PYMNTS
JUNE 6, 2018
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.
PYMNTS
JUNE 7, 2018
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.
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PYMNTS
JUNE 5, 2018
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.
PYMNTS
JUNE 5, 2018
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.
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
JUNE 7, 2018
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.
PYMNTS
JUNE 5, 2018
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
Accountant Advocate brings together the best content for small business accounting professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
PYMNTS
JUNE 7, 2018
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
PYMNTS
JUNE 8, 2018
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
PYMNTS
JUNE 5, 2018
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.
PYMNTS
JUNE 5, 2018
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.
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
JUNE 8, 2018
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.
PYMNTS
JUNE 8, 2018
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.
PYMNTS
JUNE 7, 2018
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.
PYMNTS
JUNE 8, 2018
To verify payment cards at the point of sale (POS), Mastercard is looking into blockchain technology. In a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the company said it has devised a process to send and retrieve payment credentials through a “publicly accessible blockchain,” CoinDesk reported. Through a two-way method, the system encodes an encrypted payment card image that is stored on the blockchain with a private and public key.
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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
JUNE 5, 2018
It won’t be medicine — or manufacturing, human resources, commerce or logistics. No, when it comes to the biggest immediate impact that artificial intelligence (AI) will have upon the world, financial services will likely take that honor — a looming prize that provides fresh opportunity to consider how machines will overcome bias. Anyone who reads the news or follows science fiction knows how important AI is becoming to business, and how much change it will almost certainly bring to civilization
PYMNTS
JUNE 6, 2018
IHOP is dead. Long live IHOb. As of this morning (June 6), the news came over the wires and rendered today as “a day that will live in infamy.” It is the day that the International House of Pancakes was no more. Instead, it will IHOb. What is the B? We don’t know. Only the executive team of IHOP knows — and they are not saying anything until Monday.
PYMNTS
JUNE 6, 2018
In the first service offered by Mastercard after integrating Vocalink last year, and with an eye on real-time payments, Mastercard Send is launching in the United Kingdom. Mastercard said in a release on Wednesday (June 6) that the payments service will make it possible for various stakeholders in the financial realm — ranging from financial institutions, digital customers, FinTech companies and various enterprises — to send real-time payments to U.K.
PYMNTS
JUNE 8, 2018
The Amazon -effect is back at it again in the B2B world. With eCommerce now a mainstay for consumers, B2B eCommerce is quickly coming into the fold, too. There is a lot of money to be earned. Statistics estimates that retail eCommerce sales will hit $4.5 trillion by 2021, a more than 246 percent increase from 2014. B2B eCommerce, on the other hand, is already estimated to enable $7.7 trillion in online sales — about 235 percent more than B2C’s current sales volume.
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
JUNE 6, 2018
Everyone has heard of storing data in the cloud, but what about in the briny depths? On Wednesday (June 6), Microsoft lowered a submarine-like data center into the ocean off the coast of Orkney — a group of islands near Scotland — as part of its efforts to boost internet speeds in coastal regions and support the world’s growing reliance on connected technologies, for both business and leisure purposes.
PYMNTS
JUNE 7, 2018
Spending on credit cards will continue to grow, but any issuer that decides to take a breath, instead of crafting creative rewards and going after young consumers, runs the risk of being left behind. That’s according to Chad Peck, vice president of credit product strategy at Fiserv. He recently sat for a discussion with Karen Webster about trends in credit card spending and rewards, for the latest edition of the PYMNTS’ “Walk to the Elevator” podcast series.
PYMNTS
JUNE 7, 2018
U.K. challenger bank Arro Money , which launched its small business bank account service last December, has debuted its newest product designed for sole traders. In an announcement sent to PYMNTS on Wednesday (June 6), Arro Money said it has rolled out its account designed for entrepreneurs that operate independently. According to Arro, sole traders are an underserved demographic in the financial services market, often forced to rely on personal account services with inadequate cash management,
PYMNTS
JUNE 6, 2018
Alternative lending platform BlueVine has announced its latest investment to the tune of $60 million. A press release issued by the company said Menlo Ventures led the Series E equity funding round for BlueVine, which also saw backing from SVB Capital and other investors. BlueVine said it will use the funds to expand its invoice factoring and business line of credit products, as well as to explore new products for small- and medium-sized business (SMB) borrowers.
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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
JUNE 8, 2018
Since the dawn of the age of computers, human beings have wondered what will happen when the machines eventually learn how to “think” like humans do. The consensus among science fiction writers is “nothing good.” Whether they rise and destroy humanity outright, or insert our consciousness into a giant simulation of the late 1990’s to turn us into biomechanical batteries, depends on the creative imaginations and special effects budget of whoever’s telling the s
PYMNTS
JUNE 6, 2018
After reviewing sales practices at more than 40 large and mid-sized banks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) found multiple systemic issues, along with hundreds of problems at individual banks. With the review, the office found examples of banks opening accounts without proof that consumers gave them permission to do so, American Banker reported.
PYMNTS
JUNE 8, 2018
Dueling headlines show that when it comes to the gig economy, differing data tell different stories. Citing findings from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), The Washington Post noted that the share of U.S. workers in the gig economy has fallen to 6.9 percent of workers at the end of last year from 7.4 percent in 2005. Based largely on that headline, the assumption is that firms in the gig economy, namely marquee names such as Uber and Lyft, have not rendered the sea change that had been expec
PYMNTS
JUNE 7, 2018
Goldman Sachs is using cyber security war games so that its technology staff will better learn how to fight and prevent threats that could harm the bank and its clients. According to the Financial Times , Goldman is the first financial institution to sign up with U.K.-based Immersive Labs , which offers learning tests and war games on cyber threats.
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
JUNE 7, 2018
Corporate Spending Innovations , formerly known as CSI globalVCard, announced on Wednesday (June 6) a partnership with THG Energy Solutions in an effort to digitize corporate payments to their utility providers. THG corporate clients will have access to CIS’s automatic, electronic payment solutions to support payment of utility invoices, the firms said.
PYMNTS
JUNE 7, 2018
Artificial intelligence has received a mixed welcome from corporates exploring how the technology could disrupt their operations. While AI can deliver time and cost savings, automation and actionable insights, executives are also concerned that the tool will displace professionals like accountants and procurement officials. New research suggests, however, that the technology is finding harmony in these two areas of the enterprise.
PYMNTS
JUNE 5, 2018
Consumers who want to hire a home services professional to, say, fix a broken air conditioner, are sometimes faced with a dilemma: Who do they call for a repair? When on-demand home services platform Lula debuted in 2015, there weren’t a ton of options, but the market has since changed. Large companies, such as Facebook , are now forging partnerships with platforms to bring home service providers onto their marketplaces.
PYMNTS
JUNE 4, 2018
With retail uses as a top driver, International Data Corporation (IDC) projects that worldwide spending on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will reach $27 billion in 2018. The estimate marks a 92 percent increase over 2017 spending on the technology, Retail Dive reported. Overall, the market for AR and VR products and services is expected to reach a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 72 percent for the years 2017 to 2022.
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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.
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