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Medius Debuts AI-Powered Accounts Payable Tools
Accounts payable (AP) management firm Medius has introduced a pair of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered offerings. Medius Copilot is an AI assistant embedded within the company’s AP automation application, designed to assist invoice approvers, especially those who are not AP experts, according to a Thursday (June 27) press release. “Medius...
Report: Teenagers in Wealthy Nations Lag in Financial Literacy
A new report says teens in more prosperous countries are lacking in financial literacy. While more than two-thirds of students routinely use financial products and services, levels of financial literacy are too low to make sure they can avoid financial risks, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Thursday (June 27).
Walgreens Considers Closing 25% of Stores Amid Consumer Price Sensitivity
Challenges in the retail environment and the pharmacy industry have led Walgreens Boots Alliance to consider closing as many as 25% of its U.S. retail stores. These Walgreens stores do not contribute to the firm’s adjusted operating income, and the company expects that a “significant portion” of these underperforming stores will be closed over the next three years, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Tim Wentworth said Thursday (June 27) during the company’s quarterly earnings call.
Velera Launches Project Management Platform for Credit Unions
Credit union service organization Velera is rolling out a new onboarding and project management platform. Formerly known as PSCU/Co-op Solutions, Velera said in a Thursday (June 27) news release that the new platform offers credit unions more transparency and better collaboration and lays a foundation for future generative artificial intelligence integration.
Amazon Merges Clinic and Amazon One Medical Into Single Brand
Amazon’s pay-per-visit telehealth service and its One Medical program are now a single brand. The company announced Thursday (June 27) that Amazon Clinic, introduced in 2022, was being renamed Amazon One Medical Pay-per-visit. With that name change comes some others: customers now have the choice of paying for each...
Insured Unemployment Number Reaches Highest Level Since 2021
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits reached its highest level in over two years. The insured unemployment number for the week ended June 15 was 1,839,000, which was 18,000 higher than the previous week’s revised figure of 1,821,000, the Department of Labor (DOL) said in a Thursday (June 27) press release. The figure for the previous week was revised down by 7,000, per the release.
AI Surge Drives Tech Industry Growth for Micron, Alibaba and Perplexity
The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is reshaping the tech landscape, with industry giants and startups reporting significant gains and attracting major investments. Memory chip maker Micron Technology announced robust quarterly results fueled by AI demand, while eCommerce giant Alibaba.com rolled out AI tools to empower small businesses globally. Meanwhile, AI-powered search startup Perplexity caught the eye of SoftBank’s Vision Fund, potentially securing a multi-million-dollar investment at a $3 billion valuation. These developments underscore AI’s growing influence across various tech sectors, from hardware infrastructure to eCommerce and information retrieval.
OpenAI Unveils Content Deal With Time Magazine
OpenAI and Time announced a multi-year content partnership. The tie-up will give OpenAI access to Time’s current and past content from its 101-year-old archive, allowing the tech firm to cite the publication as a source of information in response to user queries on ChatGPT, according to a Thursday (June 27) news release.
Sezzle Expands Rewards Program to Canada After Success in US
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Sezzle has expanded Payments Streaks, a program that rewards users for consistently making timely payments, to Canada, with the exception of Quebec. This move follows the successful launch of the program in the United States in May, the company said in a Thursday (June...
Consumer Spending Revised Lower as Paycheck-to-Paycheck Households Struggle
The third estimate of how gross domestic product (GDP) fared in the first quarter showed — at least in the headline number — there was a slight boost from previous estimates. The Bureau of Economic Analysis’ final reading noted that first quarter GDP was 1.4% higher, on an...
Dust Raises $16 Million to Help Companies Deploy AI Assistants
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) firm Dust has raised $16 million in additional funding to expand its platform that helps companies deploy AI assistants for internal use cases. The firm will use the new funding, which was led by Sequoia Capital, to add to its team and accelerate its product development...
Evolve Confirms Ransomware Hack as Challenges Grow at FinTech Partner Bank
It’s been a bad month for Evolve Bank & Trust, and it’s only getting worse. Following a “cease and desist” order issued to the bank on June 14, the Arkansas-based lender on Wednesday (June 26) publicly confirmed the news that a ransomware gang had hacked the bank and was posting customer data on the dark web.
Data: Consumers Are Using Digital Wallets for More Than Payments — Here’s How
Consumers’ use of digital wallets is evolving beyond just making purchases, and younger generations are showing the way forward. The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Digital Wallets Beyond Financial Transactions: A Global Perspective,” created in collaboration with Google Wallet, drew from a survey of more than 12,000 consumers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, France and Germany. The study examined how consumers use their digital wallets beyond making payments and how they intend to use them in the future.
Uber Invites Consumers to Give up Car, Try Alternative Transportation
Uber is inviting consumers to give up their personal car for five weeks and adopt a “car-light lifestyle.”. The ride-hailing company will select up to 175 people in seven cities across the United States and Canada to participate in its One Less Car trial, Uber said in a Thursday (June 27) press release.
Exclusive: Amazon Canada Taps Visa for Installment Plans
Some of the seven new product and feature announcements Visa announced at its May 15 user conference are starting to gain traction. Case in point: Flexible Credentials and installments. When it was first announced, Mark Nelsen, senior vice president and global head of consumer payments at Visa, told PYMNTS’ CEO...
Goodbye Checks, Hello Progress: AR Automation Unlocks Growth Potential
Commercial payments are never just payments. More than the money movement itself, business payments comprise the workflows and data surrounding and supporting them. Ultimately, commercial payments help define and dictate the end-to-end experience a business can provide its customers. “Helping our customers move to a more automated payment transaction and...
What Core Banking’s 40-Year Evolution Says About What’s Next for Banking
There’s a misperception about bankers and banking. That misperception is that money — in all its forms — is the most important asset. The reality is that customers are the most important asset, because if there are no customers there is no money. And financial services executives who understand the connection also understand the importance of technology as it serves those two assets: customers and their money.
Crypto Firm Abra Settles States’ Charges of Operating Without Licenses
Cryptocurrency firm Abra and its CEO and largest equity owner Bill Barhydt have reached a settlement with 25 state regulators. The settlement follows the states’ finding that Abra and Barhydt operated a mobile app for buying, selling, trading and investing in crypto without receiving the required state licenses, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) said in a Wednesday (June 26) press release.
Experts Expect Spinoff as FedEx Considers Future of Freight Unit
FedEx is reportedly expected to spin off its Freight unit after it conducts an assessment of the future of that business unit. The company’s Freight unit, which is the largest operator in the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector, could bring a windfall to FedEx shareholders if it were spun off as a separate publicly traded company, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Wednesday (June 26).
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