attempts to commit online fraud jumped during the holiday season, increasing 22 percent from Thanksgiving to December compared to a year ago. That’s according to new data from payments company ACI Worldwide , which found that along with the fraud increase, overall online transactions also jumped 19 percent from Thanksgiving to the end of 2017.

Retail 58

Retail 58

PYMNTS

JANUARY 18, 2018

Zalando is not a well-known website in the U.S. However, for European consumers, it’s a digital treasure chest for fashion and accessories at all levels. Among the things that separate Zalando from Amazon — the U.S.-based eCommerce giant to which the company is most often compared — is its luxury brands, like Givenchy and Proenza Schouler. Zalando has had much success in the upper and even middle-tiers of fashion: Fast-fashion brands like Zara and H&M were long holdouts.

Retail 58

Retail Sales E-commerce 58

PYMNTS

JANUARY 22, 2018

Is India’s push for biometric IDs a bust? According to an article in The New York Times on Sunday (Jan. 21), one economist, Reetika Khera of the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, noted that the sweeping program to issue 12-digit ID numbers to the country’s 1.3 billion residents is possibly becoming a casualty of “its own ambitions.”. In an opinion piece for the publication, the economist posited that “ so far, [the program] Aadhaar — ‘the foundation’ in Hindi — seems to have helped neith

tax return 58

tax return New York Government Tax 58

PYMNTS

JANUARY 24, 2018

The financial services industry is no stranger to innovation, but it increasingly appears that change in the space is being driven by outsiders instead of the financial heavyweights. For several years, upstart challengers, rather than traditional banks, have been pushing a wide range of tech-powered financial innovations aimed at addressing the needs of consumers and companies alike.

57

57

PYMNTS

JANUARY 30, 2018

No one truly knows exactly where and how blockchain technology will make the greatest impact. In corporate finance, the tool could upend the status quo of supply chain management, cross-border payments, invoicing and document sharing and more. Regardless of where blockchain makes its mark, what is certain is that corporates have to trust that a largely unfamiliar innovation will work the way it should; that means securely, efficiently and easily.

Technology 57

Technology Finance B2B 57

PYMNTS

JANUARY 23, 2018

Four years after Stripe began accepting bitcoin, the payments platform has decided to end support for the popular cryptocurrency. The company said bitcoin’s volatility and lengthy transaction times led to its decision, TechCrunch reported. The policy will not take effect immediately, as the company plans to end support for bitcoin on April 23. Stripe had started accepting bitcoin in 2014, when the cryptocurrency first reached $1,000 and truly gained traction.

Retail 57

Retail 57

PYMNTS

JANUARY 31, 2018

The import-export game is not an easy one to play, and sometimes logistics can be anything but logical — especially for smaller firms that go the traditional route. These groups use middlemen known as freight forwarders, acting as agents who work with service providers like trucking companies and customs agents. One company, Fleet , which originally launched as Shipstr in 2014, seeks to change the way logistics is done through an online marketplace.

California 56

California Gaming Transportation Sales 56

PYMNTS

JANUARY 30, 2018

Modern consumers want it all: free shipping, live site support, product reviews, many types of payment acceptance and, especially, quick checkout times. If they don’t get what they want, they’re likely to walk — or, well, click — away. Last year, all those clicking consumers, frustrated by slow and complicated checkout procedures, took $200 billion in potential revenue with them.

Retail 56

Retail Sales 56

PYMNTS

JANUARY 23, 2018

The Bank of America has reportedly done away with a free checking account that was popular among low-balance customers, forcing them to save more money with the national bank or face a monthly fee. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal , all of the customers that still had eBanking accounts were moved to bank accounts that charge a $12 fee each month if they don’t have at least $250 directly deposited into the account or if they don’t maintain a daily balance of at least $1,500.

Account 56

Account accounted accountant 56

PYMNTS

JANUARY 22, 2018

Due to high risks and “insufficient” protection, the Nordic region’s largest bank will ban its approximately 31,000 employees from trading in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, the company said on Monday (Jan. 22), according to news from Reuters. “The risks are seen as too high, and the protection is insufficient for both the coworkers and the bank,” a Nordea spokeswoman told Reuters.

Tax 56

Tax 56

PYMNTS

JANUARY 17, 2018

Acquiring customers in retail is challenging. Even more so when a merchant has adopted a subscription commerce business model. Unlike a regular retail purchase — which has little long-term risk to customers should they regret their purchases — buying a subscription-based product isn’t just about buying a good or a service; it’s about engaging in an ongoing relationship.

B2C 56

B2C B2B Retail Start-ups 56

PYMNTS

JANUARY 16, 2018

The Google generation is changing industries from retail to call centers — and everything in between. Thanks to the internet, DIY solutions to problems big and small are often just a few clicks away. But when it comes to a broken appliance, or getting locked out of an online account, consumers still tend to pick up the phone and dial into a company’s hotline.

Technology 55

Technology Florida Healthcare Education 55