Sat.May 16, 2020 - Fri.May 22, 2020

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Demand For Faster Payments Skyrockets

PYMNTS

If you want to know how consumers feel about faster payments, talk to the millions of Americans who still have not received stimulus money as of mid- to late-May. The U.S. real-time payments void has hurt commerce, too, as PYMNTS research finds that close to 39 percent of small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) have reduced payrolls to help relieve cash flow stress, and nearly 30 percent simply went under.

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SBA Releases PPP Forgiveness Application; Sheds Dim Light on Looming Questions

Katz,Sapper&Miller

The lack of guidance related to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness has been the genesis of exacerbated frustration in the tax and business communities over the last several weeks. While the Small Business Administration (SBA) has still not released authoritative guidance clarifying critical definitions and providing much-needed direction, it did release the PPP loan forgiveness application Friday, May 15.

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Orange County COVID-19 Layoff Aversion Support Fund Program 

CapataCPA

Orange County COVID-19 Layoff Aversion Support Fund Program In breaking news, the California Employment Development (EDD) funded $700,000 to Orange County’s Workforce Development Board (OCWDB) in partnership with the Orange County Community Services- Community Investment Division. These funds have been put into the COVID-19 Layoff Aversion Support Program to help small businesses within the Orange County.

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Small Business Health Insurance Options: Which (If Any) Will You Pick?

Patriot Software

Thinking about offering employer-sponsored health insurance? Sure, you could offer a traditional group health insurance to your employees, but that’s not your only choice. There are a number of small business health insurance options you can choose from. Why not pick the program that fits your business? Read on to learn about small business healthcare […].

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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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Why Hyperledger Says It?s Prime Time For Blockchain

PYMNTS

Is now the prime time for blockchain ? As COVID-19 has disrupted supply chains worldwide, Brian Behlendorf , executive director of Hyperledger , told Karen Webster that the pandemic has spurred a shift in thinking about new use cases for permissioned blockchains. Increasingly, firms seek accountability and visibility into suppliers, vendors and transactions in real time.

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COVID-19 Business Survival Series: “Being Philanthropic When It’s Needed Most”

Katz,Sapper&Miller

COVID-19 does not discriminate, and it has impacted all sectors of the nation’s economy. But certain industries are being affected more than others, maybe none more so than not-for-profits. Why does this sector matter – especially now – and what should the business community be doing to help preserve this very important piece of Indiana’s ecosystem?

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JCB And TECHFUND Partner For Blockchain Payment System Ideas

PYMNTS

Japan-based credit card and payment firm JCB has announced a partnership with tech startup accelerator TECHFUND to explore the idea of a payment system with blockchain options, the company said on Friday (May 15). It is currently unknown whether the idea will focus on public blockchain or if the idea will just use the accelerator to access entrepreneurs.

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Amazon Eyes JCPenney Buy

PYMNTS

Amazon could be in talks to acquire the bankrupt clothing retailer JCPenney , Fox Business reported, citing Women’s Wear Daily (WWD). JCPenney officially filed for bankruptcy late Friday (May 15), ending speculation as to the beleaguered former retail titan’s financial status. Now, Amazon could be moving in. One source, according to WWD as reported by Fox Business, was “in Plano as we speak,” referring to the Texas city where JCPenney is headquartered.

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Dubai Creating $870M Free Trading Zone For eCommerce

PYMNTS

The government of Dubai is planning to create an $870 million free trade zone for eCommerce named Dubai CommerCity (DCC). The development project will be located next to Dubai International Airport. . The project is being developed collaboratively with two state-owned enterprises — the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority ( DAFZA ) and the property firm wasl.

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Why Now Is The Time For CUs’ Digital Transformation

PYMNTS

For credit unions (CUs), the shift to digital banking is here — and depending on how you look at it, the pivot, by necessity, took only a few months. In an interview with Karen Webster, Todd Clark , CEO of CO-OP Financial Services , said the past eight weeks have spurred CUs to grapple with significant changes in member activity across every channel, and an economic landscape that has presented members with momentous challenges.

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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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Overstock CEO: Why Immunity Passports Could Move Blockchain Tech Mainstream

PYMNTS

In the early days of enforced social distancing measures, there was a presiding confidence that any economic disruption would be temporary and fairly short. Analysts were nearly universally predicting a “V-shaped” U.S. recovery — a fast drop with a quick stop, then a rapid reset back to normal. End-to-end, things would recover by 2020’s end. But things are looking far less certain now in that regard.

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How Banks Can Guide FinTechs Through Their First Economic Downturn

PYMNTS

From competitors to collaborators, the FinTech boom introduced a field of opportunity for traditional financial institutions to team up with an industry newcomer to become more agile and modern with their own product offerings. While FinTechs are, in many ways, useful allies to banks, traditional FIs can also be a critical partner to FinTechs that lack the resources or opportunity to acquire their own banking license.

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Improving Conversions While Navigating The Great Digital Shift

PYMNTS

When the pandemic is over, there will be thousands of books written about the ways the coronavirus changed daily life, globally. Among those will be – or should be – a tome on how the great shift to digital commerce drove merchants to connect to multiple services. In an interview with Karen Webster, Justin Benson, CEO of Spreedly , said the shift is a critical one, requiring merchants to rethink how they approach payments and, as a result, optimize revenues.

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Alibaba Developing AI For Tmall Genie Smart Speakers

PYMNTS

China’s Alibaba Group is putting $1.4 billion into the development of artificial intelligence (AI) for its Tmall Genie smart speaker, the company said in a statement on Wednesday (May 20) following a press conference. The upgrade and innovation centered around its flagship Tmall Genie smart speaker will use proprietary technologies that combine AI and the Internet of Things (IoT).

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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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H1 Insights: Improving Patient Outcomes By Changing How Doctors, Pharma and Patients Find Each Other

PYMNTS

In healthcare, increasingly, data is critical for addressing inefficiencies in a system that is nearly 18 percent of U.S. GDP. And perhaps, most critically, matching patients with the right doctors, and various healthcare professionals with the right pharmaceutical companies during research and trials can speed treatments and new drugs as they move from concept to real-life therapies.

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PPP Loan Forgiveness May Be Hard To Win For Self-Employed Workers

PYMNTS

The self-employed might regret getting one of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA). CNBC reported these independent contractors who borrowed from the PPP face the prospect of not getting the balance forgiven. Under the terms of the CARES Act, businesses don’t have to repay the loan if they spent at least 75 percent of the proceeds on payroll and no more than 25 percent for other items.

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April Home Sales Slide As Buyers, Sellers Wait Out Pandemic

PYMNTS

Home sales fell to a 10-year low in April as buying and selling have been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). For the second consecutive month, each of the nation’s four regions saw sales dwindle in year-over-year sales, with the West seeing the greatest dip. Total existing-home sales – including single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums and co-ops – dropped 17.8 percent in April to 4.3 million, compared to the same month a year ago w

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Kasikornbank To Offer Nium’s FinTech Payments Platform

PYMNTS

FinTech payments platform Nium , based in Singapore, is expanding its global reach to service Kasikornbank’s Asia-Pacific customers in Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. In a joint statement, the two companies said the move is part of an effort by Kasikornbank (KBank) to ramp up its “digital cross-border payments offerings” as social distancing measures become the new normal.

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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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What Famed Boston Eatery Petit Robert’s Owner Sees As Restaurants’ Future

PYMNTS

Boston’s Petit Robert Bistro , one of the city’s fanciest French restaurants, started 2020 with expectations that were anything but small. Mild winter weather in Boston had led to stronger-than-average performances in January and February, and owner Loic Le Garrec told Karen Webster in a recent conversation that he expected going gangbusters through his typically busy spring season.

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Will The Pandemic Finally Get Central Banks Interested In Building Digital Currencies?

PYMNTS

The tipping point might be nigh for digital dollars and other central bank-issued currencies done through bits and bytes. As politicians across the globe grapple with the pandemic’s continued economic fallout and the need to get stimulus funds to individuals, corporations and even local governments with speed and security, digital delivery of those dollars is likely to gain increasing traction.

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New Facebook Shops Feature Streamlines Social Commerce

PYMNTS

To enable businesses to more easily list their merchandise on its social media platforms, Facebook has unveiled Facebook Shops. The free feature will allow companies to place product listings on their Facebook Page, Instagram profiles and stories, or in ads, CNBC reported. The social media company had allowed companies to list items on Instagram and Facebook in the past.

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Swiggy, Zomato Add Alcohol To Delivery Menu In India

PYMNTS

Indian food delivery startups Swiggy and Zomato will start delivering alcohol in some cities in an effort to meet the increased demand for booze during the lockdown. Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, will be the first area to get alcohol delivered. “We believe that a technology-enabled home delivery based solution can enable responsible consumption of alcohol as well as provide an option that’s safer and promotes social distancing,” a Zomato spokesperson told the Economic Times in a report on

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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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Uber Cuts 3K More Jobs And Targets Office Closings

PYMNTS

Uber plans to cut 3,000 more jobs and close 45 offices — all while eyeing other cutbacks as the COVID-19 economy keeps pummeling the ride-hailing giant. Job cuts do not include drivers, who technically are not employees. Meanwhile, the company is seeking to buy Uber Eats rival Grubhub, which spurned the offer over the weekend. The talks between the two companies have so far not been fruitful.

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Ross Stores Begins Reopening After Reporting Sales Drop

PYMNTS

Amid the ongoing spread of the pandemic throughout the country, Ross Stores, Inc. reported total Q1 sales of $1.8 billion compared to $3.8 billion in the prior year. The retailer said it wasn’t reporting comparable-store sales, as its shops were open for less than seven weeks of the 13-week period, per an announcement. Ross Stores also registered a loss per share of 87 cents compared to earnings per share of $1.15 for the past year period.

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Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Could Offer Light At The End Of The Tunnel

PYMNTS

A COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the Cambridge, Massachusetts firm Moderna is showing early signs of promise, with an early-stage human trial showing some compelling results. This much-awaited bit of good news in the fight against the novel coronavirus sent shivers of anticipation through the stock market, which drove the company’s shares up some 26 percent intraday as the development broke.

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Ontario Systems Buys SwervePay To Boost Electronic Payments

PYMNTS

Payment collections software company Ontario Systems has acquired SwervePay to help bolster its electronic payment capabilities, according to a press release. Electronic payments processing is becoming “increasingly critical” for Ontario Systems’ customers, which mandated the acquisition of SwervePay acquisition, a payment facilitator in the accounts receivable management and healthcare industries.

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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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Digital Couponing Rises With The Digital Shift

PYMNTS

The digital shift will not have paper coupons. It remains to be seen if the pandemic and its hypervigilance about potential germs will wash what’s left of them away, but digital coupons are growing right along with the crisis-driven move to eCommerce. Inmar Intelligence , one of the leaders in digital couponing, reported last week that enrollment in digital coupon programs among the top 30 percent of national grocery chains has grown 93 percent year over year since March 1.

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How ePayments Can Ease B2B Friction In The Travel Industry

PYMNTS

While the travel industry remains decimated due to the pandemic, with businesses just beginning to tiptoe toward some semblance of normalcy, the shift to digital processes is gaining traction. In an interview with PYMNTS, Xavier Ginesta , chairman at Voxel Group , which focuses on B2B payments, said that friction exists for B2B payments within the travel space — but that friction can be eased with eBilling and ePayments.

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Banks Brace For Forbearance Program Expiry Dates

PYMNTS

The time is almost up for people who got mortgage forbearance under the CARES Act, but banks can’t predict how many will default of the $150 billion in loans currently on ice, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday (May 20). In order to avoid an anticipated deluge of defaults, forbearance programs were quickly rolled out in March without requiring proof of hardship.

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Kohl?s Leans Into Digital During Pandemic Store Closures

PYMNTS

As it leaned into its digital businesses with its stores closed amid the pandemic, Kohl’s Corporation saw its digital sales rise 24 percent for the quarter and accelerate to 60 percent in April. CEO Michelle Gass said in a Tuesday (May 19) first-quarter earnings call with analysts that the retailer amplified its digital marketing efforts and revised its online site content.

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It Takes Two to Tango

With automation, you’ll reduce errors and save valuable time, allowing you to focus on what really matters: strategic analysis and insightful decision-making. Picture accurate financial reports ready at your fingertips, giving you the confidence to tackle business challenges head-on. Embracing automation not only boosts productivity but also elevates your role from number cruncher to closing rockstar.