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record 2019 US e-commerce sales
E-commerce Retail

Happy holiday online sales get retailers smiling

While overall retail sales grew during this year’s holiday season, it was mostly online sales that delivered results with in-store sales stagnant or down in most department stores and retail outlets. Super Saturday sales, the last Saturday sales day before Christmas, reached a record $34.4 ...
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Happy Holidays 2019
Disruptive Technologies Retail

10 new disruptive holiday spirits for gifts and celebration

The spirits and beverage industry is being disrupted just like the payments and financial world. Craft beers have displaced Bud and Miller. Craft distilleries are doing the same with tequila, vodka, rum, and other hard spirits. And of course, boutique wineries have thrived for years ...
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holiday returns may hit $41.6 billion
E-commerce Payments Research Retail

Holiday e-commerce returns could hit $41.6 billion

There’s a costly hitch to the happy e-commerce sales estimated at $138.5 billion for 2019. CBRE Group and Optoro estimate the cost of product returns from US online customers during the busy holiday season could reach $41.6 billion. The cost of this reverse logistics problem ...
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cyber bot crime growing
Cybersecurity E-commerce Mobile Payments

Holiday sales cheer mixed with bot and mobile cyberattack headaches

The good news is US Black Friday weekend holiday sales grew an estimated 19.7% according to Adobe Analytics. The bad news according to LexisNexis® Risk Solutions (LNRS) is that fraudulent sales grew substantially as well, including a big jump in cyberattacks by bots and mobile ...
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Trust and digital identity
Banking Fintech

Consumers trust bank digital identity security, convenience

Despite the high profile of big digital security failures, consumers say they trust banks most with the security and convenience of their digital identity according to new research from Mitek. Mitek found digital identity is becoming a key enabler for online banking and on-demand financial ...
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Robinhood launches fractional trades
Banking Fintech

Robinhood launches fractional share investing

Last week, Menlo, CA headquartered fintech investment app Robinhood launched fractional share trading that allows investors to buy as little as one-millionth of a share or one dollar of any stock for no fee. It’s not the only fractional share service out there but it’s ...
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global payments news roundup
Banking Fintech Payments Trends

Dec 13 Global payments news roundup

Here’s your weekly global payments news roundup, all wrapped up in one handy reading package. Juniper Research reports global remittances hit $682.6 billion in 2018 with much more on the horizon. We look closely at the growth of fake five-star reviews on Amazon and other ...
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global remittances 2019
Mobile Payments Payments Research Payments Trends

International remittances grew 11% and big growth is ahead

Remittances are a multi-billion-dollar industry and the latest Juniper Research offers valuable insight into the size of the market, the biggest sending and receiving countries, and what’s on the horizon for remittances in the future as a result of digitization. In 2018, international remittances through ...
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India market
Mobile Payments Payments Trends

The leapfrog effect: Overcoming barriers in global payment infrastructure

By Steve Villegas, VP Payment Partnerships, North America at PPRO Over the last decade, we have seen an explosion in FinTech ushering a new era of commerce. Payment innovations and new solutions have closed the technology gap and have connected consumers all around the world ...
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10 Canadian credit unions launch Google Pay
Banking Mobile Payments Payments Technology

Canadian credit unions launch Android phone payments with Google Pay

Ten credit unions launched the Interac Debit payment system with Google Pay, allowing Canadian consumers to pay for purchases using their Android phones.  Canadians have used the interact debit payment system for more than 20 years and this marks a big step forward for Google ...
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