Sat.Dec 21, 2019 - Fri.Dec 27, 2019

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Central Bank Of Bahamas To Introduce Digital Currency

PYMNTS

The Central Bank of the Bahamas is planning to start a rollout of its new digital currency on Friday (Dec. 27) in Exuma. Called Project Sand Dollar, the name of the currency will also be the sand dollar, according to a press release. The move is long-awaited and comes after years of work through the Bahamian Payments System Modernization Initiative (PSMI), which began in the early 2000s.

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Switching Payroll Companies: A How-to for the “How-come I Didn’t Switch Earlier?”

Patriot Software

Unhappy with your current payroll provider? Most business owners (68%) agree that running payroll is their most difficult business task. With payroll being such a complicated but necessary business function, it makes sense that you’d want a simple solution. But, isn’t switching payroll companies hard? Eh, there’s a little footwork, particularly when changing payroll providers […].

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Chinese Finance Group Calls For AI Regulation In Ecosystem

PYMNTS

Policy advisers at a leading think tank said that China should introduce a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence in the finance sector, according to a report from Reuters on Sunday (Dec 22). The same framework should be in place to improve technology used by regulators in efforts to strengthen supervision throughout the industry, the think tank also says.

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Visa Partners With TD To Power US, Canada Money Transfers 

PYMNTS

Visa is teaming up with TD Bank to introduce a new solution to ease money transfers between Canadian and U.S. accounts, Visa announced Monday (Dec. 23). . Powered by Visa Direct, the latest solution — TD Bank (US) to TD (Canada) Transfer — enables real-time transfers for Canadian users to move money from their U.S. TD Bank accounts quickly and easily. .

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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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12 Ways Consumers Will Pay (And Be Paid) In 2020

PYMNTS

Past is prologue. For the annual holiday exercise at PYMNTS (describing the 12 main or most exciting ways to pay in 2019), it is clear that what has happened this year will have big implications for the new decade. Here are the 2019 payment trends that made the biggest splash, and promise to make even bigger splashes in the new decade. #1: Voice — And Now, With Emotion.

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JPMC Co-CEO Sees Big Tech As ‘Real Competitors’ In 2020

PYMNTS

Daniel Pinto, the co-president and chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase , told CNBC in an interview that 2020 will likely see sturdy economic growth of about 1.5 percent or 1.8 percent in the United States. That, he said, signaled an economy that is strong on consumer spending. He said things were not so solid in the realm of corporate spending as U.S. and China relations deteriorated this year amid a trade war and tariffs.

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FBI Helps Businesses Outwit Fraudsters By Deploying Decoy Data

PYMNTS

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working firsthand with companies to outsmart cybercriminals by deploying decoy data, Ars Technica reported on Friday (Dec. 20). The FBI program IDLE (Illicit Data Loss Exploitation) has companies plant decoy data as a way to confuse thieves looking to hack valuable information. The fake data is mixed with real information to make it appear authentic.

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When One State’s Tax-Exempt Necessity Is Another’s High-Tax Discretionary Purchase

PYMNTS

Sales taxes empower governments to maintain critical public services, but they can also make medical essentials too expensive for those who need them. Campaigns against taxing obligatory items are spreading across the United States, forcing states to rethink their revenue generation decisions. Many governments historically lower or remove taxes on items they wish to make easier to purchase.

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Bitcoin Daily: PBOC Says Digital Yuan Won’t Need Currency Reserves, Hackers Steal $480K From Nuls

PYMNTS

The People’s Bank of China said that China’s cryptocurrency, the digital yuan, will not need a currency basket to keep its value, according to a Monday (Dec. 23) report by Coindesk. Changchun Mu, head of the PBOC digital currency research subsidiary, shared the news at the China Finance Association Academic Annual Meeting, and China Finance Forum Annual Meeting in Beijing. .

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PayPal Wants To Keep Acquiring Smaller Companies

PYMNTS

Payments company PayPal recently acquired Chinese payment platform GoPay, and it wants to continue to complete such deals, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The company wants to pursue acquisitions throughout 2020. “There’s a lot of opportunities to acquire companies inorganically,” Chief Financial Officer John Rainey said. The GoPay deal, which was the acquisition of a 70 percent stake in the company, was completed Dec. 19.

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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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Big Banks Surge Amid Strong Holiday Spending

PYMNTS

Some of the largest U.S. banks, like JPMorgan Chase , Bank of America (BoA) and Citigroup , gained as consumers spent during a robust holiday season, according to a report by Bloomberg. BoA gained 1 percent to its highest point since October 2008, and Cit saw a gain of 1.5 percent, which is the biggest jump since January 2018. Wells Fargo and Truist Financial Corp. also gained.

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Tech Gains Boost Nasdaq To Record High

PYMNTS

In an historic day, fueled by gains in tech shares, the Nasdaq Composite Index moved past 9,000 for the first time, Bloomberg reported. The new Nasdaq record is attributed to key performers, including Amazon , as the online commerce juggernaut reported their 2019 holiday sales broke previous records. European markets were still closed for Christmas.

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Using Airbnb’s Playbook To Give Corporate Housing A Digital Makeover

PYMNTS

Up until recently, business travel and hospitality would take a few general forms. Perhaps a fancy hotel downtown. Or less fancy digs near the airport. Or maybe a relatively bland extended-stay operation right off the interstate. But digital technology and the sharing economy, already the disrupters of so much, are now challenging the status quo when it comes to corporate housing.

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What’s Under The Millennial Christmas Tree This Year?

PYMNTS

All that’s left now, more or less, is the rush of returns that will all but overwhelm some retailers. Christmas Eve is upon us, and the last gifts are making their way from basements, attics and bedroom closets to stockings and trees. So, what kinds of products will people be getting this year? To get a better sense of what’s coming (and to have some holiday fun), PYMNTS recently caught up with Akash Garg, CTO of Afterpay — a company that offers flexible payment terms, and essentially serves a d

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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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Did Blockchain Peak In 2019?

PYMNTS

To separate hype from hope, and to separate both from reality…. To quote a line from the Watergate scandal movie, “All the President’s Men:” Follow the money. And for blockchain, a few warning signs have been flashing that all may not be as rosy as some observers may have hoped, had wanted. And so, for a jumping-off point to examine whether the peak has been seen: Follow the money.

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Payments Flash-Forward: Why December 2020 Will Be One To Remember

PYMNTS

There’s an old saying, ascribed variously to the old proverbs, baseball great Yogi Berra and physicist Niels Bohr: Predictions are difficult, especially when they’re about the future. Regardless of the source, the sentiment rings true. The farther one looks out over the horizon, the hazier the picture becomes. That’s especially true in payments, where technology can lead to seismic shifts in the way we pay, where we pay and even when we pay, as commerce becomes ever global and a 24/7 activity.

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Facebook Will Stop Using Phone Numbers For Friend Pushes

PYMNTS

In its ongoing attempts to fix its privacy standards, Facebook will no longer use phone numbers to determine who one sees on their “people you may know” list, according to Reuters. The move is an attempt by the company — which has been dogged by privacy scandals for years now — to correct misuses of peoples’ data. When it was revealed last year that Facebook was using peoples’ personal phone numbers for two-factor authentication for advertising, privacy advocates were outraged, sayin

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Turkish Hacker From London Convicted Of Apple Blackmail Attempt

PYMNTS

A 22-year-old Turkish man from London was convicted of attempting to blackmail Apple out of $75,000 in cryptocurrency or a thousand $100 iTunes gift cards by falsely claiming he had access to iCloud and other Apple accounts, various outlets reported on Monday (Dec. 23). The National Cyber Crime Unit of the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested Kerem Albayrak at his London home on March 28, 2017.

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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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RiskRecon Joins Mastercard To Amplify Cybersecurity Safeguards

PYMNTS

Mastercard is purchasing artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics startup RiskRecon to accelerate the development of cybersecurity solutions, Mastercard announced on Tuesday (Dec. 23). Cyberattacks have become a critical issue for companies of all sizes and a threat to privacy and data security. Data breaches and ransomware attacks jeopardize customers’ records and trust.

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Colombia Blocks Uber From Using Its Ride-Hailing App

PYMNTS

Uber was ordered last Friday by a Colombian judge to stop securing business in their country via its popular ride-hailing app, according to a report from Reuters. The country’s Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) said Uber, with 2.3 active users and roughly 88,000 driver partners in Columbia, violated market rules. The decision follows a lawsuit filed against the company by COTECH SA.

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JPMC Co-President Shares Economic Predictions For 2020

PYMNTS

Daniel Pinto, the co-president and chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase , told CNBC in an interview that 2020 will likely see sturdy economic growth of about 1.5 percent or 1.8 percent in the United States. That, he said, signaled an economy that is strong on consumer spending. He said things were not so solid in the realm of corporate spending as U.S. and China relations deteriorated this year amid a trade war and tariffs.

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Danske Bank Faces Additional Lawsuit From Investors 

PYMNTS

Danske Bank is facing another lawsuit from about 60 investors over alleged money laundering, according to a report by Reuters. . It’s the third lawsuit by investors against the bank, and the plaintiffs are seeking 1.5 billion crowns ($224 million). The other two lawsuits involve 232 pension funds, and separate investors are seeking claims of almost $800 million.

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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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Five Lessons In Retail Reinvention From 2019

PYMNTS

The year is almost done — in less than a week the ball will be dropped and the new year and new decade will be underway. But before we shut the door on 2019, it bears taking a moment to note how much the world of retail has changed in the last year, a fitting capstone on a decade that has seen retail as the American consumer commonly knew it taken to the ground and rebuilt nearly from the foundations.

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How AI Will Decide What You Wear

PYMNTS

At the start of the 2010s, retail merchandising was, at base, a lot of guesswork. The fashion industry made decisions on its seasonal lines once or twice a year, production runs were ordered and goods were shipped. If things went well, and brands guessed right about consumer tastes, that was all well and good. If not, adjustments to the remainder of the stock would be made, and promotions and discounts were thrown out to motivate the consumer.

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Automakers Clamoring For Amazon Alexa 

PYMNTS

As demand for connectivity in vehicles grows, automakers are clamoring to put Amazon Alexa behind the wheel — or at least in the passenger seat, CNBC reported on Tuesday (Dec. 24). Demand for voice-activated technology is “through the roof” as 2020 rings in, according to Ned Curic, vice president of Alexa Auto. “Two and a half years ago, we had nothing,” he told the network last week, following a tour of Amazon’s Seattle headquarters.

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2019: The Year Of Retailer And Delivery App Collaborations

PYMNTS

This year, apps aimed to make it easier and more convenient for consumers to order their favorite foods and sundries, with restaurants and other retailers tapping into delivery. To help bring these options to more consumers, retailers and technology companies decided to join forces. Starbucks kicked off 2019 by adding additional cities to its delivery network through a partnership with Uber Eats.

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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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Indonesia Reduces Import Tax Threshold To Protect Smaller Firms

PYMNTS

Indonesia has announced it’s going to reduce the threshold for taxing imported eCommerce consumer goods from $75 to $3, to help control the purchases of cheap foreign goods and help protect smaller Indonesian firms, according to a report by Reuters. Overseas shipments to the country continue to grow, with eCommerce purchases hitting a milestone of 50 million packages shipped to the country so far this year, compared to 19.6 million last year and 6.1 million a year prior to that.

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JCPenney’s CEO Has Tough Road Ahead

PYMNTS

In the coming year, the relatively new CEO of JCPenney , Jill Soltau, has much work ahead of her. Soltau has to stop a stretch of losses and sales declines at the company and prove to investors that it could compete as well as belong in the 2020s, Yahoo Finance reported. “JCPenney has had a tough run,” said former Saks CEO Stephen Sadove. “They have now got to figure out how to generate some growth.

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Nike Kaepernick Shoe A Sellout Success

PYMNTS

Nike ’s new shoe featuring former Quarterback Colin Kaepernick sold out on its first day, according to CNBC. The ‘True to 7’ shoe, this year’s installment of Nike’s Air Force 1 shoe, features Kaepernick’s image in an embroidered portrait on the shoe’s heel tab, as well as a reflective swoosh and Kaepernick’s logo on the tongue. It goes for $110. Kaepernick was let go from the National Football League (NFL) after kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and systemic racial

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Walmart Focuses On Supercenters As Strategy To Take On Amazon

PYMNTS

To thrive in the eCommerce age as it contends with Amazon , Walmart is planning to make its supercenters the heart of a network of businesses operating together to drive profits and bring in customers, The Wall Street Journal reported. Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon said during a strategy meeting that supercenters are the focus of the company’s plan.

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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.