Sat.Jun 16, 2018 - Fri.Jun 22, 2018

article thumbnail

Secure By Design: Why Privacy Must Be Baked In To IoT Devices

PYMNTS

A connected world is a convenient world for both work and play. Too often, however, the price of convenience is privacy. If data within the Internet of Things (IoT) is not secured properly, it puts people’s overall safety in jeopardy — and it’s not just about loss of sensitive personal data. In fact, according to UL , the even greater threat is that an attacker could take over the functionality of poorly secured devices.

article thumbnail

Amid Hacks, Bitcoin Is Still Not Ready For Primetime

PYMNTS

What’s a currency to do when it can take down the internet ? Gain in price, amid growing clamor for it, of course. No need to trace the minute details of bitcoin’s pricing. $6,500 or $6,600. Maybe more. Maybe less, and maybe a lot more or a lot less. Check back with us in a few minutes! Beyond the vagaries of price — where some watch technicals, looking for a “floor” or a “peak” and signs amid volatility and rolling averages — fundamentals matter.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

BBVA Merges Two Units And Debuts Selfie Payment System

PYMNTS

As BBVA steps up its digital efforts, the bank is merging its Beeva and i4S units to form a company called BBVA Next Technologies. The company’s 1,200 tech workers will focus on areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), the blockchain and cloud computing, according to their press release. “BBVA Next Technologies is a company that specialises in emerging and disruptive technologies, that strives to stay ahead of the curve, looks at the future and aims to recruit the best tech talent,” BB

article thumbnail

L?Or?al Unveils Live Makeup Consultations With Augmented Reality

PYMNTS

Putting a digital spin on makeup try-ons, L’Oréal is using augmented reality (AR) to enable beauty advisers to virtually put suggested products on a customer’s face as part of a consultation. The feature, which is dubbed Live Makeup Consultation, will launch for L’Oréal’s NYX Cosmetics brand, Retail Dive reported. With L’Oréal’s technology, customers can ask for product recommendations through video chat.

article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

Walmart Wins Three Blockchain-Related Patents

PYMNTS

Walmart has been awarded three patents for blockchain-backed technology, according to a report Monday (June 18) in Cryptovest. One of the patents covers a system that would let households manage their electricity bills through cryptocurrency, and would be operated with a public blockchain. “Currently, energy providers deliver energy to locations that inefficiently use the energy, which leads to increased energy costs for consumers,” the Walmart patent filing said.

Retail 56

More Trending

article thumbnail

Can Behavioral Analytics Slow Online Fraud?

PYMNTS

Pity the poor fraudster. Fraud has no choice but to roll with the punches, and the flurries are enough to daze a boxer as skilled as Ali. Get a toehold in a consumer’s account with a card and whammo, here comes EMV. Grab a piece of an ID and blam! Machine learning rears its mechanical head. We’re being tongue in cheek, of course. We pity no fraudsters.

Numbers 55
article thumbnail

Becoming Our Money ? And Other Tales From The POS World

PYMNTS

Perhaps not since the adoption of chip and PIN payments has there existed so much potential for disruption in the point-of-sale market. The rise of mom-and-pop entrepreneurs, the coffee truck operators, craft makers and others has opened the door for the smaller POS operators to capture new business. That’s how Andrew Byrne, chief operating officer at London-based payment services firm myPOS , told it during a recent interview with PYMNTS.

article thumbnail

Pay By Face: 3D Facial Recognition And Frictionless Checkout

PYMNTS

It’s one of the ideals of payments and commerce, a vision that drives so much research and experimentation: Making it through a store checkout lane without fishing for a card or waving a mobile phone, or even checking into a hotel after an exhausting flight without producing a driver’s license and credit card to gain access to the room. Transactions anchored around biometrics , and biometrics only, represent a seemingly utopian future that seems to get closer every year.

Retail 51
article thumbnail

Tapping Digital Escrow To Build Big-Ticket eCommerce Trust

PYMNTS

Big-name eTailers like Amazon, eBay and Walmart have made it easier than ever to buy just about anything online. When it comes to shopping for big-ticket items like pre-used or new commercial vehicles, though, the online shopping process is anything but easy. In fact, it is frequently rife with friction. For sellers, the process might entail anxiously waiting to receive payments.

article thumbnail

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

article thumbnail

Digital Identities For A Digital World: The Key To Modern Transaction Monitoring

PYMNTS

As the world continues its path to becoming more digital, risks are increasingly finding their way into transaction processes, and that calls for a different approach to transaction monitoring. FinTech companies have been doing their best to take disruptive approaches that are more automated and efficient than those of their traditional financial services counterparts.

article thumbnail

Emailage: Larger Footprint Means Richer Risk Assessment

PYMNTS

Emailage , the online fraud prevention startup that uses email addresses to assess risk, announced this week that it’s expanding its geographical footprint and establishing new offices in regions of interest, which has included strategic hires and reappointments. The news is significant because, although Emailage had customers in Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, the Middle East and Asia (EMEA), it has not always had a formal presence there.

article thumbnail

Square Gets License From New York To Enable Bitcoin Trading

PYMNTS

Square , the payments company founded by Jack Dorsey, has received a license to enable residents in New York state to buy and sell bitcoin via its Cash App. In a press release , the New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo said the agency approved Square ‘s application for a virtual currency license. The payments company has a money-transmitter license from the Department of Financial Services (DFS).

article thumbnail

Shake Shack Founders Stand By Cashless Move

PYMNTS

Danny Meyer is defending his restaurant group’s decision to test out cashless transactions, saying they are not looking to exclude prospective guests. Meyer owns Union Square Hospitality Group , and five of its restaurants are now cashless: Daily Provisions , Martina , Caffe Marchio , Vini e Fritti and Tacocina. In addition, Shake Shack had previously experimented with going cashless at one location.

article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

WhatsApp?s Indian Payment Feature Boasts One Million Users

PYMNTS

WhatsApp , the Facebook-owned messaging app that counts more than 200 million monthly users, has launched a payments feature in India during the past several months which now has around a million users. According to a report in Quartz citing sources, WhatsApp is in the process of fixing any issues with the payment feature and adding more functionality during beta testing of the service, which kicked off in February.

article thumbnail

PayPal Will Buy Hyperwallet In $400 Million Deal

PYMNTS

PayPal said on Tuesday (June 19) that it will buy payments payout platform Hyperwallet for $400 million in cash. The deal will give PayPal greater strength in eCommerce and online marketplaces, PayPal said in a statement. Marketplace sales accounted for 50 percent of all online sales in 2017, according to an estimate provided by PayPal. “eCommerce platforms and marketplaces are leveling the retail playing field by connecting buyers who have specific needs with groups of sellers that can meet the

article thumbnail

Zycus Ramps Up Customer Outreach In India With Salesforce

PYMNTS

Source-to-pay solutions provider Zycus is teaming up with CRM software firm Salesforce to enhance its own digital transformation strategy, the companies announced Wednesday (June 20). Zycus said it will use Salesforce’s marketing automation solution Pardot to enhance customer engagement and acquisition in India. “B2B marketing automation is the best way to make sure an entire organization is aligned around the customer journey — from awareness to acquisition, to advocacy teams,”

B2B 49
article thumbnail

Stock-Trading Platform Robinhood Eyes Banking Services

PYMNTS

Sources say Robinhood Markets is in talks with regulators about offering banking services to its more than 4 million users. According to Bloomberg , one source claims that the California-based firm is engaging in conversations with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which charters and regulates all national banks and federal savings associations.

Banking 49
article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

Facebook?s Workplace Launches Workplace For Good To Support Nonprofits, Schools

PYMNTS

Workplace , the enterprise communications app owned by Facebook , announced Wednesday (June 20) that it has launched Workplace For Good, which gives Workplace Premium free to nonprofits and staff at educational institutions around the globe. In a blog post , Workplace said the goal is to help nonprofits and educational institutions create change around the world. “Over the last 18 months, we’ve seen thousands of nonprofits and educational institutions transform the way they work on our pla

article thumbnail

Amazon Rolls Out Prime Wardrobe To US Prime Members

PYMNTS

Following a beta accessible by invitation only, Amazon is rolling out Prime Wardrobe to all of its U.S. Prime customers. An executive with Amazon said the idea behind the service was to take the “pain points” out of shopping, ABC News reported. Kate Dimmock, the fashion director at Amazon Fashion, told ABC News, “What we kept hearing from our customers was that they wanted to shop for fashion with us, but they wanted to try things on.

article thumbnail

UK Accounting Watchdog Ramps Up Fines

PYMNTS

The U.K.’s accounting watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), has now levied more fines in two days than it has in the entirety of 2017, according to Bloomberg reports on Tuesday (June 19). The FRC issued fines totaling $19 million against PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and KPMG last week, while the regulator also sent KPMG an unprecedented warning that its auditing processes are subpar.

article thumbnail

Warehouse Clubs Test Curated Stores With Digital Options

PYMNTS

Warehouse clubs are designing smaller stores , with a focus on omnichannel features and a carefully chosen selection. They are also seeking to borrow from Amazon by offering free shipping benefits to members. In the restaurant space, third-party aggregators are becoming a popular preference as QSRs are turning to in-store kiosks. And gig workers are expected to be a large chunk of overall U.S. income this year. 32,000: The square footage of a new Sam’s Club store in Texas, with a smaller select

Numbers 48
article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

Beverage Makers Put The Fizz In Summer Coffee

PYMNTS

There are only so many new variations of coffee for the summer: There’s cold brew, nitro and … and citrus-flavored coffee soda? Keepers Co. seeks to shake up the cold coffee beverage industry by putting a spin on a beverage once confined to, say, french vanilla or hazelnut. “We’re trying to change the perception of what coffee could be,” Keepers Co.

article thumbnail

US Supreme Court Gives The Green Light For Online Sales Taxes

PYMNTS

States can collect sales taxes from online retailers thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Thursday (June 21) that addressed one of the most controversial and longstanding issues in eCommerce. The 5-4 decision essentially overturns the court’s 1992 ruling that states can collect sales taxes only from retailers that maintain a physical presence in those states.

Sales 47
article thumbnail

Work Spaces Serve Up Coffee With Community In Apartment Buildings

PYMNTS

Sometime in the near future, a gig economy or remote worker who lives in an apartment building in Austin, Texas might start their day like this: They will leave their apartment and walk downstairs to a coffee shop where they will grab an iced latte. Instead of having to leave the building to travel to a coworking space, they will simply walk past the coffee bar to their desk at a coworking space — within their own building.

article thumbnail

Shopify Rolls Out Messaging App For Merchants

PYMNTS

To condense business conversations and tasks into one place, Shopify has launched a new mobile app dubbed Shopify Ping. Through the app, merchants can manage tasks through messaging without needing to switch between apps and tools, Shopify said in an announcement. “Shopify merchants are conducting many business conversations across multiple apps every day, not only to run their day-to-day operations, but also to manage customer inquiries,” Shopify Director of Product Michael Perry said in the a

article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

Social Media As The ?Ticket? For Contextual Commerce

PYMNTS

Sports fans can’t get enough of their favorite players and teams: Their social media accounts oftentimes have hundreds of thousands or millions of followers. But how can teams harness the eCommerce potential of these accounts? They can turn their followers into ticketholders to the next game. There has been much ado about Instagram and shopping in this area: Instagram, the Facebook-owned photo-sharing social network , announced news on June 12 that it is expanding shopping beyond its Feed to I

article thumbnail

Amazon?s Furniture Sales Reached $4B In 2017

PYMNTS

Amazon ’s furniture sales are on the move: A One Click Retail study found that the eCommerce retailer has more than tripled sales in that category since 2015. And, in 2017, furniture brought in approximately $4 billion, retail news source Chain Store Age reported. “It’s clear that the furniture market is a valuable investment for Amazon, and it’s equally true that Amazon is a valuable investment for furniture brands,” according to One Click Retail’s “Furniture: The Amazon Effect” study.

Sales 47
article thumbnail

Amazon: QSRs? Big Threat Or Essential Lifeline?

PYMNTS

The restaurant industry today is a study in contradictions. Census data tells us that roughly 44 percent of what consumers spend on food comes from restaurants, rather than groceries for home. Yet NPD reports that 49 percent of all dinners purchased from restaurants are now eaten at home. In 2017, the restaurant sector, overall, grew 4.3 percent over 2016 — its eighth consecutive year of growth.