PYMNTS
APRIL 28, 2016
“Open Sesame” was the magical phrase that a poor mythical woodcutter named Ali Baba uttered to open the door of a secret cave in which 40 thieves had hidden bags of gold. The power of his voice, and using the right words, gave him access to that fortune, and changed his life forever. Here at PYMNTS, we think that it’s quite possible that the future of payments and commerce lies in the power of the spoken word, too.
Katz,Sapper&Miller
APRIL 28, 2016
University enrollment continues to steadily increase across the United States, leading to a growing need for safe, accessible student housing. Concurrently, academic institutions are cautiously evaluating the merits of on-campus housing and internal funding. The ongoing battle creates great opportunities for private student housing development and financing.
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PYMNTS
APRIL 26, 2016
The EMV numbers tell a compelling story. In the six-plus months since the EMV liability shift deadline hit the U.S. payments market, the continued momentum of EMV adoption has surprised just about everyone. As part of its six-month EMV checkup , MasterCard said that more than two-thirds (67 percent) of its branded consumer credit cards in the U.S. have chips in them and that roughly 1.2 million U.S. merchant locations now accept chip cards.
PYMNTS
APRIL 29, 2016
When it comes to fighting fraud in payments , one thing is very evident: It can’t be done alone. That’s why there’s more and more partnerships forming everyday across the ecosystem. And why more and more companies are rushing to implement solutions to fight fraud. In fact, as cited by TYSY in a recent report about managing fraud and how to prepare for the 2016 alerts requirements, there’s been a 40-percent decrease in incidents of fraud when cardholders monitor transactio
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PYMNTS
APRIL 27, 2016
Can the data trapped in “Digital Exhaust” – like online and social media data – be used to validate identity and predict fraud? Socure sure thinks so. And it has the data model to prove it. Suppose you could build a model that would help financial institutions of any kind fill in those gaps with online and social data that could make thin files thick without increasing their risk?
PYMNTS
APRIL 27, 2016
A joint venture from VirtusaPolaris and IT consulting firm WorkFusion is looking to give the banking and financial services sector a boost through robotics and automation. The collaboration , revealed Tuesday (April 26), is reportedly targeting FIs’ outdated tools and systems to jumpstart the sector’s ability to operate in the modern market. “Most financial services organizations continue to struggle with inefficient legacy systems that have not kept pace with the change in business and regulati
Accountant Advocate brings together the best content for small business accounting professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
PYMNTS
APRIL 26, 2016
[link]. Real-time access to data is important for many reasons but perhaps never more important than being able to make a quick — and accurate — decision about whether a customer applying for a loan is legitimate or fraudulent or about whether a borrower should be offered Loan A or Loan B based on their credit score. Access to real-time data analytics can have the power to change the way these types of decisions are made, making it no surprise that businesses are seeking real-time decision-makin
PYMNTS
APRIL 29, 2016
According to the results of Verizon’s 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report , released on Wednesday (April 27), cybercriminals have become quite adept at using their victims’ human nature against them in order to get what they want. The annual study found that hackers are continuing to rely on attack methods such as phishing and ransomware , both of which enable them to capitalize on the element of human error.
PYMNTS
APRIL 28, 2016
“Competition is better for everyone.” – Visa CEO Charlie Scharf. A statement that sounds like exactly what you’d expect to hear from the leader of the largest payments network in the world. Until you consider the context in which it was said. Competition, Scharf believes, is what will keep every player in payments – large and small – focused on what’s really important – making payments the enabler for commerce in a variety of new end points. “Competition drives a better outcome for the end
PYMNTS
APRIL 26, 2016
Cybercriminals are turning the attention of ransomware attacks to target the burgeoning market of connected devices. According to the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT) think tank, the fact that ransomware will be pointed at the Internet of Things (IoT) is inevitable because connected devices present a significant opportunity to launch further attacks, ZDNet reported on Monday (April 25).
Speaker: James Kahler, COO of Full Course
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PYMNTS
APRIL 29, 2016
While athletic venues of yesteryear may have offered fans little more beyond the games themselves, stadiums of the present – and future – are veritable hotbeds of technological sophistication. Not only is IoT being used in stadiums to enhance fan experiences through streamlined security programs, customized lighting systems and stronger cellphone reception, but it’s also improving back-end operations like point-of-sale processes and utilities management.
PYMNTS
APRIL 27, 2016
In a press release announcing Flywire’s launch of a cross-border payments service in Japan, CEO Mike Massaro described the country as one of the keys in Flywire’s APAC expansion. What specifically appealed to the company about Japan, as Massaro explained in a recent conversation with PYMNTS, was the sizable number of international students in the country.
PYMNTS
APRIL 28, 2016
Samsung Pay has been in the U.S. market for exactly 212 days. But, according to the leaders of at least one of those mobile payments services, they still believe that it’s still the first inning. What could speed the game up a bit, according to Samsung Pay’s GM, is giving consumers and merchants what they care about most: loyalty, offers and a secure digital identity.
PYMNTS
APRIL 29, 2016
Western Union just put its toe in the bitcoin/blockchain waters. It announced an investment in Digital Currency Group, a bitcoin/blockchain startup-focused investment firm, which includes former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who is serving as an advisor and also put money up. This comes at a time the investment company is attempting to focus more on blockchain than bitcoin itself — a common theme in the industry.
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
PYMNTS
APRIL 27, 2016
Apple’s earnings calls tend to give analysts bits and pieces of its products’ progress but never really the whole meal. That’s what happened yesterday (April 26) during Apple’s second quarter earnings call. Apple CEO Tim Cook threw out new Apple Pay user stats — but in a way that gave little context or details. For example, he noted that Apple Pay is growing at 1 million users a week and that it is seeing five times the transaction volume of a year ago.
PYMNTS
APRIL 27, 2016
The world just keeps getting smaller. With increasingly more global connections and advancing technology to support them, consumers around the world expect to be able to access digital commerce solutions quickly, easily and conveniently. So how are developers answering the call? In this month’s Developer Tracker™, we see that developers in the commerce space quickly expanding their offerings to new markets, and across new borders, in order to keep pace with the growing demand for more digital (a
PYMNTS
APRIL 28, 2016
During Facebook’s Q1 earnings call with analysts, the executive team dug into one area of its business that it’s been paying more attention to in the past year: SMBs. Specifically, how to foster SMBs into its (free) Pages for businesses. Of course, Facebook has business intentions for its own (paid) tools and advertisement in order to turn businesses of all sizes into a meaningful part of its revenue flow. “SMBs … we think, are a very core competitive advantage for us.
PYMNTS
APRIL 28, 2016
The shift to EMV in the U.S. is soaring the global demand for smart payment cards by as much as 34 percent, a new Smart Payment Association (SPA) report has found. Last year alone, over 2.06 billion chip cards were supplied — of which, 570 million were shipped to the U.S., marking a twofold increase over 2014. China emerged as yet another major force causing the surge with a 27 percent increase in demand over last year.
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PYMNTS
APRIL 27, 2016
Invoice fraud can hit anywhere, from large multinationals to SMEs, from China to the U.S. But a new report from Tungsten Network says the threat is particularly acute in one particular sector — with some big ramifications. According to the research , published Tuesday (April 26), more than $240 million in losses hits U.K. financial services businesses every year, with one-fifth of companies surveyed suspecting that invoice fraud has cost around $7,300 in the last year.
PYMNTS
APRIL 28, 2016
SMEs in the U.K. seem to be struggling with the concept of “good debt.” A new report from Wesleyan Bank found that more than three-quarters (78 percent) of SMEs surveyed said the risk linked to debt prevents them from seeking a loan — and just 2 percent obtain external finance on a regular basis. With a reputation to uphold as the economy’s backbone, SMEs could be making a mistake or two in their avoidance of bank loans and other types of debt.
PYMNTS
APRIL 25, 2016
In the latest sign that the payments service wars might heat up a bit, Walmart has updated its iOS application — this time, enabling Walmart Pay, which takes its place among new features offered by the retailing giant. As reported by Ubergizmo , the addition of Walmart Pay means that consumers who shop with fervor at the big box retailer now have the ability to check out, in store, with a QR code prompt.
PYMNTS
APRIL 28, 2016
Five years ago, most retail and dining locations had essentially the same checkout process: a stationary POS terminal or cash register that required customers or employees to typically all check out from one stationary spot. Now, more merchants are turning to full-service payment solutions as the industry quickly grows and evolves, and merchants and consumers expect faster and more convenient payment methods.
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PYMNTS
APRIL 25, 2016
Since the Apple Watch’s debut a year ago, the headlines about its success have been a bit all over the map. Some tout it as a huge hit, others as a big flop. It has officially been a year since the Apple Watch entered consumers’ collective lives, and according to The Wall Street Journal , the numbers are “solid.” Of course, given Apple’s position on not disclosing sales, it means any pronouncement is based on an estimate, but the estimates are reasonably favorable.
PYMNTS
APRIL 29, 2016
Despite a macro-backdrop that has been marked by headwinds (depending on where you look), MasterCard managed to beat expectations on Thursday (April 28) morning on transaction growth that could be summed up as robust. The payments firm said that transactions were up 14 percent in the quarter, and revenues, as a result, were 9.7 percent higher year over year, to $2.45 billion, edging the $2.38 billion that was expected by The Street.
PYMNTS
APRIL 28, 2016
Has Uber reached its tipping point? Or, more appropriately, is it tipping the future upon which Uber’s business might hinge? At the crux of this discussion is last week’s settlement brought about by litigation over the status of Uber drivers based on the court’s interpretation of existing labor laws. Uber drivers would like to be classified as employees, instead of the “ride-sharing, gig-economy-driven, work when I want to” employees they are now.
PYMNTS
APRIL 27, 2016
Cash has been in the news lately. But just as the U.S. Treasury Department announced plans for more inclusive representations of note-worthy (pun intended) Americans on the $5, $10 and $20 bills, there were rumblings that some other denominations of currency should perhaps disappear altogether. The cash versus cashless debate is complicated. There are issues of transaction security, criminal elements, tax evasion, free flow of capital, access to goods and services and the ability to fully partic
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PYMNTS
APRIL 29, 2016
In art, form follows function, while in technology, progress follows policy. News that a group of leaders hailing from the finance industry weighed in on regulation in FinTech, stating that collaboration should be a major theme among all manner of players – from startups to the most entrenched big banks – may hint at the shape of FinTech to come. The clarion call came last week from a group of stakeholders that had convened at the World Economic Forum last at Davos in January.
PYMNTS
APRIL 26, 2016
With the waves of announced layoffs coming from what seems like every corner of the retail ecosystem these days, the latest consensus out of analysts that 2016 will be the worst year for retail segment layoffs sine 2010 probably comes as a shock to just about no one. Layoffs are currently pegged to reach 37,000 by the end of 2016 — the biggest figure since 30,273 were shed during 2010. 24,000 of those jobs have already been cut, according to Credit Suisse, whose analysts also noted that total jo
PYMNTS
APRIL 25, 2016
A new report suggests that Facebook’s security may not be as good as it appears. As part of Facebook’s bug bounty program, professional hackers were brought in to see if there were vulnerabilities in its system by seeking out bugs. But, as it turns out, Facebook had already been hacked with malware via a backdoor hack. The bug bounty hunter, Orange Tsai, was reportedly the one to discover this.
PYMNTS
APRIL 28, 2016
It’s with no small degree of irony that the budding Internet of Things will depend on software, not a thing at all, to tie all the devices themselves together for perfect smart home harmony. Now, Samsung is throwing its hat into that paradoxical ring while the market share iron is hot. Samsung announced on Wednesday (April 27) that it had launched the Samsung ARTIK Cloud, a data exchange platform optimized for IoT connectivity support.
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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.
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