Sat.Feb 17, 2018 - Fri.Feb 23, 2018

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Omnichannel Gifting: Because Digital Isn’t Enough Anymore

PYMNTS

There are few verticals where business is a guaranteed — basically just food, healthcare, and funerary services. And even those spaces are changing. Then there’s gifting. People have always given gifts and probably always will. But they don’t always give the same gifts in the same way. As Jifiti Co-Founder Yaacov Martin sees it, every gift involves three parties: the initiator, the recipient, and the vendor in the middle who’s fulfilling the gift.

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Banks To AI: Less Artificial And More Human

PYMNTS

The banking world is racing to get smarter via artificial intelligence (AI), but how can intelligence that’s artificial stack up to human expertise and the demands of human consumers? . To tackle this issue, companies are looking to infuse AI with a bit of humanity, help consumers better connect with computer-operated services and offer improved insights.

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AI Puts Fraudulent Credit Card Testers To The Test

PYMNTS

This is not a test. Beware the credit card test. There may be no escaping credit card fraud, as it comes in one form or another. Overall, one subset of card fraud is on the rise: Last year, Radial’s eCommerce Fraud Technology Lab said credit card testing was up triple-digit percentage points on an annualized basis. Credit card testing is a way the bad guys use stolen card data to make sure an account is valid.

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Half Of Payments Executives Are Focused On Peer-To-Peer (P2P) Payments

PYMNTS

With the advent of emerging FinTech startups, banks face some competition for payments. When a consumer or a company wants to send a payment, they can now do so instantly from their smartphone with services such as Apple Pay or Venmo. As a result, banks are investing in and engaging with FinTech startups to grow their customer base and their market share.

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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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Happay Adds To Series B For Expense Management Tech

PYMNTS

India expense management company Happay secured more funding after its Series B round, according to an unnamed source cited by VCCircle on Friday (Feb. 16). The publication said Happay raised about $250,000 from Cupola Venture Opportunities, which placed the funding last December. The investment follows a Series B funding round that raised $10 million, also announced last December; that investment was led by Sequoia Capital, while Singapore’s Axiom Capital, a private equity fund, and AME Cloud V

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Hackers Loved SSNs More Than Card Numbers in 2017

PYMNTS

Who says you can’t teach an old criminal new tricks? Hackers who used to amuse themselves stealing credit cards have raised the level of their identity theft game such that 2017 was a record year — 16.7 million Americans were victimized last year, a jump of eight percent from 2016. That fraud run saw $16.8 billion successfully lifted in 2017, the highest amount in four years.

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70 Percent Of Merchants Use Progress Bars To Drive Checkout Conversions

PYMNTS

Big merchants have many strategies, but they often lack an online checkout strategy. As a result, merchants may lose millions a year due to the friction associated with converting shoppers to buyers online. In fact, merchants experience an overall $200 billion in lost sales each year due to friction in the checkout process. Many larger merchants clearly have some ways to go on their checkout conversion efforts.

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Nissan To Test Self-Driving Taxis

PYMNTS

Creating possible competition for ridesharing companies such as Uber , Nissan and DeNA are planning a test run of a self-driving taxi service — dubbed Easy Ride — in Japan, CNBC reported. Nissan said on Friday (Feb. 23) it will conduct the test on a 4.5 kilometer road in the Minatomirai district of Yokohama in March. To set a destination during the test run, test passengers can request recommended destinations by voice or text through a tablet.

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How Toll Transponders Are Putting Commuter Commerce In The Fast Lane

PYMNTS

Every workday, some 135 million Americans get behind the wheel for 15 to 30 minutes of commuting each way. In doing so, they reportedly drive $212 billion in annual commerce. Nearly 54 percent of commuters place an order to pick up food along the way, 40 percent get their fix of morning joe and 39 percent find and pay for gas using their phones, according to The Digital Drive Report.

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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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Restaurants May Be The New Shopping Mall ‘Anchor Tenants’

PYMNTS

At one point, restaurants were not considered desirable tenants in shopping centers. Times have changed, however, as landlords seek to replace anchor stores in U.S. malls that are closing — particularly as shopping increasingly moves online, CNBC reported. “I remember trying to find leases and people were like, ‘No. We don’t want a restaurant in our building.

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Toys R Us Continues to Shutter Away with an Additional 200 Stores

PYMNTS

After a weak holiday sales season, Toys R Us is planning to shutter about more 200 stores. The company also plans to lay off many of its corporate staff, the Wall Street Journal reported based on information from people familiar with the situation. The news comes as the retailer’s sales have declined 15 percent from the 2017 holiday shopping season compared to 2016, and as the retailer previously announced it may close 100 stores.

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How The API Revolution Fuels Corporates’ SaaS Fatigue

PYMNTS

Without a doubt, small businesses (SMBs) have more choice than ever before when adopting new technologies, and many of those new tools, from accounting to customer relationship management (CRM), are streaming in as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). While small firms may be notorious for their inability to invest in newer technologies, software doesn’t seem to be one of them, especially in the U.S.

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Shared Kitchens Help Restaurants Capture Growth Of The Food Delivery Market

PYMNTS

Restaurants may want to reach more delivery customers by expanding into new markets, especially as the market for food delivery could grow to $17 billion by 2020. Yet it doesn’t always make sense for restaurants to open new brick-and-mortar locations. Instead, restaurants are deciding to share kitchen space with other concepts — and accepting deliveries from those locations.

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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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Less Than 2 Percent Of UK SMBs Sought A Loan Last Year

PYMNTS

Lending to small businesses (SMBs) among top U.K. banks failed to grow last year, according to new data from the British Business Bank, which found evidence SMBs are turning to other sources of financing. “There is evidence that small businesses are exercising more choice,” said Keith Morgan, British Business Bank chief executive, in an interview with The Financial Times.

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Amazon Plans Private Label Expansion In India

PYMNTS

As Amazon seeks to take on Flipkart in India, the eCommerce retailer is looking to offer more private label products. The news comes as Flipkart has also sought to focus on its own house brands, Livemint reported. Amazon India Vice President Manish Tiwary said the company is hoping to launch new product categories, but he would not name specific items.

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Retailers Roll Out President’s Day Sales To Clear Old Inventory, Full-Priced Spring Fashions

PYMNTS

Ever since the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect in 1968, “President’s Day” has been observed on the third Monday in February. But the holiday is officially known as Washington’s birthday , as the observance started out as a celebration of his birth, after all. George Washington wasn’t a huge fan of big celebrations, so his birthday was only marked with informal gatherings across the U.S. after he died in 1799: His birthday — February 22 — only became a federal holiday in 1879.

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Governments Fuel Blockchain’s Global Proliferation

PYMNTS

Governments may not be too keen on bitcoin, but blockchain is another story. In fact, government authorities have begun to help fuel the proliferation of blockchain across the world. In this week’s Blockchain Tracker, PYMNTS runs through some of the latest moves from policymakers and the public sector as they explore blockchain’s potential.

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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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As Audits Loom, AP Automation Moves To Top Of Mind

PYMNTS

You could call accounts payable (AP) the last mile of payments in a way. Or perhaps AP stands for the last mile of automated processes? It’s no secret companies are scaling, broadening their reach geographically and seeking to tap new consumers. And, as those same companies bring business and currency across borders, their supply chains lengthen and transactions transverse currencies, languages and any number of regulatory hurdles.

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$400M Bitcoin Buy for Crypto Trader

PYMNTS

The big bucks come anonymously in cryptoland. News came President’s Day that an anonymous investor ponied up nearly $400 million to snap up bitcoin, the name most synonymous with digital currencies. MarketWatch said Monday that the huge investment came from a bitcoin address, 3Cbq7aT1tY8kMxWLbitaG7yT6bPbKChq64 to be exact. The slug came over a time span stretching from Feb. 9 to Feb. 12.

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Airbnb Expands Into Luxe Travel Services And Hotels

PYMNTS

Facing slowing growth and pressure from regulators, Airbnb is introducing new services targeted toward travelers who choose luxury accommodations and hotels. On Thursday (Feb. 22), the company introduced upmarket travel services as well as a new category of properties, according to news from Reuters. “Airbnb (is) figuring out how do we grow at the same levels that investors are expecting us to grow, given some of the regulatory headwinds,” Christopher Anderson, a Cornell University professor, t

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Chanel And Farfetch Ink New Strategic Partnership

PYMNTS

Iconic French fashion house Chanel has inked a strategic partnership deal with online designer marketplace Farfetch that will focus on deploying the latter’s operating system within the confines of Chanel’s physical boutiques, according to industry news source Business of Fashion. The deal does not allow for the online sale of Chanel’s ready-to-wear or handbags on the Farfetch platform, however, as the storied firm continues to resist making its core offerings part of its digit

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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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Nike Teams Up With Snapchat For In-App Air Jordan Presale

PYMNTS

Marking the first time that a brand other than Snap has allowed consumers to purchase a product directly through Snapchat, Nike pre-released its Air Jordan III “Tinker” sneakers on Snapchat with same-day delivery, TechCrunch reported. The sale was only available to attendees of a Monday (Feb. 19) afterparty following the NBA All-Star game and through a collaboration between Snap, Nike’s Jordan brand, Darkstore and Shopify.

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First National Bank Of Omaha Shutters NRA Visa Card

PYMNTS

First National Bank of Omaha announced that it is not renewing a contract with the National Rifle Association (NRA) to offer customers an NRA-branded Visa card. The move comes after the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida that left 17 people dead. The NRA has come under intense criticism for its opposition to stricter gun laws. “The NRA supports efforts to prevent those who are in danger to themselves or others from getting access to firearms,” the group said in a statemen

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Worldwide Smartphone Sales Slide

PYMNTS

Smartphone sales worldwide fell in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016, marking the first decline Gartner has seen since the firm started tracking sales in 2004. A little more than 400 million smartphones were sold to consumers in the last three months of 2017, which marks a 5.6 decline from 2016, Financial Times reported.

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R3, TradeIX, Global Banks Band Together For Blockchain In Trade Finance

PYMNTS

Blockchain consortium R3 , trade finance company TradeIX and several global banks are collaborating on a new solution that has entered into pilot phase. Reports in bobsguide on Wednesday (Feb. 21) said the initiative, dubbed Marco Polo, involves BNP, Commerzbank and ING as they explore how to deploy blockchain to enhance trade finance operations. The companies banded together last September and have since included Standard Chartered, DNB and OP Financial Group.

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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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US Bank Partners With AutoGravity For Digital Auto Loans

PYMNTS

To reach customers looking to apply for an auto loan online, U.S. Bank has created a new platform with AutoGravity. Through the service, borrowers can receive a decision within minutes, according to news from American Banker. Through the platform, borrowers can choose the car they wish to finance and the dealership from which they wish to purchase it.

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Chatbots Sizzle, iPhone X Fizzles And Grocery Shoppers Feel The Retail Love

PYMNTS

Sizzle Of the Week: Grocery Customers. It’s a good week to be a grocery shopper in America – because, after all, who doesn’t like being pursued? The grocery business in America is a $650 billion industry. And like the prettiest girl at the dance, America’s grocery spend is the highly sought-after object of everyone’s affection. This week, the consumer got a taste of just how much their affection is worth to the country’s grocers.

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Beyond The Booking: Do Customers Want More Out Of Airbnb?

PYMNTS

Airbnb wants to put more than a bed and breakfast-style stay at customers’ fingertips. The homesharing platform has branched out this year, endeavoring to help customers find not just a home away from home for the day, week or month, but an Instagram-worthy vacation experience. However, not all of its recent experiments have met with success. It’s a good thing the company isn’t putting all its breakfast eggs in one basket, because it may be better off putting some of these ideas to bed.