There’s a ton of warehouse space in the United States today: about 14.5 billion square feet, according to Jonathan Rosenthal, chairman and co-founder of Warehouse Exchange. But that’s not the shocker, he told Karen Webster in this week’s Matchmaker. According to Rosenthal, the amount of space that goes unused on any given day is 4 billion square feet, or roughly 30 percent. And that’s just the U.S. — the stats in Asia are even worse, with as much as half of all warehouse space sitting unused. MORE

It can happen at the office. It can happen on Facebook and Pinterest. It can happen on a well-crafted blog designed to appeal to particular hobbyists, or an event and ticketing website, or an online platform devoted to travel. It can happen pretty much anywhere, given the right tools. And the people who try it seem to really, really like it — which signals good news for merchants and payments providers in the coming years. MORE

But this meeting was all part of a secret event that was reportedly sponsored by Chain, the blockchain startup. This meeting took place in the Times Square office of Nasdaq — which has also been experimenting with blockchain’s tech — and included representatives from Citigroup, Visa, Fidelity, Fiserv., ” The outcome of this event was officially announced yesterday (May 2), when leaders who participated in the meeting expressed what came out of it. MORE

EXCLUSIVE – Atlanta-based InComm Holdings and American Express will meet today to discuss next steps for their recently announced partnership on Amex’s prepaid card business, InComm President Phil Graves told Bank Innovation. MORE

The hiring trend in the private sector managed to keep chugging on for a bit, showing in March that strength in the United States job market has not been derailed by slowdowns elsewhere across the globe. MORE

The sharing economy, environmentally friendly transit and the anti-litter movement all meet. So it’s come to this – or, rather, it all comes to a head, so many trends all at once. Messily. News comes this week courtesy of CBS that the emergence of the auto-less trend – think bike sharing (the dockless kind ) and the rental scooters that are now gaining momentum – have been drawing some heat. MORE

It would appear that simplicity is a concept that is valued worldwide. The ability to send money between parties quickly is gaining popularity. Across the pond, for example, the latest statistics from the U.K.’s s Faster Payments scheme indicate 129.7 million payments — totaling £112.6 MORE

The world of payments is no doubt in the midst of a major transformation. Vivek Agrawal, executive vice president of technology solutions provider Skava , joined PYMNTS for the latest segment of the Commander in Chief series to speak to why innovation isn’t just about creating new, exciting products. Here’s why Agrawal says the real focal point of innovation is to address (and solve) real and present challenges across industries. MORE

You have probably experienced this at your bank - You hold a shareholder meeting and of your 1,000 shareholders, only twenty people showed up and ten were directors, two were past employees and five were there for the free lunch. MORE

National Automated Clearing House Association ( NACHA ) — the Electronic Payments Association — and the Payments Innovation Alliance recently released a summary report from the API Standardization Industry Group’s inaugural meeting, which took place in May. The meeting brought together 40 leaders from more than 30 organizations to help identify and prioritize API use cases to be explored in the generation of the Playbook. MORE

HYPR, a biometrics security firm, and BitGo, a bitcoin security platform, joined in a partnership to bring biometric authentication to the blockchain space. The BitGo-HYPR partnership is designed to enable a seamless customer experience and fulfill security needs. MORE

Yesterday, retail industry executives were scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump to discuss his proposed change to the border tax. In their meeting, the retail executives reportedly planned to discuss the tax’s potential effects on consumer prices. The group was said to have included top brass from Best Buy, Gap Inc. and Target. The gathering was also expected to include the CEOs of AutoZone, J.C. Penney Co., Jo-Ann Stores, Tractor Supply Co. MORE

Katie Tolin, past president of the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) and founder of CPA Growth Guides LLC , notes that when accountants understand how to conduct consultative meetings, they can secure and grow revenue streams while the client achieves business goals. MORE

BofA tech summit seeks mutual understanding Management Lines of Business Technology Fintech. 1Technology MORE

How can eGifting be more enjoyable — the experience more exciting — than receiving a traditional digital gift card? Historically, sending cash to somebody or a digital gift card is a pretty dry experience,” Suresh Bhat, co-founder and COO of Vouchr , told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster in an interview. But [what] we do is we add that layer of fun on top of that.”. People usually think of digital gift cards — or prepaid credit cards — when it comes to eGifting. For Vouchr, that still holds true. MORE

Therefore, accepting one specific method may be less important for businesses and organizations than enabling as many payment types as possible to meet consumers where they are. The digital economy is here and, for many consumers, it has become a way of life. MORE

Pants. Most people wear them at some point, but few of us spend much time wondering if pants are living up to their fullest potential. We can safely say that pants have lived up to their minimum commitment as a garment — they do a great job of covering one’s lower half, for example — but even that definition is up in the air as pop icon Kim Kardashian proudly demonstrates here. So what does it mean for pants to be doing their best work? MORE

Did you catch the season finale of Shark Tank last week? Yikes. For those who didn’t: the product pitched in the above episode, Pavlok, is a wearable device that uses zaps, taps, beeps and vibrations to train the human mind out of bad habits, such as smoking, nail biting or Read More. MORE

There are many reasons to consider Tempe, Arizona for your next meeting. But, there’s even more appeal for meeting and event planners. Tempe’s hotels and meeting venues are perfectly suited for groups ranging from 10-500 attendees. MORE

There’s another digital currency in town, and its name is YoCoin. The question is: Can YoCoin give bitcoin a run for its money? We’ll have to wait and see. But YoCoin is pitching itself as a “new cryptocurrency with mainstream appeal.” ” “Unlike most of the alternative cryptocurrencies, YoCoin is a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency based on the Scrypt mining algorithm, making it far more accessible than bitcoin is when it comes to mining. MORE

Tablet kiosks are adding a new dimension to the customer experience, but unlocking their full potential requires liberating them from their mount MORE

EXCLUSIVE – Welcome BMO Bolt, Bank of Montreal’s virtual assistant on social media platform Facebook Messenger. The bot, announced today, was created in partnership with conversational banking technology company Finn.AI. BMO customers shouldn't get too excited about handing over control of their financial lives to the bot yet, though. This chatbot provides only unauthenticated information,Read More. MORE

The study, which was conducted by Researchscape, reveals that despite a wealth of data about customer behavior and purchasing choices at their disposal, companies have not been effectively using this data to better meet consumer expectations. MORE

users to set up meetings at nearby Starbucks stores. The new tool called “Meet at Starbucks” lets users run an in-app search that utilizes their location to find the nearest store and choose it as a location for their upcoming meeting. The functionality, however, doesn’t require a user to have a Starbucks account for setting up a meeting, Chain Store Age reported. Starbucks has found a new solution to every Outlook user’s coffee needs. MORE

When blockchain meets real estate on BankNXT. It was only a matter of time before cryptocurrencies entered the realm of real estate, says Phil Siarri. Fintech Payments bitcoin blockchain cryptocurrency digital trends MORE

The concept of millennial marketing is nothing new. Generation marketing is based on the assumption that each generation possesses different values and behaviors, which affect consumption habits. One area this. Commerce Fintech Insights Payments Asia Europe insights US MORE

In the May mPOS Tracker TM , PYMNTS looks at how one bank is using mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) devices to let a fleet of staff carry the bank’s services with them as they meet consumers at their homes. MORE

Why deliver oneself to a store — and face the hassle of heat, crowds and parking — when the store can deliver itself to you, especially if that delivery might someday involve a real, “live” delivery bot rolling to your door? It might seem a bit far-fetched now, but the bots are built and automation is clearly on the rise. The big names in retail — like Walmart and Dunkin’ Donuts — are thinking about how they might offer consumers more by asking them to do less. MORE

Earlier this year, the Washington-state Division of Credit Unions issued an interpretive letter on virtual membership meeting. The state credit union regulator stated that a Washington credit union may not conduct an annual membership meeting or special membership meeting as a virtual meeting without simultaneously conducting an in-person meeting. Annual Meeting Bylaws Credit Union Practices State Regulator MORE

In payments, the readiness is all, to quote Shakespeare. For large financial institutions, the readiness … requires some readiness. In the latest Data Drivers, PYMNTS’ Karen Webster spoke with Marc Winitz, CMO of i2c, to get a sense of how fierce competition is in financial services. MORE

set out to find a provider that could build a solution that would be able to meet PCI requirements and help boost customer satisfaction, call handle time and call center security — all without the challenge of altering existing infrastructure. Customer service and protecting customer information are vitally important to any business, but sometimes it can be tough to do one without impacting the other. For WideOpenWest (WOW!), MORE

We asked David what are the biggest challenges in regulation, and how he thinks to tackle them: “The answer to meet the ongoing challenges of being compliant is to intelligently and methodically connect your internal controls to the external, dynamic regulatory environment. MORE

Use of online banking portals for corporates is ubiquitous — 99 percent of executives recently surveyed by JPMorgan said they conduct business banking online. However, professionals don’t have plans to expand their eBanking habits, and there may be a few reasons why. JPMorgan’s latest report, Trends in Digital Business Banking , was released Monday (July 9). MORE

The average shopper — retail’s favorite concept. For years and for all intents and purposes, the average shopper could be found in Peoria, Illinois. The demographically representative city was a favored testing grounds for products, and the certification that it “plays in Peoria” was taken as a positive indicator that, whatever the product happened to be, it was ready to play in prime time. Up until the end of the 1990s, Peoria was a favored test market. MORE

At the intersection of payments and commerce in today’s digitally driven world, there’s an endless number of routes where technology and payments merge — including fashion. MORE

It is payments that puts trust into a digital meeting place and turns it into a marketplace.”. Digital meeting places for gig economy players have exploded — and now fast, efficient payments are needed to consistently inject the trust that makes them true digital marketplaces. MORE

The rise in automated solutions – especially in various finance functions – initially led to concern among financial professionals that their positions might be replaced by robots. With automation becoming more commonplace, however, it’s clear that humans are undoubtedly still needed in the enterprise. Indeed, small businesses say they are actually demanding more from their accountants and bookkeepers than ever before. MORE

Microsoft just announced the launch of eDiscovery for calling/meetings. As a compliance admin whom are used to eDiscovery searches for Microsoft Teams messages and files, you will now be able to search and discover summary reports for every Microsoft Teams meeting or call within your tenant. MORE

President Trump is scheduled to meet with some 20 chief executives, the White House said, in a bid to drum up support for various administration policies, including a $1 trillion dollar infrastructure program. The executives Trump has plans to meet include heads of GM, IBM and Walmart, among a number of others. In their meeting, the retail executives discussed the tax’s potential negative effects on consumer prices. MORE

. Editor’s Note: Last week, Aunkumar Krishnakumar (Arun for short) wrote a great post about the effects of Demonetization on Microfinance in India. We liked it so much that we asked for more and this week Arun has found two amazing stories from Africa. MORE

Much has been written about buying bitcoin in specific, and cryptocurrency in general. Whether it’s investing or gambling, whether it’s a good idea or immoral – no ink has been spared in uncovering every angle on cryptocurrency and what its purchase and sale will mean for the future of money. With one, curious exception, as Ben, Inc. co-founder and CEO Miguel Kudry noted in an interview with PYMNTS. MORE

14) of this week, prominent Silicon Valley tech industry leaders are reportedly planning to attend President-Elect Donald Trump’s technology roundtable meeting. As of yet, there is no official word on the agenda for the technology roundtable meeting, though, throughout his campaign, Trump emphasized a need to boost American job growth and has repeatedly targeted tech companies, including Apple and IBM, for outsourcing their labor. This should be an interesting one to watch. MORE

The bank calls for an Open Banking meeting. The post The bank calls for an Open Banking meeting appeared first on Chris Skinner's blog. I posted this on twitter earlier and it’s proven so popular that I thought I would share with all. MORE