July, 2020

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US Treasury Tells Banks To Treat Hemp Businesses Like Any Other

PYMNTS

The nation’s marijuana regulator has told financial institutions to treat the $500 million hemp businesses the same way they would any other businesses. In updated rules from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ( FinCEN ), the U.S. Treasury Department’s financial crime division, the agency said the new guidance is in response to questions related to Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering regulatory requirements for hemp-related business customers.

Treasury 140
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What is OLAP?

Jedox Finance

The sophisticated technology behind modern EPM solutions is still a mystery to many. In this blog post, we’ll look at the definition of OLAP as well as an overview of the technology. We explain what lies behind OLAP, what cubes have to do with it and what makes the technology so powerful for modern planning, budgeting, and forecasting. Background and Overview.

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How Payments Is Powering The Travel Industry’s Return

PYMNTS

The global pandemic has left no industry unscathed, but the travel business has the unfortunate distinction of being the sector that was slammed first and hardest, Colin Smyth , head of travel at payments platform Flywire , told Karen Webster in a recent conversation. “They took [that] punch in the stomach first, and they’ve had to rebuild, thinking about the ways they can survive until the industry opens back up again,” Smyth said.

Economics 140
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Why SMBs Need To Focus On Product Innovation And Adopt A Digital Business Model

PYMNTS

The acceleration of [digital sales] growth can be explained almost entirely by an influx of first-time buyers.”. When consumers fled to online shopping options in Q2, many businesses weren’t set up for digital-first commerce, but quickly figured it out. There’s a cautious optimism now as SMBs, in particular, discover that going digital itself has gotten easier.

eCommerce 135
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Planning Your Restaurants 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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24 Big European Banks Take On Visa, Mastercard With Their Own Payment System

PYMNTS

A group of big European banks is planning to challenge Visa ’s and Mastercard ’s positions as the world’s two largest payment processing networks, Electronic Payments International reported. . Dubbed the Pan European Payment System Initiative, or PEPSI, the group has the support of 20 French and German banks, and would handle all forms of cashless transactions. .

Banking 130

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Machine Learning Stabilizes Business Continuity During COVID

PYMNTS

“Organizations may have had to engage in relaxation strategies, which could inversely impact their fraud appetite, as they had to let more transactions through without reviewing them. The risk is real.”. Spikes in cybercrime are making headlines daily, and people are getting burned. Preparedness often decides the outcome. “In our experience, clients running machine learning models haven’t had to change thresholds,” said Nuno Sebastião , co-founder and CEO at Feedzai.

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India’s Digital Payments Platform Hits $1.34B In June Transaction Volumes

PYMNTS

India has embraced its model for digital payments so much that it intends to take it global. Since its debut four years ago, India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI) that facilitates inter-bank transactions, has propelled the growth of online payments, the Financial Times (FT) reported.

Startups 123
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Are ATMs The ‘Mini-Branch’ Of The Future?

PYMNTS

The ATM isn’t living up to its full potential, a fact that’s really starting to come into focus for financial institutions (FIs) under COVID-19. The days of the ATM serving as just a quick cash dispensary are numbered, Sonia Sedler , Diebold Nixdorf ’s global head of managed services and banking strategy, told PYMNTS in a recent discussion. Consumers who are rapidly moving to digital commerce in the pandemic’s wake are looking for very different things when it comes to transacting with financial

Banking 118
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AutoX: Why Driverless Cars Are Ready To Hit The Road

PYMNTS

Tests of truly autonomous self-driving vehicles have been uneven at best, but with each scraped test hubcap, the concept draws closer to reality. Major automakers are in, with Toyota backing autonomous driving startup Pony.ai and Fiat Chrysler striking a deal with AutoX , the Hong Kong-based firm that has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) platform for driverless vehicles.

Education 118
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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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QR Codes Enjoy A Renaissance In A Post-COVID World

PYMNTS

QR codes have been around for years, although they often seemed like a marginal tech solution in search of a problem. But as is the case with so many things in our brave new world, COVID-19 is giving new purpose to the much-maligned QR code as an elegant enabler of touchless commerce. We mostly have China to thank for figuring it out – specifically, Alipay and rival Tencent.

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Bank Of China Advises Country’s Banks To Avoid SWIFT Messaging

PYMNTS

With the economic and political battles between the U.S. and China heating to a boil, one of China’s top banks is urging financial institutions (FIs) to cut their use of the SWIFT financial messaging network for cross-border transactions. The bank’s messaging applies to Hong Kong and Macau as well. With U.S. sanctions against China looming, state lenders there have reportedly been developing contingency plans.

Banking 116
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How Retailers Are Cashing In On A US Coin Shortage

PYMNTS

As the United States experiences a coin shortage due to the pandemic, some brick-and-mortar retailers are forcing consumers to tell cashiers to “keep the change.”. Kroger is the largest chain so far to do so, temporarily refusing to give coins out as change. Customers can either round up their bills to the nearest dollar and give the excess to charity or get their change stored on loyalty cards. “The Federal Reserve is experiencing a significant coin shortage that is impacting our store op

Retail 116
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NEW DATA: The Five Subscription Features That Could Keep Millions From Clicking ‘Cancel’

PYMNTS

Stay-at-home mandates have consumers spending more on subscriptions, ranging from streaming services to buying retail products for day-to-day use. It is perhaps not surprising that merchants that are offering subscription services are flourishing. Yet, these services are still not immune to experiencing churn. Both consumers and businesses are tightening their belts in the face of the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, and many are actively considering plans to cancel their subscriptions.

Economics 115
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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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U.S. Bank: How Legacy Systems Impede Open Banking Adoption

PYMNTS

B2B payments account for $25 trillion in the United States each year, but these transactions are often fraught with frustrations and challenges. Studies have found that B2B invoices take an average of 37.4 days to settle , a pace that is largely due to the business world’s lingering reliance on analog payment methods like paper checks. Digitizing these payments has been a top priority for banks, payments processors and businesses for several years, but this digitization has its own fair share of

Banking 114
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Visa On The Changing Needs Of Merchants At The (Digital) Checkout

PYMNTS

Merchants’ needs have changed dramatically due to the pandemic. Digitizing operations tops the list of merchant imperatives, but getting there can be a struggle — especially when it comes to digitizing the checkout experience for a post-pandemic age. To that end, as Visa Acquiring Partner Relationships Vice President Josh Park told PYMNTS, finding the right tech providers and partnerships can be critical.

Invoicing 113
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Visa: Contactless Is The Cornerstone For A Reinvented Public Transportation Experience

PYMNTS

Transit system operators were already thinking about making at least a partial switch to contactless payments long before a global pandemic disrupted any and every element of how people moved between Point A and Point B. Mary Kay Bowman , Visa ’s head of seller solutions, told Karen Webster in a recent conversation that some operators had contactless payments already partially available in segments of the public transportation system, while others had it earmarked for a project several years in

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Banks, FinTechs Find New Models To Mesh Their Strengths

PYMNTS

The bank-FinTech collaboration model is often about wielding digital-native FinTech solutions to fit within bank offerings. Yet this week’s look at the latest tie-ups reveals new models of collaboration, including FinTechs expanding their footprint within banking, and wielding banks to fit within their own tech solutions. Kabbage Steps Into Banking.

Banking 111
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Accounting Software and ERP Readiness Guide

In this white paper, we explore the factors to consider in deciding whether the time is right for your Company to consider a new ERP or accounting software, the total cost of ownership and plans necessary to make the potential leap to these systems.

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Why Fighting Fraud Means Looking Beyond The Transaction

PYMNTS

Consumers’ commerce patterns have been very much upended in the past few months and shifted heavily to digital. On the upside, this digital gold rush has created an opportunity for merchants to push about a decade’s worth of digital innovations out the door in weeks. But the bad news is that fraudsters see a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to jump into the increased flow of transactions, Gary Sevounts , executive at fraud detection firm Kount , told PYMNTS in a recent conversation.

eCommerce 112
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SBA: EIDL Emergency Grant Program Runs Out Of Money

PYMNTS

A $20 billion federal initiative to provide emergency funding to small businesses is out of cash. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced in a press release the end of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance program. The EIDL was crafted to provide economic relief from $1,000 to $10,000 to businesses and nonprofits that experienced a temporary loss of revenue during the pandemic.

Nonprofit 111
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Germany’s Deutsche Bank Offers A Lifeline To Wirecard Bank

PYMNTS

Deutsche Bank, the Frankfurt-based multinational financial services company, is in talks with regulators to rescue Wirecard Bank, the deposit-taking division of the German payment company that is facing one of the country’s biggest accounting frauds, the Financial Times reported. Wirecard Bank is separate from Wirecard AG, its parent company that filed for insolvency protection last week.

Banking 111
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NowRX CEO: Why DTC Pharmacy Is An Easier Pill For Consumers To Swallow

PYMNTS

Large pharmacy chains selling mixed merchandise are a mainstay of life throughout the developed world. Familiar planograms with the pharmacy in back, pulling shoppers through rows of candy and cosmetics to get their medicine is an everyday routine. Or it was. Big Pharmacy’s reliance on the sale of non-pharmacy products — a strategy that’s worked for years — may now be an Achilles’ heel in a post-pandemic battle for prescription drug market share, where waiting on pharmacy lines with sick people

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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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How Mastercard Uses AI To Fight Fraud And Make Better Credit Decisions

PYMNTS

Mastercard is harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) in a bid to hit fraudsters hard by searching for emerging patterns of criminal activity before they become major problems, two top executives told Karen Webster during Mastercard’s Virtual Cyber & Risk Summit. “In many cases, AI is fundamental to scaling and keeping up with the pace of the network transactions that are happening,” said Sudhir Jha , a Mastercard senior vice president and head of Brighterion , an AI company that Masterca

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US Bank On Improving B2B Payments Via Open Banking

PYMNTS

More than $25 trillion flows between U.S. businesses in the form of B2B payments each year, yet the payments industry faces a host of complications despite this impressive sum. The banks and payments providers that process these transactions often have difficulty interfacing with incompatible systems, slowing down the payments process and leaving the businesses involved to figure out how to make ends meet.

B2B 109
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Fostering Payments Trust In A Global Freelance Economy

PYMNTS

Before the pandemic hit, the global freelancing economy was expected to experience significant proliferation. Today, while shutdowns have led many businesses to temporarily halt non-essential spending, many in the market actually expect the expansion of the freelancing community to accelerate as a result of market volatility. One factor behind that thinking is certainly the sudden jolt of job losses, guiding many professionals once reliant on hourly or salaried employment to step into the world

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Digital IDs Help Open Banking Reach Its Fullest Potential

PYMNTS

Open banking comes in several flavors, yet its rise requires robust Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures, Zac Cohen , chief operating officer at identity verification firm Trulioo told Karen Webster in a recent interview. As financial institutions (FIs) work with FinTechs, they need to know that these tech-nimble startups are not only enabling access to customers’ account data but also in a manner that embraces KYC and AML.

Banking 108
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PowerPoint Best Practices for Creating Stellar Presentations

Mastering data visualization in PowerPoint will help accelerate your career because it positions you as someone who can present data that drives business decisions forward. think-cell's PowerPoint Best Practices eBook was created specifically for professionals aiming to master the art and science of data-driven storytelling. What’s inside: Practical Insights: Uncover valuable tips for crafting engaging and persuasive presentations.

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Payments And Platforms Play Well Together

PYMNTS

As virtual marketplaces displace (and replace) the physical variety at a dizzying pace, payments speed and security are paramount concerns. When transactions and payments occur cross-border, those concerns are doubled. Companies want and need more visibility into cross-border payments, and with the blastoff of eCommerce in 2020, those needs grow daily.

eCommerce 107
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Cloud Banking Gives Legacy Systems A Lift

PYMNTS

Is it surprising to know that 55 percent of legacy financial institutions (FIs) report lacking maturity in core systems? Or that, on average, 15 percent of an FI’s annual operating costs go toward maintaining core banking systems that are outmoded? It’s true, but not for long. “Migrating to cloud- and AI-based solutions could help FIs handle growing calls for faster banking tools during the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent trends show they are beginning to do so,” according to PYMNTS’ June 2020 Dig

Banking 107
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Car Talk: How One Bay Area Limo Fleet Rolls With The (Pandemic) Times

PYMNTS

More than a few notable companies have started in a Silicon Valley garage. Maurice Brewster , CEO of Mosaic Global Transportation , said he believes he’s one of them. He has grown from a small group of vintage cars in the San Francisco area to a global, tech-savvy transportation network in four countries with 1,500 cars. And like the garage-born Apples, Googles and Hewlett-Packards of the world, he has become skilled at shifting his business when necessary.