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Peak toy season is upon us. Over the next six weeks, 40 to 60 percent of American consumers will purchase at least one toy during the holiday season. As a rule, toys are a bit like potato chips – it’s hard to stop once you’ve started. Some of those toys will be for children and some will be for the adults themselves (admit it, you’re thinking about getting a new lightsaber), but on average Americans buy between $25 and $30 billion in toys per year, according to The Toy Association.
As the calendar turns to December, it is time to consider year-end planning opportunities and issues. While this article primarily addresses tax planning, there are other items to consider as well.
Fraudsters launching forays against financial institutions (FIs) is a tale as old as, well, financial institutions. For the honest banker, there’s a constant need to upgrade defenses and proactively fend off attacks. But not everybody has the resources for a complete cybersecurity makeover — or the $100,000 to sweep a successful hack under the rug. Such resource and budget constraints may be the reason why, even as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are enjoying high adoption rate
When the limit on contactless payments in the U.K. was raised in 2016 from £20 to £30, the overall volume of contactless payments tripled. While, for many industry spectators, the growth in volume of contactless payments equated to a correlating drop in cash use, the actual numbers reveal that despite a growth in competition from alternate payment forms, cash is continuing to hold its ground.
Mid-year performance reviews aren’t just boxes for HR to check. Paycor’s toolkit empowers leaders to: Identify high-potential team members. Boost engagement with meaningful feedback. Support struggling employees. Nurture top talent to drive results. Learn how to ignite employee potential through meaningful feedback. When you nurture top talent, everybody wins.
Timing is everything, as the saying goes. It’s also the story of a startup named Poly, and its visual identification software, says its CEO, Alberto Rizzoli. Two years ago, Rizzoli began developing an AI platform capable of seeing an object – or person – and “visually” identifying it, with a high degree of accuracy. The use case, then, was the ability to enable smartphones to be more accessible for the visually impaired.
It’s tempting for small merchants to see cash through rose- (or should we say green-) tinted glasses, but major industry players think it’s time to break up the love affair — or, at least, give both parties some distance. Players like Mastercard are encouraging micro businesses to give mobile payment acceptance a whirl, hoping they’ll feel the attraction.
Mastercard has announced the list of startup companies chosen to participate in its Mastercard Start Path program, a group the company is calling its “most diverse class” ever. Mastercard revealed the list in a recent announcement, including startups that span a range of verticals. Those partaking in the program, which aims to support later-stage FinTech and technology startups, total 11 firms selected from five countries.
Mastercard has announced the list of startup companies chosen to participate in its Mastercard Start Path program, a group the company is calling its “most diverse class” ever. Mastercard revealed the list in a recent announcement, including startups that span a range of verticals. Those partaking in the program, which aims to support later-stage FinTech and technology startups, total 11 firms selected from five countries.
We are reasonably sure that Uber will be happy to see 2017 come to an end. Scandals of one form or another buffeted the company throughout the early part of the year, leading to the departure of its founder, CEO Travis Kalanick , in late June. But the year’s earlier rough ride might now be viewed as a walk in the park when compared to the news of the last two weeks.
India’s Axis Bank has launched its instant, cross-border payments solution less than a year after announcing a collaboration with blockchain technology firm Ripple. The bank announced news on Monday (Nov. 27) that its global payments service, which uses Ripple’s blockchain infrastructure, is now up and running. Retail customers can receive payments from the UAE’s RAKBANK using the platform, while corporate clients in India can receive payments from Singapore’s Standard Chartered Bank in real-tim
When customers are feeling hungry — maybe even a little hangry — the fewer obstacles between them and food, the better. Waiting in line? Talking to a human cashier? Too much hassle. Just get them those calories, stat. Alright, so maybe it’s not always quite so dramatic, but it’s certainly true that customers seem more and more willing to forego human interaction in fast food and fast casual dining environments.
[link]. Every group of friends has a social director, Fevo CEO Ari Daie told Karen Webster in this week’s Matchmakers conversation – that one person who organizes the cats and gets a group of otherwise passive adults organized for a game, concert or weekend trip. This person’s life, Daie noted, is full of friction. They have to organize the group, figure out when everyone is free, what they want to pay for tickets and then how to purchase that block of tickets for the group.
In the climb from contributor to leader, the rules quietly change. But if you’re aiming for the summit, the air gets thinner, and what got you here won’t be enough to get you to the top. 🗻 What made you successful early in your finance career—technical accuracy, sharp analysis, flawless execution—won’t be what carries you to the next level. The higher you go, the more your effectiveness depends on how you connect, adapt, and communicate.
First Data , a global leader in commerce-enabling technology and solutions, announced news that it has acquired BluePay Holdings. A provider of technology-enabled payment processing for merchants in the U.S. and Canada, BluePay was one of First Data’s largest distribution partners with a strong focus on software-enabled payments and card-not-present transactions.
The average American woman’s size doesn’t much resemble the average size of a runway model — a fact well-known to any woman who ever stood in a dressing room trying on jeans and wondering what space alien they were cut for. The average female shopper in the U.S. is wearing a size 14 or 16 — 35 percent to 60 percent of women depending on whose figures you like — but most mainstream retailers do not carry clothes above a size 14.
Many firms saw noticeable ups and downs in the past few days, with some experiencing highs like venture capital (VC) backing and new solutions to take extra tasks off employees’ hands. Others saw extreme lows, like massive devaluations and delays in important new product releases. Today in PYMNTS’ data, rideshare company Uber has had a rough 10 days, B2B procurement solutions are saving corporates time and money, VC funding rounds are backing a little bit of everything, investment activity in th
Shared bike giants Mobike and Ofo deny they used 6 billion yuan ($909 million) of user deposits to support their rapidly expanding businesses. Anonymous sources also allege that both bike sharing companies are suffering from money mismanagement and struggling to pay bike manufacturers. According to China-based news source Caixin, Ofo said in a statement it has always had measures in place to guarantee the safety of users’ deposits, and those customers can get their money back without any problem
The most overlooked, yet most critical, element of transformation is preparing people for change. Automation and AI aren't just technical upgrades, they’re cultural shifts which can challenge identities. That’s why change management isn’t a side project—it’s the foundation. In finance, where precision and process rule, navigating change can feel especially disruptive.
Procurement, like other finance-related areas in the enterprise, is quickly finding itself with a seat at the corporate leaders’ table — but it hasn’t necessarily been an easy ride to get there. Even as new technologies offer sophisticated eProcurement, eSourcing and spend management solutions for corporates, grappling with the adoption of these tools has been a challenge for many organizations, says Alex Yakubovich, CEO of Scout RFP.
It seems individuals will always find a way to get the most out of things, be it expecting innovative technology that will solve their problems or understanding the long-term value involved in a hefty purchase price. Today in PYMNTS’ data, employees have admitted to stealing billions of dollars from employers, biometric software with facial recognition is growing in proliferation, Americans are having trouble keeping money in their savings accounts, businesses are working with month-old data and
While it seems like much of physical retail is trying to figure out how to better emulate eCommerce brands, eCommerce startups are actually trying to figure out a way to get a toe-hold into the physical retail world. And Simon Malls — with over 300 shopping centers nationwide — wants to help them do just that. The trouble with physical retail from the startup point of view is overhead: Long-term leases in untested physical spaces lack a certain appeal, particularly in an era when brick-and-morta
The Chinese government’s financial regulators have distributed new rules to local governments, targeting the fast-growing online micro-lending industry. According to news from Reuters , under the new rules, unlicensed organizations and individuals are not allowed to conduct a lending business. Lending institutions are also not allowed to give loan applications to consumers who have no source of income or to mislead consumers into overborrowing.
Finance used to be the function that counted, now it's the one that’s counted on. 📊 For accounting firms, controllers, and finance leaders, expectations are rising faster than headcount. Businesses want agile forecasts, granular analysis, seamless reporting, and smart automation—often without added resources while demanding uncompromised accuracy and compliance.
Retail email offers aren’t as effective as they should be, according to a Monday (Nov. 27) article published by the Wall Street Journal , and personalization is key to turning that around. “Nearly 90 percent of organizations say they are focused on personalizing customer experiences, yet only 40 percent of shoppers say that information they get from retailers is relevant to their tastes and interests,” said Brendan Witcher, a principal analyst at Forrester Research Inc.
What do you get when a group of esteemed observers and participants in the financial system — among them Nobel laureates and billionaires and not a few government officials — chime in, as one, about the lures and lunacy of unchecked speculation? You get cause for concern. Food for thought. And enough IQ points, wealth and wealth of experience to give even the most cheerful of bitcoin boosters pause.
With another Small Business Saturday in the books, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are still kept on their toes by the yearly spike in sales this time of year. For many, that means seeking external financing to fund an increase in business. The latest data on small business finance suggests entrepreneurs luckily have a range of options when it comes to seeking working capital as large institutional lenders continue to increase their SMB loan application approval rates.
As the value of a single Bitcoin has risen to more than $9,000 per coin, climbing nearly six points in 24 hours, some are worried the cryptocurrency is in a bubble. Google Trends noted the search term “buy bitcoin with credit card” is nearing its historic peak according to data from Nick Colas, co-founder of market research firm Datatrek Research, CNBC reported Monday (Nov. 27).
Great leadership development is the key to sustainable business growth. Are you ready to design an effective program? HR can use Paycor’s framework to: Set achievable goals. Align employee and company needs. Support different learning styles. Empower the next generation of leaders. Invest in your company’s future with a strong leadership development program.
Google is reportedly considering combining Nest Labs, its home automation unit, with its hardware team, reported The Wall Street Journal. Citing sources familiar with the talks, The Journal reported that the move would reverse a big part of Google’s move two years ago, which split up the company into different businesses under the Alphabet parent. The paper noted that if Nest and its 1,000 workers became part of Google, it would mean Alphabet is pulling back from its strategy to keep the core Go
India-based Paytm Payments Bank not only wants to become the world’s largest digital bank , but also to evolve into a financial services company providing a slew of services like wealth management and trading. In an interview with Bloomberg published Tuesday (Nov. 28), Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma said the company is aiming to have 500 million bank accounts.
ManageGo , a New York company that provides payment and maintenance scheduling services online for landlords and tenants, will enable tenants to make rent payments with bitcoin. According to news from CNBC , ManageGo said the ability to pay via bitcoin will kick off in the early part of next year with tenants able to pay with the cryptocurrency via the company’s mobile app.
Gone are the days of bandits terrorizing banks in the Old West – but that doesn’t mean banks are safe in the modern age. Online fraudsters pose threats that those bank robbers couldn’t possibly fathom, with the power to potential affect hundreds of thousands of consumers’ accounts – if not more. And now, new financial institutions are relying on technology to find ways to stop increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals in their tracks.
Distributed finance teams are rewriting how the back-office runs, and attackers are taking notes. Disconnected workflows, process blind spots, and rising cyber threats are more than just growing pains—they’re liabilities. The challenge isn’t just going remote. It’s building resilient systems that protect accuracy, control, and speed across every transaction and touchpoint.
It’s time to shift gears when it comes to a commonly held perception about millennials and vehicle ownership. After years of believing millennials were disavowing the practice, recent studies indicate the millennial generation is kicking the tires on the concept of owning or leasing their own set of wheels after all. But, is the automotive market ready to offer a car shopping experience millennial consumers will embrace?
PayPal, the digital payments company, announced Thursday (Nov. 30) that on Sunday, Dec. 3 it will launch another live, interactive shopping experience, dubbed Local Selects Holiday Edition. Local Selects enables people to shop a specific location from anywhere in the world. Earlier this year, consumers were able to use the service to shop the Melrose Trading Post , a Los Angeles flea market, from any location.
Here’s a nice change of pace going into the weekend: It looks like online fraud did something unsual for Black Friday this year. It went down. For the first time in several years, credit card fraud (the most common fraud form factor for retailers online) fell to 42 percent of total fraud during the holiday shopping weekend. Last year, the same weekend saw credit card fraud at 59 percent of all fraud, according to data from authentication and fraud prevention provider iovation.
“Alexa, is the store closed?”. “Alexa, does the store have clothes?”. When spoken aloud, these questions sound very similar. The difference is obvious to a human because of context, but to a voice-activated assistant, the distinction is a fine line and may result in some confusion. On the human side of the conversation, frustration ensues — and among millennials, it can turn into “Bye, Felipe,” as the customer churns out of whatever business created the bad experience.
Documents are the backbone of enterprise operations, but they are also a common source of inefficiency. From buried insights to manual handoffs, document-based workflows can quietly stall decision-making and drain resources. For large, complex organizations, legacy systems and siloed processes create friction that AI is uniquely positioned to resolve.
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