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Financial Industry

VIDEO: Check Payments Increasing in B2B

August 15, 2017

Contrary to what might be considered “conventional wisdom,” in 2016 51% of business-to-business payments were made by check. Does that mark a slowing in the “disappearance” of check usage? Au contraire – that number is up from 50% in 2013! Magnus Carlsson, AFP’s Manager of Treasury and Payments, discusses in the attached video the new…

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Financial Industry Tech – Think LONG Term

August 8, 2017

The story of Eastman Kodak’s fate is often used to illustrate the danger of late adoption of new technology. Even venerable and ostensibly rock-solid entities can find themselves marginalized and, ultimately, pushed out the picture (so to speak) if they don’t keep up with emerging tech. An article in the Harvard Business Review uses the…

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News Flash: Checks Still Matter

August 2, 2017

The Association for Finance Professionals (AFP) has made available a white paper entitled “Not Going Anywhere: Why Checks Still Matter” (log-in required) that offers valuable insights in an easily digestible package. As pointed out in the report, check use in the United States for business-to-business (B2B) transactions remains at roughly 50% in spite of a multitude…

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tower of babel

Artificial Intelligence: Only Getting Better

July 26, 2017

With all of the tech we count on that uses actual experiential learning to better read handwriting on a variety of payment types — including checks, for instance — we probably should have seen this coming. Last September the white coats at Google added something called the Google Neural Machine Translation system (GNMT) to their translation tool.…

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How Banks Can Embrace Technology Through “Fintegration”: Podcast Summary

July 25, 2017

Here’s a terrific podcast interview via BAI Banking Strategies that you should listen to during your commute. In it, Andres Wolberg-Stok, Citi FinTech’s global head of policy, talks about best practices and approaches to incorporating financial tech – FinTech – in financial organizations. An important point Wolberg-Stok makes early in the conversation is the fact that,…

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Compliance Management and Fintech: Natural Enemies?

July 11, 2017

An article at Banking Exchange takes an interesting look at the often uneasy relationship between financial technology organizations vs. the Fintech market covering the hot topic of compliance management.  Instruments like the expanded UDAAP standards implemented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau need to be at the forefront. Richard Holbrook, chairman and CEO of $9.6 billion-assets…

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How Fast Can a Card Skimmer Be Installed? Watch and Be Amazed

July 6, 2017

We’ve heard stories of card skimmers at outdoor ATM machines and even gas pumps ripping off consumers’ card information, but, admit it – – you always trusted card machines that are inside of retail establishments just a bit more, right? Watch this clip and marvel at the fact that this caper is pulled off in…

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People Twice as Likely to Trust a Robot to Perform Heart Surgery Than Open a Bank Account for Them

June 27, 2017

Artificial Intelligence, chatbots and robo-advisors are coming. Here’s an interesting example of how perceptions can yield crazy statistical results. A “Trust in Technology” report published by HSBC found that consumers are leery of allowing chatbots and robo-advisors to help them open a savings account or provide mortgage advice – – but they would trust them more for heart surgery! In an article…

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Checks Tough to Shake From Their Throne in Pymnts.com Article

June 20, 2017

Pymnts.com reports that electronic payments are rising, according to a Viewpost study. Small and large businesses are recognizing the advantages of electronic payments.  But, for all the rah-rah about electronic payments seeping into the consciousness of American businesses, there are no victory dances quite yet: Every single one of the business owners surveyed by Viewpost…

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Social Media Provides a Gaping Hole for Fraudsters in Check

June 13, 2017

  AJC.com recently reported the story of a group of fraudsters who used Instagram ads to solicit bank information for unsuspecting victims, who were robbed of substantial funds before the crime was discovered. During a scheme lasting at least 17 months, the FBI said, the trio posted advertisements on Instagram and other social media sites offering “fast…

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