PYMNTS

MARCH 24, 2016

We’ve known that subscription box sites were on the rise, but new data showing the particular numbers in that regard is nonetheless impressive. EMarketer reports that, according to a recent study from Hitwise, visits to subscription box sites (online subscription retail services like BarkBox , Birchbox and Dollar Shave Club , which, on a monthly basis, provide their members with goods delivered quite literally in a box) in the United States have increased by nearly 3,000 percent in the pas

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Retail 65

Katz,Sapper&Miller

MARCH 22, 2016

New York Denies Refund for Erroneously Paid Sales Tax - An automobile dealership was not entitled to a refund for sales tax collected on extended warranties sold in Connecticut that was erroneously remitted to New York state. The taxpayer subsequently paid sales tax to the state of Connecticut on the same sales, at a rate of approximately 6%.

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New York Connecticut Tax Sales 40

PYMNTS

MARCH 21, 2016

By any stretch, President Barack Obama’s trip to Cuba is a historic event. After all, he is the first United States president to visit the tiny nation, so long a U.S. adversary, in roughly 90 years. Obama has reopened the U.S. embassy there and has also paved the path for commercial airline flights to begin to that nation. Mail will go back and forth between the two countries.

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PYMNTS

MARCH 23, 2016

The whispers have grown to loud chatter when it comes to blockchain technology and the impact it might have on the financial services sector. What once may not have been taken seriously — cryptocurrencies and futuristic payments — is today exploding as the innovation financial institutions are targeting for investments, largely hoping to get a jump on the blockchain before disruption takes a bite out of their traditional business.

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Technology Gaming Start-ups Finance 50

Advertiser: Paycor

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PYMNTS

MARCH 23, 2016

Let’s go back for a minute to the year 1999. It was just about a decade years after Tim Berners-Lee gave people the ability to actually use the Internet via World Wide Web. 171 million of the 6 billion humans on the planet were using the Internet. And 51 percent of CEOs said that the Internet probably wouldn’t have a big impact on their business.

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Gambling Technology Start-ups Retail 45

PYMNTS

MARCH 25, 2016

An inherent truth of the retail industry — that consumers, at the end of the day, wield the ultimate power in determining what products and companies succeed — can even be applied to entire business models. Pet retail is, by and large, in no danger of slowing down any time soon, given that consumers’ affection for cuddly companions (and not-so-objectively-cuddly ones, like fish and reptiles) translated into a $17.5 billion business worldwide as of last year.

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Retail Utah Sales Education 45

PYMNTS

MARCH 23, 2016

Cars that can find cheap gas, a table for 2 at a restaurant nearby and advance order milk, cereal and paper towels for a quick pick up on the way home are no longer a wild and crazy idea never to see the light of day. Software and applications are eating commerce. Well, to be precise, enabling it in ways that are limited only by the imaginations of the innovators who see ways to tuck commerce into the places where consumers and businesses meet to do business.

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PYMNTS

MARCH 24, 2016

Starbucks isn’t quite done tinkering with its rewards program. Following the news last month that the coffee giant will, beginning in April, revamp its loyalty program so that it rewards customers with “stars” (AKA points) based on dollar amount spent rather than per transaction (a change that was met with a mixed response from consumers), The New York Times reports that Starbucks is also going to offer a prepaid card that will provide customers with another way to earn stars.

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PYMNTS

MARCH 24, 2016

The world of mobile payments news this week started out in the one region of the world that doesn’t often make much news when it comes to what U.S. companies are doing in mobile commerce: Cuba. And everyone wanted in. Which brought about news from some of the biggest players in mobile payments, like Xoom, PayPal and Western Union. Beyond that, there was also plenty of news (and stats) that broke from the mobile pay bigwigs, like Apple, Google and Alibaba.

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Technology Start-ups Account accountant 44

PYMNTS

MARCH 23, 2016

Is there a limit to how many marketing emails customers will put up with? According to a new study, the answer is very much yes. EMarketer shares the recently released results of a survey conducted by First Insight, which, in Nov. 2015, polled 1,112 Internet users in the United States regarding their perspectives on emails they receive from retailers. “Too many” appears to equate with five or more marketing emails per week, with two-thirds of the respondents to the First Insight surv

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Speaker: James Kahler, COO of Full Course

Ever wondered where to splurge and where to safely conserve when it comes to operating and growing your restaurant? 🤔 Join James Kahler, COO of Full Course and industry visionary, in this new webinar where he'll talk all about best practices to invest in your restaurant's success! Whether you're a new business or an established restaurant, a seasoned pro or a rookie, you'll learn the keys to sustainable success in this competitive industry.

PYMNTS

MARCH 24, 2016

Corporations of all sizes are on their own path to digitizing business processes. But, according to enterprise content capture firm Top Image Systems, mid-market firms — those with less than $1 billion in annual turnover — are in a league of their own when it comes to digitization. These companies, explained Top Image Systems Chief Technology Officer Carsten Nelk and Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Pery, are ditching on-premise enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in droves.

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AP Automation Technology accounts payable Account 43

PYMNTS

MARCH 21, 2016

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said on Friday (March 18) that, at the agency’s request, a federal district court has entered a final judgment against Morgan Drexen, a debt relief company, with the resolution of a suit brought by the CFPB three years ago. The total judgment entered — where the firm is prohibited from collecting any more fees from customers — comes to $173 million — of which, $132.8 million is ordered as restitution and the remaining $40 million comes via civil penalty.

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PYMNTS

MARCH 24, 2016

While social media platforms, if utilized effectively , can be beneficial for any retail business, those with an established brand obviously have a leg-up — in terms of financial assets, infrastructure and reach — on more nascent companies in their ability to quickly turn social presence into profit. Within the music industry, merchandise sales are a major driver of revenue for artists, both online and off.

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PYMNTS

MARCH 23, 2016

Student loan debt — it’s an issue in the halls of academia across America, in the halls of power on Wall Street and even on the presidential campaign trail. However, few people ever stray beyond the talking points of “Debt bad; Degrees good!” and, as a result (or lack thereof), very little changes — except for debtors’ minimum payments and interest rates.

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Start-ups Tax Account accountant 42

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

MARCH 22, 2016

Managing supply chains can be done by hand — using paper and pen or spreadsheets for those more technologically inclined. That’s if your firm is small enough to give you a 360-degree view of what is owed, what is owned, what suppliers are sending materials your way and what orders are headed out the door. For firms of a certain size, however, manual processes prove to be a headache at best and erroneous at worst.

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B2B Manufacturing Technology Retail 42

PYMNTS

MARCH 22, 2016

When it comes to bitcoin, the stories about ransomware seem to be nothing out of the ordinary for the mainstream news cycle. Ironically, this most recent case comes less than a year after a New Jersey police officer from the same city was nabbed for selling bitcoin mining equipment. But this time, the case is a bit more serious as it has to do with hackers using bitcoin ransomware to lock out local government employees from their own computers.

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PYMNTS

MARCH 25, 2016

It’s been said that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics. In the world of corporate communications, it can be difficult to separate that last one from the first two, and when it comes to Apple Pay adoption numbers, one figure that seems to indicate promising growth may actually be hiding a nasty little secret. What could that be?

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Gaming Retail Technology Maine 42

PYMNTS

MARCH 23, 2016

Another case of bitcoin ransomware has left one Kentucky hospital in an “internal state of emergency,” according to a report from Krebs On Security. If this sounds a little like déjà vu, it’s because it is becoming a trend that’s all too common across both the private and public sectors. Just yesterday (March 21) PYMNTS reported about a town that was being held hostage via a bitcoin ransomware attack.

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Technology

PYMNTS

MARCH 25, 2016

In a quest to solve the logistics challenges of competitive retail delivery, a group of scientists at MIT are taking the low road — as in, below ground. The Wall Street Journal shares the story of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Institute for Data, Systems and Society, who — along with research and development groups that are affiliated with the school — are seeing if it might be possible to facilitate delivery in urban centers through the use of small, self-driv

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Massachusetts Transportation Retail Technology 41

PYMNTS

MARCH 24, 2016

Coming to a fingerprintable website near you: Apple Pay. In a world where pay buttons are becoming ubiquitous, Apple is firing its own shot across the bow, with news yesterday (March 23) that the technology giant is gearing up to debut Apple Pay and its fingerprint purchasing method across multiple websites later this year. The news, according to Re/code , was confirmed by multiple sources.

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Technology Retail Maine 41

PYMNTS

MARCH 23, 2016

For reasons outside every involved party’s control, the potential purchase of Starwood Hotels & Resorts by a Chinese investment group has become a side issue in the political conversation. However, now that Marriott International has emerged as a likely buyer, the optics — and concerned parties — have shifted. In a research note obtained by Barron’s , Barclays Analyst Mark DeVries outlined the ways in which American Express would likely be extremely put off by the purchase of Sta

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Retail 41

PYMNTS

MARCH 22, 2016

“The threats in cyberspace are as bad as it’s ever been.” Not exactly the most comforting words coming from Gen. Keith Alexander — the former director of the NSA who served under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Alexander, at PYMNTS’ Innovation Project 2016 last week at Harvard, gave a sobering reality check about the cybersecurity threats that could become an even scarier reality in the click of a button.

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Technology audit Gaming Government 41

Advertiser: Paycor

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PYMNTS

MARCH 21, 2016

Visa Europe is on a mission — and the latest step in that mission hit the ground today. Today (March 21) the company launched its “Cashfree and Proud” campaign, which aims to inspire consumers to switch to contactless payments, if they have not already. Targeting those who have either not yet made or seldom make contactless payments, the campaign aims to shine a light on the ease of using contactless — either via card, mobile or wearables. “Simply touch and pay for anything up

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Sales Technology Retail 41

PYMNTS

MARCH 25, 2016

Google reportedly has a secret project up its sleeve, and it may be awfully similar to the Amazon Echo. According to various media outlets, lingering “trust issues” between Google and Alphabet’s Nest division have prevented Nest from making progress on creating an Amazon Echo competitor, but Google itself may be pursuing the project now. While the original source of the story, The Information , doesn’t provide any specific details about the new “voice-controlled personal assistant device,” it di

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Technology 41

PYMNTS

MARCH 24, 2016

[link]. There’s no doubt that keeping payments data and customer data safe is job number one of every player in the payments ecosystem. But as much as this is a given — and, clearly, table stakes — there is a debate raging over the lines now being drawn between keeping data safe and keeping it private, as the ongoing debate between tech giant Apple and the U.S.

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PYMNTS

MARCH 23, 2016

Much like the crisis afflicting Hollywood mega-studios, it’s becoming exponentially harder to develop video games that make millions upon release. As production costs skyrocket but the odds of market success dwindle, even longtime pillars of the industry like Nintendo have started to branch out into areas that might not strike its traditional gamer base as entirely copacetic.

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Finance

PYMNTS

MARCH 22, 2016

If there’s one thing, other than performance issues, that consumers hate about their ISPs and TV providers, it’s the lack of human decency or basic communicability in customer service situations. Now, though, one of the industry’s worst offenders might have gotten a facelift in just the right places. TV Predictions first reported that Amazon has begun selling Comcast Internet, phone and TV bundles through a portal its calling the “Amazon Cable Store.” Though Comcast

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Sales Retail 41

PYMNTS

MARCH 24, 2016

Imagine a consumer who has never flown first class – they may know that the service itself is more luxurious but may never actually go forward with booking that ticket. But what if providing them with a virtual look at everything the first-class experience really offers is all it takes to change their purchasing behavior? Not only is there a chance that customer is likely to spring for the more expensive ticket, but once they actually fly first class chances are they won’t want to go back to the

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Retail Entertainment Education Technology 41

PYMNTS

MARCH 24, 2016

IoT seems virtually impossible to ignore these days, not that you’d purposely be trying to. IoT has the potential to improve lives, relieve workloads and, yes, cook for you. Sort of — it’s still early yet for actual IoT culinary offerings — but there are now connected devices in homes that come with Wi-Fi connectivity and can be controlled by mobile apps, which are likely the precursors of connected kitchens of the future.

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Maine 41

PYMNTS

MARCH 23, 2016

Whether it was intended or not, Amazon is largely responsible for creating a culture where consumers no longer appreciate but demand their products are delivered rapidly for no extra charge. While the eCommerce giant has managed to narrow this window to one or two days, an unlikely brand is saying that it should take no longer than an hour. That’s the word from American Apparel, which announced a partnership with on-demand delivery service Postmates on Monday (March 21).

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Advertisement

"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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