Sat.Mar 14, 2020 - Fri.Mar 20, 2020

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California Cops Enlist Drones For Lockdown Enforcement

PYMNTS

A police department in California is going to use drones equipped with loudspeakers to help enforce the state lockdown orders imposed due to the coronavirus, according to a report by the Financial Times. The Chula Vista PD has purchased two drones worth $11,000 each. They’re made by DJI, a Chinese company, and the department plans to also add night vision cameras to the flying vehicles.

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IRS Formally Extends Tax Payment Deadline

Katz,Sapper&Miller

On March 18, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2020-17, which provides additional details and important clarifications related to the extended tax payment deadline. In particular, the notice clarifies that the extended tax payment deadline applies to both 2019 balance-due payments and 2020 estimated income tax payments that are due April 15, 2020.

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FDIC Approves Square For Banking License

PYMNTS

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ( FDIC ) gave the green light to an application from the FinTech firm Square to create a de novo industrial bank in Utah, the agency said on Wednesday (March 18). Square Financial Services will originate commercial loans to the retailers that use Square for payments. The headquarters will be in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Fintech Finastra Hit By Suspected Ransomware Attack

PYMNTS

Banking technology FinTech Finastra was hit with a security breach on Friday (March 20), and was forced to shutter key systems and send employees home, according to a report by KrebsonSecurity. Although the company’s statement doesn’t mention the type of attack specifically, Krebs believes it is likely a ransomware attack based on the reaction. Two sources forwarded internal notices about the outage.

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How to Build the Ideal HR Team

HR doesn’t exist in a vacuum. This work impacts everyone: from the C-Suite to your newest hire. It also drives results. Learn how to make it all happen in Paycor’s latest guide.

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Facebook Funds $100M In Grants For SMBs Affected By Coronavirus

PYMNTS

Facebook wants to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) survive the coronavirus pandemic, and is offering $100 million in grants to 30,000 companies in over 30 countries. Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, said on her page and in a blog post on Tuesday (March 17) that the social media giant wants to “do our part” to help with the “enormous challenge in front of us.”.

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Walmart To Reward Workers With $550M In Bonuses Amid Coronavirus

PYMNTS

To honor staffers who are maintaining stocks of supplies on shelves as shoppers visit locations in droves, Walmart said it would pay almost $550 million in bonuses to hourly workers. The retailer has experienced an increase in sales as consumers stock up on toilet paper, food, hand sanitizer and other products as they get ready to remain in their residents with increasing COVID-19 cases, CNBC reported.

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Goldman Sachs Adds Global Payments To SAP Ariba

PYMNTS

A new Goldman Sachs deal will allow more companies to work with with the wide swathe of businesses using SAP’s Ariba Network , which boasts trillions of dollars in commerce transactions annually, according to a press release. Goldman Sachs’ capabilities for cross-border payments and tech-savvy achievements that simplify payments as reasons why SAP is also getting something out of the deal.

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New Instant Payment Networks Launch, From Aruba To Hungary

PYMNTS

Speed drives innovation, particularly in payments. In this week’s look at payment rails innovation, PYMNTS finds a slew of new markets around the world adopting entirely new payment networks that can support their demand for real-time transactions. While some geographies have opted to collaborate with the private sector to develop their own national instant payment networks, others are adopting solutions like RippleNet and SWIFT gpi to modernize their banks’ capabilities.

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Bitcoin Daily: Some Starbucks App Users Can Now Pay In Bakkt Cash; Russia’s Central Bank Says Bill Would Ban Cryptos

PYMNTS

Select Starbucks mobile app customers are now seeing a payment choice of “Bakkt Cash,” CoinDesk reported. A spokesperson for Starbucks told the outlet, “We are currently conducting a limited test for our customers, using the Bakkt payment method. Customers can see Bakkt as an option but the test is only available at this time.”. Intercontinental Exchange, the parent firm of Bakkt, had first made it known in the summer of 2018 that Starbucks was eyeing the retail use of digital currency payments.

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JPMC First Big Bank To Shutter Branches As Virus Spreads

PYMNTS

JPMorgan Chase is temporarily closing 1,000 branches — about 20 percent of its locations — in the wake of the coronavirus, according to a report in The Financial Times citing an internal memo. It is the largest retail bank to shutter branches because of the pandemic. A JPMorgan Chase official sent a memo to workers on Wednesday (March 18) that announced the closing of about a fifth of their branches, with the exception of drive-through windows.

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Planning Your Restaurant's Path to Profitability

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.

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NEW REPORT: How COVID-19 Changed The Daily Life For 85 Percent Of US Consumers

PYMNTS

The United States has reached a tipping point on COVID-19, with federal state and local governments implementing new restrictions on where consumers can travel, how many can gather in any given location and requiring restaurants and bars to shut their doors in the hopes of slowing the spread. But for all the actions these governmental bodies have taken to restrict consumers’ movements, most consumers had already changed their routines to avoid it, on their own free will.

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How Opening Bank Data Can Transform SMB Lending

PYMNTS

Open banking’s impact on small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) continues to proliferate as traditional financial institutions (FIs) embrace the opportunity to unlock data for third-party platforms. FinTechs continue to push the envelope to see how far open banking frameworks can go in improving the SMB banking experience, and increasingly, SMB lending is shifting to the center of these collaborative efforts.

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eCommerce Fraud Presents A $12 Billion Problem

PYMNTS

With the coronavirus putting eCommerce front and center, it has unfortunately been joined by its cousin: online retail fraud. Conservative estimates put online sales at $630 billion this year. At the same time, a new report shows that fraudsters will take more than $12 billion off the table. That doesn’t count alienated customers who are ready to pull the trigger on social media with a bad review.

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SoftBank May Drop Plan To Buy $3B In WeWork Stock

PYMNTS

A big part of SoftBank ’s bailout plans for office sharing company WeWork could be in jeopardy after SoftBank backed away from a plan to buy $3 billion worth of the company’s shares, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. On Tuesday (March 17), WeWork shareholders were sent a message from SoftBank claiming that several regulatory probes into WeWork were being done by not only the Department of Justice (DOJ), but also the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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How Automation is Driving Efficiency Through the Last Mile of Reporting

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

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Red Hat: Innovating Payments The Open Source Way

PYMNTS

To stay competitive, especially with digital startups unencumbered by legacy systems, traditional financial institutions (FIs) need to deliver seamless customer services to individual consumers and enterprise customers alike. To that end, Vincent Caldeira, chief technologist for FSI in APAC for Red Hat told PYMNTS, FIs — especially incumbent FIs — are facing rapid changes in payments that demand they modernize payments processing, embedding new functionality along the way.

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Stopping Fraudsters From Taking The Travel Industry For An $11B Ride

PYMNTS

Fraud attacks’ frequency and complexity will likely continue to rise despite merchants’ best efforts to prevent them. Bad actors are tapping into personally identifiable information (PII) gathered from previous hacks to orchestrate their increasingly sophisticated efforts, including data purchased from the dark web to hide their tracks or pieces cobbled together from several victims to create difficult-to-detect synthetic identities.

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Why Mobile Card Apps Must Be More Than ‘A Nice Little Tool’ For FIs

PYMNTS

While fast, explosive and unexpected change is almost impossible to miss — the global domino effect the coronavirus has kicked off being the most obvious recent example — change that happens more quietly and incrementally doesn’t quite set off the same type of alarm bells. Such is the situation in financial services, where the capabilities that have been unlocked by digitization have rather radically changed consumers and preferences — although perhaps in ways that don’t stand out as obvious.

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Could The Coronavirus Crisis Solve Digital IDs’ ‘Chicken and Egg’ Problem?

PYMNTS

When all is said and done, when the pandemic is over, when we emerge on the other side of this, it’s safe to say that who we are – no matter where we live – will have changed a bit. So will the ways in which we prove we are who we say we are. In an interview with Karen Webster, Philipp Pointner, chief product officer at Jumio , said the coronavirus may hasten a shift from paper and plastic documents toward digital ID verification.

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Register Now: Sneak Peek Into Close Automation SkyStem Web Demo

Technology is rapidly changing the way accountants perform and manage month-end activities. Spreadsheets, email, and shared drives no longer have to slow us down. Join us as we present a "sneak peek" recorded demo of SkyStem's month-end close solution – ART. In under four weeks, your team can start reaping the benefits of month-end close automation by vastly reducing spreadsheets, cut down on reconciliation work, speed up the month-end close, and better manage your remote team.

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Amazon, JPMorgan Donate Money To Ease Coronavirus Crisis

PYMNTS

JPMorgan said it will to donate $50 million to groups and organizations that provide support and supplies to people affected by the coronavirus all over the world, according to a report by Reuters. . The first $15 million will go to groups directly dealing with how the virus is affecting people directly, with $5 million to institutions that handle community development, to dole out low- or no-interest loans.

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Revolut Rolls Out New Banking App For Kids

PYMNTS

With new mobile app Revolut Junior, global finance platform Revolut wants to get children into the money business, according to a press release. Revolut Junior will be targeted at children from the ages of 7 to 17, and will aim to teach them about finances, saving money and more. Revolut Junior Product Owner Aurelien Guichard said in the release that the drive behind the project is the basic idea that financial literacy and knowledge has to sprout first from a child’s home.

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Apple/Disney: Is Apple About To Make The Happiest Acquisition On Earth?

PYMNTS

The latest rumors about Apple buying Walt Disney Co. aren’t new – they go back to Disney ’s 2006 acquisition of Pixar. That made late Pixar Co-founder Steve Jobs into Disney’s largest shareholder and a member of its board. Of course, Jobs was also co-founder of a little computer startup you might have heard of called Apple, and at the time was in his second tour of duty as its CEO.

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HSBC, Alibaba Link Up On Quick eCommerce Loans

PYMNTS

Banking giant HSBC and Cainiao Network Technology, which is a logistics arm of Alibaba Group , have announced they will offer rapid finance approvals to online merchants that use Chinese shopping site Tmall, according to reports. The South China Morning Post reported that the firms will offer seven-day approvals for loans up to $500,000, and 1,800 Hong Kong Tmall merchants will be eligible.

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Recruit and Retain New Blue-Collar Talent

Blue-collar jobs have a branding problem. One company, GEON, partnered with Paycor to find the solution. Learn how to attract, engage, and retain blue-collar employees, helping them build meaningful careers – and support your company’s goals.

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Bitcoin Daily: CoinZoom Crypto Exchange Debuts Visa Debit Card; Wave Financial To Offer Kentucky Bourbon Tokens As Investment

PYMNTS

CoinZoom has officially rolled out an exchange and a CoinZoom Visa card, according to an announcement. Customers will have the ability to purchase, sell and spend digital currencies on the exchange with the rollout. The card, which is directly connected to client accounts, lets clients instantly change their digital currency balances to fiat that they can spend at merchants around the globe.

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IKEA Donates 50K Found Masks To Swedish Hospital

PYMNTS

On the West Coast of Sweden, workers at an IKEA store stumbled on a coronavirus-fighting treasure trove: 50,000 unused face masks to donate to a local hospital, according to a report by Reuters. The masks were purchased during the bird flu epidemic and then never used. Johan Andersson is the location’s logistics chief and it was his team that found the masks.

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SWIFT Delays X-Border Payments Migration To ISO 20022

PYMNTS

Cross-border payments via Swift’s ISO 20022 migration, originally set to roll out by November 2021, have now been set back a year and are expected to come by the end of 2022 instead, according to reports. The move is the company’s answer to banks having trouble with decommissioning and preparing their infrastructure for the move. ISO 20022 is set to make changes to the payment landscape as a whole, according to the company.

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Texas Lets Eateries Deliver Alcohol With Food Orders

PYMNTS

To help address financial challenges brought about by the coronavirus, Texas Governor Greg Abbott put into place a waiver that lets restaurants deliver alcohol with food orders, ABC 13 reported. Eateries with a mixed drink permit can offer wine, beer or mixed drinks for delivery if they are bundled with a food order from the establishment. The governor also asked the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to waive specific stipulations to let alcoholic beverage wholesalers, retailers and manufact

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Join the Instant Payment Revolution: Read 7 Must-Know Facts for Small Businesses

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.

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COVID-19 Restrictions Put Half Of US Jobs At Risk

PYMNTS

As the U.S. hunkers down indoors to control the spread of the coronavirus, people are starting to fret about their jobs, with experts saying some 50 percent could end up unemployed, according to a CNN report on Monday (March 16). Virtually every industry is expected to be affected, from food trucks and restaurants to service businesses and gig economy workers.

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Fraudsters Request Pre-Payment For Bogus COVID-19 Vaccine

PYMNTS

Phone scammers claiming to be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are saying they have a vaccine to cure the coronavirus (COVID-19), and are asking for credit card and Social Security numbers from unsuspecting victims to reserve it, according to a report by The Verge. One California police department recently warned its residents on Twitter about the malicious scam.

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Monzo’s Business Banking Account Offering Goes Live

PYMNTS

U.K. challenger bank Monzo has launched business bank accounts this week after a year-long trial period in which 2,500 customers got early access, according to a TechCrunch report. There will be two options aimed at small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs): a free account and a paid premium account which costs 5 pounds ($6.06) per month. The free account, called Business Lite, will have similar features to the regular Monzo accounts, along with providing web access and mobile banking from an app

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Kombucha, Bingeing, Legos And Wine: How We’ll Keep Busy In Quarantine

PYMNTS

In 1987, Disney launched one of the more successful ad campaigns in its history. It ran right after the Super Bowl game between the New York Giants and Denver Broncos when winning the Giants’ quarterback, Phil Simms, was asked a question that we at PYMNTS wholly approve of: “What’s next? Simms gave the answer that has since become so famous as to become a meme: “I’m going to Disney World!”.

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How CPA Firms Can Profit From Payroll Services Without the Extra Work

"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.