Sat.Apr 21, 2018 - Fri.Apr 27, 2018

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TRENDING: Robots And Humans Join Forces To Speed eCommerce, Together

PYMNTS

Companies recognize the need for IoT security, but few are acting on those concerns. According to a recent survey, 97 percent of respondents said an attack on unsecured devices would be devastating to their organizations. However, less than a third are actually vigilant about monitoring for third-party related risks. Despite the security risks, the popularity of IoT seems unlikely to abate.

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Sales forecasting fundamentals: how to stay ahead

Anaplan

Recently, I joined forces with Abe Awasthi, Senior Manager at Deloitte, for the webinar “Sales forecasting fundamentals,” hosted by the Sales Management Association, the first in a three-part series on sales force effectiveness. In the session, we walk through some recommended best practices for sales forecasting and discuss some roles that predictive analytics and machine. read more ?.

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Top Subscription Services Find Success With Free Trials

PYMNTS

In many businesses, acquiring customers used to be a function of where the business was located — a high traffic intersection for a convenience store or a well-heeled mall for a clothing retailer. Technology, of course, changed all that. It’s also made the offering of subscription services a robust channel for a business to operate in. By one measure , subscription company websites have seen visitor growth of over 800 percent since 2014.

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Samsung Pay And PayPal Power In-Store Payments

PYMNTS

Brick-and-mortar retail has spent the last decade building bridges to the digital world so a new generation of digital consumers can move fluidly between them. What’s been largely left behind, however, is a payments experience that moves just as seamlessly between those worlds. There have been many attempts to bridge the gap, but consumers haven’t really taken the bait.

Retail 66
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Live Demo - Supercharge your Month End Close

Automation generally supercharges any process and brings its value to the forefront. See how infusing automation such as ART (our month-end close solution), into your close can get you to the next level of closing. We will share a live demo of SkyStem's solution, ART and share the key elements of month-end close automation. Through ART, we'll take a look at: What month-end close automation entails Which process steps can and should be automated Benefits of achieving process automation, and Why i

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Cyberattacker Shut Down In Global Police Action

PYMNTS

Authorities shuttered one of the largest cyberattack organizations in the world yesterday, making arrests in four countries and seizing assets and infrastructure in three others, the Associated Press reported. Europol, a joint European police agency, said it shut down webstresser.org, calling it the largest source of distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

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Travelex And UAE Exchange Owner Eyes IPO

PYMNTS

Billionaire Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty is combining Travelex and UAE Exchange under one parent company called Finablr in preparation for a possible initial public offering, according to Reuters. The UAE-based businessman announced on Monday the creation of Finablr as the business that will hold the financial services companies he controls. His son and executive in the family businesses, Binay Shetty, told Reuters the plan is to bring Finablr public on the London stock market at some point after

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FIDO’s Roadmap To eCommerce’s ‘Holy Grail’

PYMNTS

Is it time to mark the passing of the password? Don’t hang the crepe and black bunting just yet. But then again, the password’s breathing and pulse seem to be … perhaps a bit labored and slowed. Last week, the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium announced the launch of Web Authentication (WebAuthn), billed as a password-free browser. Standards bodies, then, are coming together to offer a standard protocol to hasten logins without using passwords.

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How Suppliers Can Take The Lead On Supply Chain Risk Management

PYMNTS

The growing complexity of international supply chains inevitably adds complexity to risk mitigation and increases risk exposure to all players involved. This trend is evolving rapidly, and corporate buyers are examining threats from all angles. Once, a company’s top supplier-related risk may have been the threat of a vendor going out of business, or goods failing to make it to their destination on time.

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Amazon’s Cashier-Less Store Evolved From Self-Checkout Machines

PYMNTS

In the 1980s, David Humble was at the grocery checkout counter when something unusual happened: A customer became frustrated with a cashier’s slow pace, so he simply scanned one of his purchases himself. That incident inspired Humble to develop a prototype for a self-checkout system. He combined a personal computer, an industrial computer and a video screen.

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Mid-Year Review: How to Ignite Employee Potential Through Meaningful Feedback

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.

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Airbnb To Help Event Planners Find Lodging For Attendees

PYMNTS

Airbnb is helping event planners provide lodging ideas for attendees – and is hoping to make some money along the way – with the launch of Airbnb for Events. In a blog post , the company said that event planners will share the details of the event, and then Airbnb will use that information to create a custom event page and embed a widget that will enable attendants to find a place to stay.

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The Show Will Go On For Toys R Us Stores Outside The US

PYMNTS

Bankruptcy may not spell the end for Toys R Us stores – at least outside of the U.S. The embattled retailer’s stores will get a second chance at retail life in Canada and Europe. Toys R Us agreed to sell its Canadian business, which consists of 82 stores, to Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited for around $234 million dollars in a bankruptcy court hearing on Tuesday (April 24).

Retail 52
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Checkr CEO On Bringing Background Checks To The Forefront

PYMNTS

In the gig economy, high turnover means heavy lifting for firms seeking the right candidate. And with rules and regulations governing various service industries — from finance to ride-hailing — background checks are part of the hiring job of hiring. Against that backdrop, Checkr seeks to automate the process a bit by conducting background checks for thousands of customers.

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American Express Gets Closer To Entering China

PYMNTS

American Express has passed a major hurdle in efforts to become the first U.S.-based credit network to offer services in mainland China. The Chinese central bank formally accepted American Express’ application to clear and settle domestic bank card transactions, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The New York credit card company applied as part of a venture with China mobile payment provider Lianlian Group.

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Your Accounting Expertise Will Only Get You So Far: What Really Matters

Speaker: Victor C. Barnes, CPA, MBA

In the climb from contributor to leader, the rules quietly change. 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 (a concept first popularized by Marshall Goldsmith in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There ). 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.

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PayPal Reaffirms Its Commitment To Financial Inclusion

PYMNTS

There was a lot going on during PayPal ’s quarterly earnings report yesterday (April 25), as the original “Pay” player managed to beat analyst expectations nearly across the board and even forecast a better-than-expected result for the rest of the year. Growth was the big story: PayPal saw transactions on its platform increase, its user base swell by an additional 8 million active users and its P2P platform Venmo rapidly grow its footprint.

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Microsoft Catches Up To Amazon In Market Value

PYMNTS

Apple remains the largest company in the world, but the battle is on for No. 2, as Microsoft has rallied to be neck and neck with Amazon in terms of market capitalization. The two Washington state-based companies are within one percentage point of each other, with a market cap of about $723 billion, thanks to a week-long rally in Microsoft shares coupled with a slump in Amazon shares, reported 24/7 Wall St.

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IdentityMind CTO: Firms’ Readiness For GDPR Varies Weeks Before Deadline

PYMNTS

A month away, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) looms large. As Shakespeare wrote centuries ago (without data mapping in mind), the readiness is all. IdentityMind CTO Kieran Sherlock told PYMNTS the readiness for the sea change in data privacy varies. Many of the larger EU-based firms have been preparing for GDPR for years and have processes in place that anticipate the formal debut of GDPR and its compliance mandates.

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Amazon Rolls Out In-Car Delivery

PYMNTS

Months after delivering packages inside customers’ homes, Amazon begins delivering purchases inside customers’ cars. The free service is only available to Prime members in certain cities and vehicles, CNBC reported. “Amazon Key In-Car Delivery supports most 2015 model year or newer Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and Volvo vehicles with an active connected car service plan such as OnStar or Volvo On Call,” the retailer wrote on its website.

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The Hidden Science Behind Why Finance Teams Resist Change—And How to Fix It

Speaker: Kim Beynon, CPA, CGMA, PMP

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.

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Starbucks Plans To Step Up Digital Marketing Efforts

PYMNTS

Starbucks saw strong growth in its loyalty program and mobile transactions over its second fiscal quarter of 2018, the company announced ahead of its earnings call. The coffee chain added 1.6 million new U.S. members to its Starbucks rewards program. In addition, Starbucks discovered that members of Starbucks rewards were buying more: Over the quarter, their spend increased to 39 percent of U.S. company-operated sales.

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Bitcoin Mined With Supply And Demand Top Of Mind

PYMNTS

It didn’t get to $10,000. That might be the headline news about bitcoin. But then again, it wasn’t $6,000 either. Nor even the $7,000 level seen earlier this month. At a recent $9,300, bitcoin may or may not be stabilizing. Recent coverage in the financial trade press seems to anticipate that there might be some stabilization on hand. Commentary about regulatory efforts that may be a bit more benign than some had feared likely helped.

Numbers 49
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Marc Jacobs, Microsoft Partner On Fashion Industry AP Upgrades

PYMNTS

Fashion designer brand Marc Jacobs is collaborating with Microsoft to address key challenges in the industry’s supply chain management and accounts payable (AP) processes. The companies announced news on Wednesday (April 25) that they are partnering to enhance Marc Jacobs’ accounts payable and invoice processing capabilities. The brand has deployed MediusFlow , an accounts payable and invoice automation solution designed on the Microsoft Azure platform.

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Why Marketplace Lending Needs Less Transparency, Not More

PYMNTS

Marketplace lending platforms – Lending Club, OnDeck, Prosper and the like – have inarguably and fundamentally altered the geography of the lending landscape. In the last decade, they’ve gone from being a niche product to representing about a third of unsecured consumer loan volume in the United States as of 2016, according to a r ecent study by Harvard Business School Professor Boris Vallee and University of Washington Professor Yao Zeng.

Banking 49
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Doing More With Less: The Modern Finance Miracle

Speaker: Mark Gilham, FCCA, CPP

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.

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Five At Five: QSR Kiosks Make Gains, But Will Customers Follow?

PYMNTS

Welcome to Five at Five , your late look at some of the freshest payments news of the day. Today’s stories include an up-to-date analytical report about which ordering and payment technologies are making the most gains in restaurants and how iris scans can beat out other biometrics. Coverage also discusses the future of consumer financial management and a new sense of stability around bitcoin.

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Meal Subscription Services Take On The School Lunch

PYMNTS

The usual school lunch menu suspects — pizza and chicken nuggets — appeal to some students, but those options may not work for students who are vegetarian or gluten-free. As a result, “the school lunch solution doesn’t really work anymore,” Wise Apple Co-Founder and President Nathan Cooper told PYMNTS in an interview. To create an alternative for kids with dietary needs, Cooper set out to reinvent the school lunch by offering a kid-focused meal subscription service that accommodates different di

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Weird Stuff People Buy On Amazon

PYMNTS

In 2012, American internet entrepreneur, angel investor, author and blogger Jason Calacanis gave a pretty bold prediction about Amazon Prime — then in its seventh year of existence. “There are two types of people in the world: those with Amazon Prime and those without,” Calacanis wrote. “How you think about consumption, commerce and your personal time is radically different depending on if you’ve join the cult — yet.

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US Lawmaker Wants To Ban ICOs

PYMNTS

While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s William Hinman said the agency is “striving for a balanced approach” between digital currencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs), a U.S. congressman is taking issue with this line of thinking. U.S. Representative Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) thinks ICOs are detrimental to the economy, CoinDesk reported.

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Tariffs on the Table: How to Brief the Board and C‑Suite With Confidence

“What should we do about the tariffs?” There’s no straightforward answer — every leader has a different expectation. CFOs want numbers. COOs want action. CEOs want strategy. And supply chain and procurement leaders need to be ready with the right response — fast. That’s why GEP has created a simple three-part framework that will help CPOs and CSCOs brief the board and C-suite with clarity and confidence.