ANNOUNCEMENTSFuture Commerce, a retail media research startup focused on helping ecommerce businesses create strategic vision, stated it launched Infinite Shelf, a weekly podcast hosted by Ingrid Milman Cordy, who is a veteran of digital commerce and marketing for major brands and currently serves as head of digital and ecommerce for Nuun Hydration.
"Infinite Shelf recognizes that digital media and ecommerce tactics and strategies are no longer confined to traditional ecommerce channels and direct-to-consumer," Future Commerce stated. "Digital now touches every aspect of retail through the growth of trends such as buy online/pickup in-store, in-store kiosks that use AR/VR, and other innovations." The weekly podcast will feature conversations with leading brands and pioneers in the industry.
North American Bancard LLC, a progressive payment technology company dedicated to growing and nurturing its partner network, rolled out its Payments Hub Developer Portal, a free, one-stop destination to learn about integrations, view product information and connect directly with NAB's technical sales and engineering teams. The company noted that the Developer Portal offers features such as a developer-friendly viewer for API specs and downloadable SDKs; Featured Use Cases and an interactive Integration Selector that allows users to see which products best meet their unique business needs; and a simplified lead flow to send potential customers directly to a dedicated technical sales engineering team.
"From small shops who pivoted to ecommerce during the pandemic to teams of developers working for ISVs integrating payment, boarding, and reporting APIs into enterprise software applications, we have solutions for all developers," said Preet Patel, vice president of product for NAB.
Arkose Labs, a fraud prevention and account security company, was named an artificial intelligence (AI) and data winner for foiling both human fraudsters and bots in Fast Company's inaugural Next Big Things in Tech list, which honors technology breakthroughs that promise to shape the future of their industries—from healthcare to agriculture to artificial intelligence and more.
The final list, which includes global giants, intrepid startups and research fresh from the labs, recognizes 65 technologies that are making waves, Arkose stated, adding that while not all of the products, services, and technological developments are on the market yet, they're reaching key milestones in having a positive impact for consumers, businesses and society at large in the next five years. Arkose Labs is known for sabotaging fraudsters' return on investment.
NMI, a unified commerce enablement technology company, was also included in Fast Company's inaugural Next Big Things in Tech list for its upcoming tap to mobile solution. As a result of the pandemic, contactless payments became the norm as a safe option for a newly hyper health-conscious society, NMI stated. The company's tap to mobile software solution changes the game for merchants no matter the size—especially for SMBs and micro-merchants who typically don't have access to the same feature-rich terminals enterprise companies have, NMI added. "Tap to mobile payments are the next revolution of payment acceptance, enabling greater democratization of payments for merchants of all sizes and getting them up and running quicker," said Vijay Sondhi, CEO of NMI. "This technology is a game changer, and we're so excited that Fast Company has honored us and our tap to mobile solution."
VizyPay, a payment processor for small businesses and Inc. 5000's 45th fastest-growing private company in the United States, was named the Best Payment Tech Solution in the 2021 Tech Ascension Awards for its proprietary VizyPOS App for PAX Technology POS systems. The app allows merchants to manage all sales aspects within their business and addresses major industry pain points, including the lack of data analytics and split tender options for cash discounting, VizyPay stated.
The awards program judged applicants based on technology innovation, market research and competitive differentiators. "We are honored to recognize leaders that are pushing true industry innovation and giving customers seamless experiences," said David Campbell, CEO for the Tech Ascension Awards. "Leaders like VizyPay are challenging the status quo and moving the industry forward."
RESEARCHFraud deterrence experts at Arkose Labs released new data on the latest fraud trends, revealing increased threats during the holidays, rising attacks by bots and a resurgence in attacks on travel companies. As shoppers fill online carts, account takeover attacks and gift-card fraud remain persistent, researchers found.
The Q4 Arkose Labs Fraud and Abuse Report shares the top six fraud-fighting trends from the previous three months and provides data indicating that no digital business is immune from attack. Financial industries saw 32 percent more attacks than in the first half of 2021; retail and travel attacks increased 63 percent in the third quarter; and gaming saw a spate of fake new accounts being set up for fraudulent purposes, researchers noted. Media and streaming businesses saw 60 percent of malicious activity targeting logins.
According to a new Fiserv white paper showcasing findings of a survey conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research, consumers are crystal clear on the benefits of real-time payments, yet often lack understanding of what exactly real-time payments are, what they can do and who offers them. This underscores the opportunity for financial institutions to offer real-time payments and spotlight their ability to offer instant money movement at critical moments, researchers noted.
The paper, Real-Time Payments: An Urgent Priority for Financial Institutions, maintains that financial institutions have an opportunity to educate consumers—especially younger generations—on the value of real-time payments. Banks and credit unions can do this by addressing some of the consumer misperceptions noted in the paper, including data that shows "a worrisome 60% of consumers think that 'real-time payments' are not truly instantaneous"and that "44% of consumers who recently received funds via nonbank apps mistakenly believe those apps provide instant access to funds through their bank accounts."
The Payments Association released its latest research, Using AI Intelligently: Smart ways to use Artificial Intelligence in Payments, showing how AI and machine learning are being used in the payments, finance and banking sectors and how they may be used in the future.
The report, supported by international payments company Fable Fintech, shows that the majority of financial services organizations with over 5,000 employees are using some form of AI, the association noted, adding that these technologies allow companies to scale processes faster than human beings, process data far more efficiently than current decision-making programs, and can find patterns and make inferences. "The efficiency savings are potentially astronomical, but more important is the ability of AI to improve itself in real time by analyzing results and spotting patterns," the association pointed out.
PARTNERSHIPSDoorDash and Payfare teamed up to deliver instant access to earnings for DoorDash delivery drivers (Dashers) across the United States via DasherDirect. DasherDirect is a financial platform and digital banking solution for Dashers, powered by Payfare. Through DasherDirect, Dashers gain access to automatic, no-fee payouts within minutes after every dash, in direct response to Dasher feedback requesting faster access to their earnings, the partners stated.
"Following an initial pilot in select markets for DasherDirect cardholders, early adopters shared that 'cash after every dash' is a resounding success," they added. Other benefits for Dashers include no credit check or prior bank account required to sign up, banking on the go, including free withdrawals at more than 20,000 ATMs nationwide and free fund transfers with no minimums.
Ketch, a data control platform, formed a partnership with data cloud company Snowflake and is now a Snowflake Accelerated Governance Partner. The partnership and product integrations empower mutual customers to do more with their data, while the designation recognizes Ketch's innovations in data governance, and its unique approach to programmatic privacy, the partners stated.
Companies today must comply with rigorous privacy regulations around the storage and use of sensitive and personal data, including new categories of sensitive data defined by laws such as California's CCPA and CPRA, they pointed out, adding that the new integration allows joint customers to establish and proactively enforce governance policies that protect and secure the privacy of personal data.
Digital ordering provider QikServe partnered with hospitality ecommerce specialists Toggle to streamline the way customers pay for restaurant meals using pre-purchased gift cards. QikServe's platform allows guests to order food online for collection, delivery or dining at the table. Now, when customers come to pay for their meal, they're able to not only use methods such as ApplePay, Google Pay and card, but they can also redeem a gift card purchased through Toggle's platform, QikServe stated. Customers choosing to pay by gift voucher can opt to use some or all the stored value on their card. The integration between QikServe's digital ordering platform and Toggle marks a shift in digital payment options for customers, allowing them to have greater choice and a more seamless experience, eliminating the need to use traditional paper vouchers, QikServe added.
ACQUISITIONSPayment technology provider Stax acquired CardX, an automated surcharging platform, stating the aim is to make surcharging more transparent and easier for U.S. merchants and cardholders. This marks Stax's third acquisition of 2021. "By acquiring CardX, Stax will give its merchant customers an easy way to accept credit cards at 0 percent cost," Stax noted. "CardX's capabilities will enhance Stax's existing surcharging services, specifically helping customers automate surcharging compliance with built-in disclosures, pricing technology to correctly process every card type, and tools for seamless reconciliation and cash application."
Uplinq Financial Technologies, a data analytics company, heralded its intellectual property (IP) acquisition of Verde International's advanced behavioral, econometric and financial models, and state-of-the-art optimization methods. As part of the deal, Pat Reilly, CEO of Verde International will join Uplinq as a co-founder. The acquisition includes Verde's small business regulatory compliant decisioning engine, powered by AI. The move enhances Uplinq's plans to transform how small business lenders evaluate credit decisions and risk profiles of their new and existing clients, and will allow the company to deliver scientifically validated financial results to its customers, which no other service provider can offer, Uplinq stated.
APPOINTMENTSThe Strawhecker Group, an analytics and consulting firm that supports the payments ecosystem, celebrated several new hires and promotions. Marissa Charles was promoted to digital marketing manager. She works closely with each line of business to amplify TSG's brand image. Kevin Keegan was hired as general counsel. He leads the legal function at TSG as well as supports the development of the company's overall strategic plan. Roger Van Scoy was brought on as customer success evangelist. His role of creating TSG's Customer Success Organization is focused on developing internal standards for strategic account planning and relationship building. Scott Fortenberry joined the company as customer success director. He is assisting in the creation of TSG's
Customer Success Organization, as well as managing new and existing client relationships. Trevor Culbertson was hired as research analyst. He focuses on monitoring the activities of the payments industry to support client engagements. And Jeff Fortney was hired as senior associate. He has over 28 years' experience in the payments and financial technology world working primarily with ISOs and software companies.
Tappit, which provides global payment and data ecosystems for sports, events, stadiums and venues, hired Laurens Eckelboom as chief commercial officer. According to Tappit, Eckelboom has a significant track record in SaaS scale-up, successfully building and growing companies in Europe and the United States—most notably Parkmobile and ParkHub, and Silicon Valley-based SAP P&. In addition, Eckelboom co-founded and held multiple board member seats, including a cutting-edge IoT water control company in Atlanta, a scale-up in disruptive gated and multi-mobility access technology in Boston, and an experiential lodging marketplace and payments platform startup in Atlanta. And he has led multiple companies through their early stages into their hyper growth phases, Tappit added.
KLEAR Technologies Inc., a fintech company focused on securely authenticating and enabling financial transactions, named payments industry veteran Donna Embry as president and chief operating officer. Embry will oversee the company's SecurPair offering, which was recently certified by the ATM Industry Association as the world's first Next Gen ATM product.
A seasoned professional with more than five decades of experience, Embry also heads Embry Consulting LLC. She previously held senior positions with Evolve Bank & Trust, Payment Alliance International (now PAI), Vital Processing Services (now Global Payments) and PNC Bank. Embry also serves as co-chair for ATMIA's U.S. regional board and is a board member of the Northeast Acquirers Association.
Jason Kratovil, head of public policy & industry relations at SentiLink joined the board of directors of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit organization established to support victims of identity crime. Kratovil is a recognized legislative and regulatory expert in identity crimes and synthetic identity fraud, payments, data security and consumer privacy, the ITRC noted. He also serves on the Fairfax County (Virginia) Consumer Protection Commission.
Semafone, a provider of data security and compliance solutions for call and contact centers, appointed Gary Levy as chief revenue officer of the Americas to lead activities in the United States, Canada and South America. Levy brings many years of leadership experience with diverse security, channel management and sales expertise, Semafone stated, and will oversee Semafone's revenue-generating operations in the Americas region.
In his prior tenure at Avaya, Levy served as vice president of Americas, channel sales, transforming partnerships and driving sales across five regions. Most recently, he served as the vice president of worldwide alliances & channels at Oracle Communications where he was responsible for fostering critical relationships, partnerships and alliances to transform the global channel ecosystem.
Featurespace, a provider of enterprise crime prevention software, recruited Todd Raque as its leading anti-money laundering (AML) and financial crimes expert in the Americas. Raque brings nearly three decades of industry knowledge in financial crime and compliance to his new position, where he will enhance development and delivery of the company's ARIC Risk Hub, and influence product innovation, sales and delivery.
His AML, financial crime and law enforcement experience includes assisting financial institutions with transformation initiatives within AML operations and governance programs, as well as effectively advising executive leadership on risk management, compliance and operations strategies within large national and international banks, Featurespace stated. 
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