PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

Investment bankers in Hong Kong were tricked out of millions of dollars by a cash-advance business called Global Merchant Funding (GMF). According to Bloomberg , smooth-talking fraudster Avery Stone and his partners at GMF convinced bankers from prominent international banks to invest in the business to the tune of $32.5 million before disappearing. “This isn’t a deal that went bad; these guys systematically preyed off their friends,” Thomas Gallagher, a GMF investor, told Bloomberg.

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NOVEMBER 22, 2016

Bitcoin wallet iPayYou continues to work toward a future with bitcoin as the default currency. It was just announced that iPayYou has made a way for consumers to pay for items on Amazon with bitcoin, called Amazon Direct. Now iPayYou users can transfer any amount of bitcoin from their bitcoin wallet to Amazon. Customers can use the Amazon Direct tab to the iPayYou platform to determine an amount of bitcoin to transfer and the destination account.

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PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Fact. Digital commerce has been a reality for more than two decades. Fact. The launch of the iPhone in 2007 and the App Store in 2008 opened everyone’s eyes to the impact that mobile would have on payments and commerce. Fact. Twenty years and hundreds of millions of smartphones later, the digital payments experience is anything but consistent anywhere — online, in-store and in-app.

Technology 86

Technology Sales Sports Gaming 86

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 16, 2016

American consumers have fallen for mobile banking apps, but up to now, most businesses were not seemingly showing apps the same love. With the number of mobile banking customers now outnumbering those who bank at branches for the first time, consumers have warmly embraced banking via mobile apps. Despite that, the vast majority of American companies, particularly small businesses, have yet to adopt mobile financial management apps.

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quickbooks Retail Account accountant 86

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PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 16, 2016

Upward and onward seems like a hopeful phrase, doesn’t it? Unless it’s fraud you are talking about. At the end of 2014, the average U.S. household held five mobile devices, while, at the start of 2016, that number has increased to about 13. Tech is a wonderful thing, when used for the forces of good and for quality of life. But alongside that iPad your 10-year-old daughter needed, the rate of online fraud attacks on retailers has doubled, up 137 percent year over year in the first quarter of thi

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Sales Technology Education Retail 82

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

The holiday season has arrived — meaning sales, snowflakes, good cheer, Christmas carols and fraudsters working day and night to break open your bank account through a variety of creative means. One of this year’s favorites so far, according to reports in The New York Times, has been fake retail and product apps popping up in the Apple App Store of late.

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Retail New York Maine Gaming 81

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

Visa said Monday (Nov. 21) that its latest chip data update showed 388 million Visa EMV cards in the U.S. Of those, the firm said there are nearly 181 million chip credit cards in the field and 208.3 million chip debit cards. The firm also said that there are 1.7 million chip-active locations across the country. The 1.7 million tally, up 191 percent in the past year, represents 37 percent of all storefronts nationwide, according to Visa’s statistics.

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NOVEMBER 4, 2016

The seed of FinTech innovation often comes from a desire to do things differently. In B2B payments, that can mean discontent in the way traditional banks and FIs do business or a need for disruptive technologies to come to market faster than banks can offer. But as finance and payments tech expands, these traditional FIs are learning that perhaps the best way to meet the demands of their corporate clients isn’t to compete with FinTech innovators but to collaborate with them.

Technology 79

Technology B2B Finance 79

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

The U.K. is already a hotbed of FinTech startups, but the government is getting behind it in a bigger way, committing to invest £500,000 a year into financial technology companies. According to a report , the U.K. government is also gearing up to launch a network of regional FinTech envoys as an effort to enhance the country’s status as a leader in FinTech.

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PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 15, 2016

Apple announced that it is expanding Apple Pay to allow nonprofit organizations and charities to accept donations via the mobile payments service and Apple Pay on the Web. The change takes effect immediately in the U.S. Previously, charitable donations were barred on Apple Pay due to a lack of safeguards and the ability to validate the legitimacy of charities accepting donations.

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Hospitality Start-ups 78

Speaker: James Kahler, COO of Full Course

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PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 9, 2016

For some businesses, cybersecurity may be an abstract threat. Business owners may think “it won’t happen to me,” or they may be confident in their ability to remain unaffected by a cyberattack. But a new report by Accenture uncovers just how big of a threat cyberattacks are on businesses. According to the company’s latest data , released this week, about one-third of cyberattacks on businesses are successful in their attempts to infiltrate a firm’s existing defenses

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PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Why make one’s life hard hacking consumer accounts — or taking up armed robbery — when one can get the best of both worlds by directly attacking the banks’ computers and getting ATMs to do things like start spewing cash for no apparent reason? Taiwan and Thailand saw such attacks earlier this year when cyber criminals programmed bank ATMs to spew cash.

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Start-ups Technology Account accountant 77

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 9, 2016

In the wake of the fake account scandal at Wells Fargo, companies are rethinking how they compensate salespeople, reported The Wall Street Journal. According to a report, companies are trying to overhaul how they compensate salespeople in an effort to improve customer service and prevent the bad behavior that did Wells Fargo in. Sure, commissions can motivate people to ink deals and boost sales, but they also have risks associated with them.

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PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

Mobile devices, apps, new technologies have given birth to new platforms that match supply and demand easier than ever before. And the ability to embed payments into those platforms is what has ignited those marketplaces. But how many people participate in the gig economy? How big is it? And what do they do? We were curious, too, and collaborated with Hyperwallet to measure and size the market.

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Speaker: Jamie Eagan

As organizations strive for agility and efficiency, it's imperative for finance leaders to embrace innovative technologies and redefine traditional processes. Join us as we explore the pivotal role of digitalization and automation in reshaping what is commonly referred to as the “last mile of reporting”. We’ll deep-dive into why digitalization is no longer a choice, but a necessity for finance departments to stay competitive in a fast-paced environment touching on: 2024 trends for the Office of

Technology

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

The U.S. Federal Reserve is turning heads for its attention to faster payments, but the Fed has recently announced yet another initiative in the payments innovation space. Last week, the Fed’s Secure Payments Task Force called for comment from industry stakeholders about what challenges they face when it comes to payments security. The task force, made up of about 160 members, will explore areas of payments security, like identity management and data protection, in hopes the survey will he

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PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

Small businesses may not always be at the forefront when it comes to technology, but when it comes to how its customers pay, most are on board when it comes to mobile payments. That’s according to a new survey commissioned by Samsung Electronics America and conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, which found the majority of small businesses polled said customers want to pay with their smartphones and they expect the use of mobile payments to grow.

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Technology 77

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

Cash may be king, but for small businesses, cash is expensive. New research from Sage finds that small businesses in the U.K. are losing out on $11.8 billion every year because of their cash transactions. Those costs can rack up in a number of ways, researchers found. For instance, nearly a quarter of small businesses surveyed by Sage said they had been the target of cash theft by a member of their own staff.

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Transportation Technology Finance B2B 77

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 2, 2016

A Japanese bank consortium gearing up to create a new real-time payments platform using blockchain technology from SBI Ripple Asia has expanded to 42 members. According to a report , the group launched in August with 15 members, and SBI Ripple Asia had expected to increase the size to 30 banks. “Because of active responses from many financial institutions, the consortium was finally launched with 42 member banks,” said SBI in a statement, according to the report. “Member financ

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Technology 77

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Technology

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Equity-crowdfunded FreeAgent, a U.K.-based small business accounting firm, has listed on the nation’s AIM stock exchange, the LSE ‘s market for smaller firms. FreeAgent broke ground with the listing but, according to reports, missed the mark on valuation. Friday (Nov. 18) reports said FreeAgent has become the first IPO on the market delivered by an equity crowdfunding platform, Seedrs, which launched a funding campaign for the startup last year.

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PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 11, 2016

In this week’s Bitcoin Tracker, bitcoin soars, then settles down and plans for its yearly sale abound. Switzerland gives bitcoin a hand by way of rail ticket machine sales, an Australian startup banks on the aptly named Dash and Zcash fervor fades. The election came and went and, with it, brought some stock market shock. First, they slid way down ( investors don’t like surprises ), then they rose back up a bit.

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PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

Bad guys know retailers and businesses are working to stay one step ahead of their sophisticated and malicious attacks. To combat this, hackers are looking to gain access to sensitive information by taking a much easier route: using legitimate credentials to go right inside. In this week’s Hacker Tracker , Ryan Stolte , cofounder and CTO at Bay Dynamics , joined PYMNTS to shed light on the growing cybersecurity concern of insider threats and how retailers are making big strides in keeping hacker

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Retail Sales Start-ups 76

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

Shopify’s online store platform is integrating with Sundown AI’s artificial intelligence platform named Chloe. The collaboration is expected to bring enhanced mobile commerce to online stores with the use of voice and text commands. Shopify users will be able to access immediate assistance on their mobile phones via Chloe for any inquires or requests while navigating a store.

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Sales 76

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Technology evolves at lightning speed, and as finance keeps changing, instant payments emerge as a game-changer for small businesses. By 2030, instant payments are projected to surge by 289% and will become the new norm in financial transactions. Our whitepaper reveals seven must-know facts about instant payments, offering to help you navigate this financial revolution effectively.

Finance

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Germany stock exchange Deutsche Börse has participated in a funding round for local FinTech startup figo, reports said Wednesday (Nov. 23). Figo has developed an API for banks that supports the revised Payment Services Directive ( PSD2 ). In total, the firm’s Series B funding round yielded $7.17 million, reports said. Deutsche Börse didn’t reveal exactly how much it provided. “The figo team led by [CEO] André Bajorat has made clear the opportunities that exist for virtually eve

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NOVEMBER 8, 2016

Wipro, the information technology, consulting and business process services company, announced Monday (Nov. 7) it launched its Open Banking API platform. The Open API platform will enable banks and financial institutions to launch Open Banking initiatives. With an open banking initiative, the company says financial institutions can create new forms of distribution channels and servicing capabilities, as well as provide access to third-party application marketplaces.

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Technology 76

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 18, 2016

The payments landscape is only getting bigger. As more stakeholders and players join the fold, there’s a ripe opportunity to find innovative ideas in unlikely places. As part of the Commanders In Chief series, YapStone President David Weiss explained why it’s necessary to search both internally and externally for a growing number of partners and constituencies when carving out the path to innovation.

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Legal Finance Sales 76

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

With major data breaches on the rise, it’s no surprise cybercriminals have access to more than enough compromised data. From a person’s payment information to their mother’s maiden name, hackers have everything they need to pose a legitimate customers and keep perpetrating fraud. In this week’s Hacker Tracker , we look at how identity information has quickly become a critical currency — being stolen, traded and resold at an alarming rate.

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Retail New York Manufacturing 76

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"Offer payroll and do it yourself,” they said. “It’ll be fun!” Spoiler alert: It was not fun. Most CPA firms know that they need to offer payroll services to their clients or risk losing them to another firm that will. However, many don’t really want to. It is often time-consuming and complex due to changing tax laws and regulations, and with the growing staffing shortages, most just don’t have the resources.

cpa firm

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

India B2B payments firm Happay is now looking to accelerate the time it takes to onboard SMEs to its platform. The company revealed Friday (Nov. 18) that it rolled out its Express On-boarding Program for small businesses in the nation aimed to help SMEs more quickly use Happay services. The accelerated tool means small businesses can register and receive a working credit card in only a few days.

Expense Management 76

Expense Management B2B 76

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 15, 2016

Small businesses aren’t getting their cybersecurity strategies right, according to new evidence from researchers. And with consequences ranging from data theft to noncompliance penalties, the stakes are high. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is looking to help. With a guide developed for SMEs in need of cybersecurity direction, NIST’s latest paper, “ Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals ,” released last week, aims to shed light on

online accounting 76

online accounting Technology Account accountant 76

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 23, 2016

Klarna, the Swedish payment service provider, is taking over Cookies, the Berlin FinTech startup that ran out of money. According to a report , the idea behind Cookies was to make mobile money transfers easier. The startup, once upon a time, was a darling among venture capitalists, but infighting among the company’s management led Cofounder Garry Krugljakow to not sign off on capital raising, which resulted in the startup running out of money.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2016

CFOs are struggling to keep up with how quickly the requirements for financial reporting are changing, researchers have found. EY researchers released new data this week that concluded CFOs and financial controllers are struggling to keep up with the pace of change when it comes to corporate reporting standards and demands. One of the biggest hurdles for these professionals is actually implementing the changes, citing the cost and complexity of the shifts, according to EY.

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