HomeLight Expands Its Real Estate Financial Products in Arizona [2023 Update]

HomeLight, a real estate technology platform that transforms the home-buying and selling process for top agents and clients, announced that it would expand its flagship financial products, HomeLight Trade-In and HomeLight Cash-Off, to more agents, homebuyers, and sellers in Arizona.

This expansion has followed 700% product growth since January 2020. It is supported by a $363 million Series A funding round in September 2021.

These products were extensively used in a historically competitive year. According to transactions that were closed between December 2019 and now, HomeLight Trade-In(tm), homes sold for 5% more than their valuations, closed 5x faster, helped clients save 3.5%, and allowed them to purchase a home for less than the traditional way of listing on the market. In addition, buyers have been able to save up to 4.4% on offers powered by the HomeLight Cash Deal compared to loans.

Locations of HomeLight’s Headquarters and Offices

HomeLight’s headquarters are located in Scottsdale, AZ, at the SkySong Center, a high-growth area for technology-based businesses within the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center. The company’s headquarters was previously located in San Francisco, CA. This was where it was founded in 2012.

HomeLight’s headquarters in Scottsdale is its largest office. It serves as the operational hub for customer service, sales, and title and escrow. HomeLight intends to hire 300 people in the area over the next six to twelve months.

Governor Doug Ducey stated that HomeLight’s move from San Francisco to Scottsdale was a proud moment. He said, “This has made Scottsdale the largest office of the company. The rapid growth of HomeLight demonstrates Arizona’s top environment for innovation and technology. We are pleased with this expansion and the additional 300 jobs that it represents. We look forward to continuing to support HomeLight’s growth in the future.”

David D. Ortega, Scottsdale Mayor, said that HomeLight deserves congratulations for its continued success. He said, “Scottsdale has established itself as the ideal location for HomeLight to grow and innovate in the real estate market. I’m always thrilled when smart companies take advantage of the great foundation that Scottsdale’s booming tech sector provides.”

Drew Uher, HomeLight’s CEO and Founder, stated, “In a real estate marketplace that is more competitive than ever before, top agents, homebuyers, and sellers are looking to innovative tools and services such as HomeLight Trade-In and Cash Offer to help their transact with speed and certainty.

We couldn’t be happier to grow our roots in Arizona and tap into the skilled workforce of the greater Scottsdale region. Our goal is to partner with the top Arizona agents to provide exceptional service for clients throughout the transaction process.”

The HomeLight Cash offer, made by top agents to their clients, allows them to make an all-cash offer on their next house. HomeLight Home Loans verifies clients’ income and assets in order to determine their purchasing power.

Once the agent and client have found a home, HomeLight makes an offer for all cash and holds the property until financing is secured. Then, HomeLight will sell the client’s home at the buyer’s price plus a small fee once the loan is closed.

The HomeLight Trade-In, which solves an important problem for homeowners and agents, allows them to sell and buy at the same time while still capturing their full market value. HomeLight buys the property for approximately 90% of its expected value.

This frees up equity to be used when it is needed before listing the house. HomeLight then places the property on the market and works with the agent to sell it. The company pays the client a small fee if the home sells at more than HomeLight’s purchase cost.

Martin Sears, a Phoenix-area agent in the HomeLight network and the owner of West USA Realty Estrella Branch, stated that “as more people flock to the Copper State,” and added, “I’m excited to offer HomeLight cash offer and HomeLight trade-in to help my clients compete in today’s market by offering them opportunities to make contingency free offers.” “With HomeLight’s technology, we believe we can put more Arizonans on a path to the American dream of homeownership.

HomeLight’s growth and relocation come after last month’s $363million fundraising spherical. This raised the corporate’s value to $1.6billion, according to PYMNTS. The new spherical was allocated to increase HomeLight’s Money Supply and HomeLight Commerce In. It also allowed HomeLight to hire additional staff and create new workplaces in the U.S. The corporate has raised approximately $530 million.

Drew Uher, HomeLight’s founder, and CEO spoke to Karen Webster of PYMNTS. He stated that he founded the company with the goal of providing “the contingency free actual property transaction of long term.” The Money Supply product allows buyers in need of a mortgage to create a money supply for a property. This makes them more aggressive and increases their chances of securing the purchase.

HomeLight Commerce In frees the customer from the entire itemizing process. This is in accordance with the announcement. HomeLight purchases the dwelling of the customer – usually for 90% of its expected worth – then lists and sells it with the agent.

HomeLight – The Fastest Growing Real Estate Tech Firm

HomeLight is today building the future in real estate. Our vision is for a world in which every real estate transaction can be simple, straightforward, and satisfying.

HomeLight’s platform is trusted by the best real estate agents. It allows them to provide better results for homebuyers and home sellers at every stage of the real estate process.

This includes enabling all-cash offers, unlocking liquidity to purchase a new home, and ensuring certainty through modern closings. As a result, HomeLight’s platform facilitates thousands of agents’ billions in residential real estate transactions each year.

HomeLight was founded in 2012 and had offices in Scottsdale and San Francisco. It also has New York, Tampa, and Tampa offices. HomeLight has received backing from prominent investors such as Zeev Ventures and Menlo Ventures.

After Apple Privacy Changes Hit Ads Business Snap Shares Plunge 25%

Snapchat shares plummeted 25% after Apple declared a few critical privacy changes in Apple’s App Store. The owner of Snapchat mentioned that its shares witnessed a decline since Apple’s new privacy policy has affected Snap’s digital advertising. These changes were introduced on Apple’s App stores causing a significant disturbance in the ad management. Not only Snapchat but many companies have been facing issues in managing their digital ad campaigns after this announcement. The share price of Snapchat dropped to $57 from $75, as a result. The company experienced a loss of $72 million in the third quarter.

Snap reported that they had predicted some form of disruption in their regular operations after Apple’s policy changes, but they were not expecting this. It has become harder for Snap’s ad partners to measure and manage their ad campaigns for iOS users.

Currently, they are focusing on launching some first-party ad tracking tools to help their partners measure the ad performances. The goal is to find a way out of this chaos. Analysts had expected Snap’s revenue to be around $1.36 by the end of this year. Now, they are predicting their revenues to be between $1.17 and $1.21 billion by December 31.

Snapchat is a California-based social networking app that has been gaining a lot of attention from the youth. The company reported steady growth ever since it started. They have been launching a new and exciting range of features that give a personalized experience to their users. For example, they recently launched My Places which offers personalized recommendations to people regarding where to eat, which restaurants are the best, where they should travel, and more. The company mentioned that it earns a major portion of its revenues from selling digital ads on the platform. Apple’s announcement, however, has led to labor shortages and disruptions in the supply chain.

With Snapchat, Facebook’s shares declined by 6% while Twitter’s shares dropped by 7%. The news has not only impacted Snap but all social networking channels and digital ad publishing platforms. This new privacy policy rolled out in June, has restricted digital advertisers and brands from tracking iOS users without their permission. Apple launched a new ad campaign measurement tool, which made it impossible for the brands to track iPhone users and the performance of their ads.

Snap further mentioned that they are expecting this disruption to linger through the last months – the most profitable period for social media since brands increase their marketing efforts for the holiday. Snap has suppliers that publish ads in the fashion, beauty, and consumer-good niches. The revenue of Snapchat in the third quarter was $1.07 billion, less than the estimated $1.1 billion. Snap reported a growth in its daily active user metrics by 23%, higher than the estimates. The daily active users are expected to grow to 318 million in the fourth quarter.

The CEO Evan Speigel said that the company would focus more on its augmented reality services to improve users’ shopping experiences. They are expected to launch advanced augmented reality tools that allow buyers to try on clothing, beauty products, and other fashion items before they make a purchase. Spiegel believes that augmented reality is “one of the most exciting long-term opportunities” as millions of people are already trying it.

Scammers Stole $27M From Amazon Customers [2023 Update]

Once again Amazon topped the top three list of eCommerce businesses, but this time, the company is not going to brag about it. Amazon was on the list of the top three impersonated businesses between July 2020 and July 2021, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The reports suggest that every 1 in 3 users filed a complaint against the scammers pretending to be Amazon.

In this one year, the number of reports against giant retailers increased fivefold. Approx 6000 people said that they lost money to scammers with an average loss of $1000, while 96,000 people filed a report against Amazon impersonators. Apple ranks second on this list. Victims have reported that the scammer presents a scheme where they guarantee iPads and other gifts to the user. The users end up giving these scammers access to their iCloud accounts in the hope of winning an iPad.

Common Tricks Used by Amazon Scammers

Impersonators use different methods to trick the victim into sending their details or giving these scammers access to their devices. For instance, they might send an email suggesting an unauthorized transaction from the victim’s account. They scare the user and ask them to send their bank account or credit card details so that they check and fix the issue.

Scammers pretend to refund more than the required money and ask the user to send the remaining funds back. They pretend to be the executives from Amazon asking the customer to return the extra refund amount or their Amazon account will be terminated. That’s how they charge them extra. Some hackers use this trick to track customers’ credit card and bank details.

Another popular trick is asking the user to share the number on the back of their gift cards. They tell the user that it’s the blocking code, which will be used to block hackers. They collect these numbers and redeem the amount. The scammer might also say that you’ve won prize money or a gift item from an Amazon giveaway. To claim that, you need to enter your credit card details. Such giveaways never occur and even if they do, nobody asks you to share your financial details to claim the prize. Victims have said that it was the scammer who initiated the fraud and stole from them. While it may be true for most cases, some people get into this trap due to their carelessness. They find fake Amazon customer service numbers online for assistance and end up revealing their personal and confidential data to scammers.

Who is at Higher Risk of Fraud?

The Federal Trade Commission showed that older people were more likely to fall prey to Amazon scammers and they were also at a higher risk of losing twice as much money as young people. The FTC mentioned that people lost up to $27 million to Amazon frauds in a year. The news may come as a surprise to online buyers, but a report by GoBankingRates suggests that purchase frauds are the second most common type of fraud after employment scams.

As mentioned above, there are many ways a scammer can trap the user. However, the most common method is sending fake alerts for an unauthorized transaction from your account and pretending to be an Amazon customer representative who can fix the issue. Here are a few ways you can avoid such scams and ensure safe online shopping.

Tips for Avoiding Amazon Scams

A hand holds a magnifying glass over the location bar of a browser, revealing the URL is a “scam”.

Avoid clicking on any URLs that appear fake or that you don’t recognize. Likewise, do not call any unknown number or send a text to any random person claiming to be Amazon’s representative. These messages are sent to your email addresses mostly. You should never search for Amazon customer care numbers online. There are plenty of fake numbers that redirect your call to a scammer who tricks you into revealing your personal details.

If you get any offer from Amazon, do not take any action instantly. Take some time to research the offer or get in touch with Amazon’s representative to double-check the offer’s authenticity. This is the most common way to scam a user. Never trust the phone numbers and other contact details you see in the email. Most importantly, do not give strangers access to your iCloud accounts and mobiles no matter how authentic they look. Amazon never asks you to give them access to your mobile and personal details.

According to the ACI reports, fraud in the online purchase industry increased by 6% in the first quarter of 2021. While Amazon is one of the safest retail stores, people need to be more careful when using this eCommerce shopping site (especially if you receive messages from unknown numbers and emails that pretend to be an authorized Amazon executive). These are mostly scammers trying to steal from you.

Walmart Rolls Out First Installation of Bitcoin ATMs [2023 Update]

The cryptocurrency world has welcomed many popular retailers in the past few decades, and Walmart has now joined these companies. This giant retailer aims to make cryptocurrency more prevalent and easily available to the public.

Collaboration with Coinme and Coinstar

One of the leading retailers in America, Walmart has announced a collaboration with Coinme – a crypto exchange company and Coinstar (a coin cashing machine) to launch 200 bitcoin ATMs in the United States. Even though they have introduced only 200 ATMs for now, a report by Bloomberg suggests that the company has a broader plan of introducing more than 8,000 bitcoin ATMs across the US in the coming years. However, there are no details about the deadline for this project yet.

Currently, the US has over 25,000 bitcoin ATMs located in different states. These ATMs are found at supermarkets, gas stations, and other retail stores. Coinstar manages 4,400 kiosks located in more than 33 states in America.

With this new project announcement, customers can buy Bitcoins at the Walmart stores in America. A CoinDesk editor confirmed that these ATMs work fine after recently buying Bitcoins from a Walmart store in Pennsylvania.

Coinme and Coinstar collaborated for one of the biggest cryptocurrency projects that would allow people to buy Bitcoin for cash. Walmart has also become part of this project by introducing 200 Coinstar kiosks at its stores across the US.

Bitcoin ATMs and the Transaction Fees

SAM Doctor, the head of the research department of BitOoda, said that Bitcoin ATM is not new. They are available at supermarkets and gas stations. Walmart has made this technology more accessible to people with their new pilot program. Now, customers can exchange their fiat currency for Bitcoin. They have to insert the banknote in the ATM and get the paper voucher containing a code for redemption. They can redeem their Bitcoins by registering an account with Coinme. Complete the registration by filling the KYC form on Coinme and you can redeem your voucher for Bitcoins.

Note that currently, there is no feature that could allow people to withdraw Bitcoin from their bank accounts. There is no indication of such a feature launching in the future either. The Bitcoin ATM comes with a fee of 11%, of which 7% is the cash exchange fee. If compared with Binance and Coinbase, the Bitcoin ATMs are relatively expensive.

The Compliance Concerns

Although the Bitcoin ATMs are highly likely to have a high adoption rate, the service has a few compliance concerns. Money laundering is one of the most common risks associated with Bitcoin ATMs, according to Seth Sattler, DigitalMint’s compliance director. These risks occur because the crypto ATM operators do not consider the risks of illicit activities that these machines are vulnerable to.

Users Response

Despite these compliance risks, the users welcomed this news with positivity. Lark Davis even went on to tweet, “Wal Mart selling #bitcoin now… cool!”. However, some users complained about the high fee structure. One of the users tweeted that the price of Bitcoin is always high when they are buying the coins and low when selling them. Most social media users appreciated Walmart’s decision to accept Bitcoin as an alternative payment method. A user tweeted that Facebook and other popular companies will soon accept Bitcoin as a legal form of payment.

Plus, the ATMs charge an incredibly high fee. Fortunately, buyers appreciate this idea since it will be easier to get a Bitcoin voucher for cash. It isn’t the first time the company has been participating in the crypto world. Earlier, they had announced that they were looking for a crypto product lead to improve their digital currency strategy.

Though the job is no longer listed on Walmart’s official website, you can still check its ad on LinkedIn. For now, the fee is the major concern of customers as 11% on each transaction is a bit too much for an average customer. The 4% of this fee is for the Bitcoin option. It looks a little higher than the average fees charged by other cryptocurrency platforms, such as Binance, which also allows users to deposit money from their bank account to the Finance account directly without any extra charges.

In addition to the United States, the popularity of Bitcoin ATMs is growing rapidly in other parts of the world. More and more retailers embrace these digital currency ATMs to offer a premium transaction experience to their customers. Take El Salvador, for example. The Bitcoin ATMs in this area enable people to convert their plastic money into Bitcoin or crypto tokens. As a result, El Salvador has become the first country in the world to consider Bitcoin as a tender.

Important News and Trends in Peer-to-Peer Payments

Today, several customers and businesses have started embracing peer-to-peer payment technologies. The popularity of P2P payments has been on the rise since the year of the pandemic. As the pandemic has disrupted different services, it has encouraged customers to find digital solutions for transactions. The value of P2P payments is increasing, as many businesses have started resuming their normal operations. Using P2P platforms, customers can find it easy to make payments from their smartphones.

The latest trends of using P2P payment platforms

One of the major advantages is that P2P ensures better control of the in-person fund transfer process. It is also a great option when you have time sensitive transactions. P2P platforms are accessible anytime and from any place. The technology ensures minimal friction with the digital transaction process. More than 30% of Americans have started using at least one peer-to-peer payment platform. P2P should gain universal acceptance within a few years.

According to the latest survey, 70% of adults signed up with P2P platforms at the end of 2020. It indicates faster adoption of P2P technology. It also enables us to predict long-term trends in the digital transaction market.

A study from Mercator Advisory Group revealed that there was a slight decline in the frequency of P2P transactions in 2020. However, the number of platforms is increasing..

Credit Unions have found it easy to provide P2P services to their members. There is a rise in the number of co-branded P2P networks and non-bank apps. Credit Union leadership is trying to increase digital engagement. It likes to know how the use of P2P will benefit them. Signing up with a P2P network helps in promoting security around transactions. The credentials of the member will be linked with the institutional security already used by credit union.

P2P and security standards

Unfortunately, P2P has become one of the new targets of cybercriminals. In the past year, there has been an increase in cases of P2P account fraud. However, the rate of other identity fraud has decreased by 21%. Thus, security should be the major concern for P2P users. Interestingly, the increasing usage of RFID, NFC, and other similar technologies in P2P payments will present several opportunities in the future.

P2P is useful for something more than check-splitting. You may notice the recent trend of using P2P for small payments. However, the CEO of Zelle’s parent company found that the average amount of Zelle transactions is about $250.

With the growth of P2P platforms, businesses will choose peer-to-peer platforms for both receiving and sending money.

From these trends, it can be said that P2P will be acceptable to businesses for payment disbursements. They will also use it for settling issues with other organizations. It will enable businesses to settle obligations within a very short time. There will be a minimal risk of verification delays, which are common in ACH transactions.

Mobile P2P apps and their growing transactions

The mobile P2P sector has been gaining popularity in recent years. The key players in the market have seen considerable growth and an increase in the payment transaction value. They have attracted more users in the past few years.

At present, Cash App, Zelle, and Venmo are enjoying unparalleled growth, especially during the pandemic. These companies have continued innovating their platforms to attract new users and retain loyal ones. To have a clear understanding of how these mobile P2P apps are transforming the industry, you can check out some statistical data.

Cash App

Almost 30% of US-based users of P2P mobile payment platforms have chosen Cash App. In the last months of 2020, the estimated balance of Cash App was around $2 billion. The company has gained a big share of its revenues from Bitcoin transactions.

It indicates that the P2P platform is following the trend of shifting towards cryptocurrency. Especially, the instant deposit cash card is highly advantageous, as it helps in using the funds in-store. It covers a bigger part of the profits of the company.

According to the latest predictions, by 2022, there will be a transaction of $128 billion via Cash App. By 2025, the number will cross the $200 billion.

Zelle

Zelle is steadily growing its user base, and within a few years, it will reach 48.2 million in the US. To say clearly, it is about 18.5% of the US population. This growth rate will continue for a number of years. By 2025, Zelle’s service will be available to more than 60 million users.

In the present P2P market, Zelle has gained a strong position. 7 large US banks, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase, have partnered with Zelle. The network of partners is growing, as the company will tie-up with several other banks.

In the past year, Zelle added more than 450 financial institutions to make its network bigger. The network also comprises several credit unions and small banks.

Consumers prefer Zelle to pay bills and make bigger transactions. Several small businesses rely on Zelle for bill payments and contractors’ payments. Some businesses also like to use the invoicing feature of the product.

According to a rough estimation, Zelle transacted $272 billion via a mobile app. By 2022, it will get doubled and cross $500.82 billion.

Venmo

Venmo has gained recognition for easier and safer social payments. Its target audience is mainly millennials, and it focuses more on peer-to-merchant transactions. In the US, the number of Venmo users will be more than 77.8 million. The user base is growing consistently, and it will be 100 million by 2024. Venmo has a chance of grabbing a significant share of the P2P market. Overall, we can say that the transaction amount of these popular mobile P2P apps will cross $1.152 trillion in the future. Modern P2P payments are on track to replace traditional funds transfers.

RETAILAMZN vs. WMT – Why People Now Spend More at Amazon Than at Walmart?

The battle between Amazon and Walmart continues as both eCommerce stores keep launching innovative products to build audiences’ engagement. Amazon is expanding its services across international borders. This giant retailer is competing with UPS and FedEx to become one of the leaders in the retail industry in the world.

Even though its services are not exactly replicating those offered by UPS, Amazon has been supplying 72% of its own products. The retailer started a $1.5 million Air Hub in Kentucky in August 2021 and confirmed that it was all set to expand the same-day delivery operations to the six new towns. They have recently started the last-mile delivery centers in Maryland and Virginia to fulfill the growing demand for same-day delivery services.

Amazon and Walmart: Has Amazon Outperformed Walmart?

Amazon’s multi-channel service is already quite popular among merchants since it covers packaging and shipping services. Currently, Amazon is a large network of over 400,000 drivers, 70 airplanes, more than 30,000 vans, and 40,000 trucks. The figures suggest the success the company has achieved in the past few years and how fast it is growing worldwide.

Walmart, on the other hand, launched the last-mile services in August 2021 in the United States to help small retailers supply their products locally and allow customers to enjoy hassle-free delivery services. The company had opened these last-mile delivery services to cater to the growing demand for the prompt delivery in the States. Walmart GoLocal launched in the US as the company’s effort to increase its sales and satisfy customers relying on same-day delivery. Their delivery services cover approximately 70% of the State’s population currently. The company is expected to grow since Walmart has started investing more in the latest delivery technology, such as drones and fulfillment centers, to cover the entire US population.

Amazon and Walmart: Sales & Revenues

The surging demand for online shopping due to the COVID pandemic has made Amazon and Walmart the go-to shopping centers for buyers. Amazon reported sales of over $610 billion in the last 12 months, ending in June. Walmart also reported sales of $566 billion for 12 months, ending in July. Walmart, Alibaba, and many other eCommerce giants have implemented the latest technology and launched innovative solutions to outperform other online retailers.

Despite the never-ending competition, Amazon is still one of the popular and leading online retailers globally. The company’s doorstep delivery services and super fast delivery options (the same-day delivery) initially encouraged people to join the online shopping world. Besides, a large volume of products in different categories allowed people to select from a vast range of goods. That drew people’s attention, and as a result, they have continued using Amazon ever since. The customer-centric services and a wide selection of products are two crucial things that have made Jeff Bezos, the founder of this retail giant, one of the wealthiest people in the world.

On the basis of revenue, Amazon has outperformed Walmart. However, the $610 billion sales include the revenues generated by the third-party sellers on Amazon. The company reports only the fees charged to the customers as its total revenue, excluding the actual revenues generated from its merchandise sales.

Amazon became the first retailer to have outsold Walmart since 1990, which is quite a significant achievement for Amazon. The company has more than 2 million third-party merchants offering their products on Amazon, which is much better than the 100,000 sellers on Walmart. The sales for both platforms jumped during the COVID pandemic all over the world. However, it was Amazon that outperformed all the retail giants in the industry. Walmart reported a high sale, but it was not as much as Amazon’s sales and revenues.

Which Company Won the Battle of Dominance in the eCommerce Industry?

However, Walmart won the battle between Amazon Stock and Walmart Stock, as the company reported a gain of 4.35% for the year. On the other hand, Amazon Stocks witnessed a growth of 2.5% in the same timeframe. The above stats clearly suggest the neck-to-neck competition between Amazon and Walmart.

While people are shifting to Amazon for online shopping, Walmart still secures a top rank in the world’s popular eCommerce stores. Both companies enjoy unique perks, for instance, Walmart has the largest number of outlets with a vast majority of Americans living within 10 miles from the retail outlet. Amazon owns 40% of the total eCommerce retail market. So, both are performing well in the retail industries, however, Amazon wins the competition when it comes to revenues and sales. The company has done a tremendous job at supplying goods to people during the pandemic.

While Walmart did witness a growth in its sales volume and revenues in the previous year, its growth was nothing compared to that of Amazon. Walmart reported an increase in its sales by $24 billion the previous year. For Amazon, the figure has crossed $200 billion (for the same period). Numbers, however, are used as rough figures. Analysts also need to calculate the total sales on Amazon, since Amazon is a network of hundreds of thousands of merchants that offer an extensive range of goods to the public. The company only reports the fees generated from each transaction. Approx 56% of the goods sold on the platform are owned by third-party sellers.

Bottom Line

Walmart and Amazon are two popular eCommerce retailers that have witnessed unexpected growth during and after the pandemic. Since more and more people have moved to the online shopping trend, these giant retailers have made a significant impact on the retail industry. As far as the sales and revenues are concerned, Amazon has given a better performance than Walmart. The company has opened many warehouses, delivery stations, and has employed a large number of personnel to cater to the customers’ rising demand for fast delivery.

Many Businesses Plan to Use Digital Assets to Make Purchases in 2023

During the pandemic of 2020, several businesses have started looking for better ways of making payments. They have also gained an insight into the latest payment trends to ensure higher efficiency and avoid issues. That is why there is a rise in interest in digital assets like cryptocurrencies to make payments. This rapid rise in acceptance of blockchain has made it easier to make payments with virtual currencies.

At PYMNTS, the president, Jim McCarthy, said that the perceptions of cryptocurrencies with businesses and consumers had evolved over the past few decades.

In August 2021, the PYMNTS report has revealed that several multinational companies are leaning towards investing in cryptocurrencies. They are not only interested in keeping them as assets, but 50% of surveyed firms have thought of using digital currencies for international payments.

Businesses consider them as spendable currency in addition to their value as an asset. However, it may take time to consider virtual currencies as a reliable part of the payments ecosystem.

Cryptocurrencies- The Intangible Digital Assets

Presently, more than 40% of organizations in the Middle East, the USA, and Africa think of using digital assets for regular purchases. In the past decade, there has been a considerable evolution of business and consumer-related perceptions of virtual currencies. Financial companies have taken steps to carefully watch the trends and statistics regarding the use of cryptocurrencies.

Over 1200 unique virtual currencies are in circulation across the world. Some of them are ephemeral. Still, cryptocurrency is adaptable and will perpetuate due to its secure and resilient nature. You can use privacy coins to hide your identity on the blockchain. Moreover, supply chain tokens are also useful for operations in different industries.

Cryptocurrencies- Investments Become Easier for Businesses

Several financial institutions have anticipated that there will be an increase in cryptocurrency payments within a very short time. More than 90% of financial banks and institutions have acknowledged that their corporate clients like to use virtual currencies for transactions and investments.

Indeed, virtual currencies are not presently a standard choice for transactions. But, financial institutions, businesses, and FinTechs have taken steps to make it a reality. Some of them have developed a digital infrastructure for a smoother payment process. At present, 10% of financial institutions accept 1 to 2 types of cryptocurrencies.

Applications of Cryptocurrencies for B2B Payments

It is advantageous to choose cryptocurrencies for B2B transactions. For B2B payments, companies mostly use credit cards, checks, wire transfers, and wire transfers. However, there will be a shift in this trend. Conventional transactions are regulated by the government. But cryptocurrencies offer a comparatively safer and more private option.

There is no required involvement of banks and financial institutions. The use of blockchain technology is highly important to ensure a distributed ledger system. Cryptocurrency-based transactions are direct and verified with a special algorithm. The implementation of cryptocurrency in modern B2B payments with blockchain technology reduces the risk of fraud.

The shift to cryptocurrency-based B2B payment will create competition between Fintechs and legacy FIs. Cryptocurrency applications for B2B transactions will draw the attention of many companies. Therefore, it has become imperative for financial institutions to stay competitive, as several businesses are getting ready to use digital assets for transactions.

Cross-border B2B transactions will use blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies, which will become globally acceptable.

It will be simple for cryptocurrencies to move across borders easily. There is no need to involve correspondent banks in the funds transfer. The payment process will be transparent due to the use of technology and a reduction in the reliance on traditional systems.

Financial organizations are feeling pressure to introduce a range of cryptocurrency payment tools. However, they also face challenges while doing it. They have to maintain international standards for digital currency payments. Moreover, some businesses are not sure about the security standards of digital assets.

Different geographical regions witnessed the highest uptake of crypto payments. It mostly includes funds transfers from Asia to the USA and Europe and also from Latin America to Europe.

The use of cryptocurrency in B2B transactions enables marketers to make global payments in different countries with high security. There is no interference from governments and banks. Virtual currencies have emerged as a secure, resolute, and intriguing solution for B2B payment processing in third-world countries and global markets.

A Few Issues With Innovations

Banks, businesses, and issues have to analyze the future potential of cryptocurrencies from both consumer and B2B perspectives. They must also evaluate the role of blockchain and other similar technologies.

Market analysts predict that there will be considerable growth and innovations in the coming years. Cryptocurrency will become highly acceptable, but we cannot overlook compliance and regulations.

Overall, it can be concluded that businesses have to understand and embrace the value of virtual currencies in B2B transactions. They can learn something new from other adopters of cryptocurrencies for B2B payments. They also have to know about the potential risks associated with government regulations and volatility.

Cryptocurrencies entered the financial world and signaled the start of a major transformation. The price gains of the digital currency can make it more powerful. Furthermore, blockchain, the major technology behind virtual currencies, may evolve continuously in the coming years. The use of cryptocurrencies in B2B payments will be a viable option. They will ensure protection against fraud and ensure customer data privacy.

Uber Freight Partners with Marqeta and Branch to Offer Faster Payments

Marqeta is a platform where companies can issue and manage personalized card programs. Recently, it has decided to become partners with Branch, a reputable platform for workforce payments. Uber Freight is partnering with these two giants of the finance industry to streamline its payment process. The reliability and swift payments will bring carrier-first financial services to the transportation and logistics industries through Uber Freight.

Uber Freight provides tools to shippers and carriers. Those tools empower trucking companies to manage their business and their drivers for booking loads. Uber Freight partnered with Branch and Marqeta to broaden its services and increase the pace, control, and visibility of its carrier payment experience.

Through Marqeta and the digital wallet of Branch, Uber Freight will be able to pay the carriers faster compared to others, while avoiding unnecessary expenditures. Usually, the payable process for accounts is 30 days or more. However, carriers on the Uber Freight platform will get the payment 2 hours after receiving the approval, which is a 99.7%-time reduction.

According to Renata Caine, SVP of International, Planning and Strategy of Marqeta, the demand for faster payments is increasing, which shows the preference in payment style for the current workforce. He also stated that Marqueta is well aware of the position of Uber Freight in the industry of transportation. The in-depth logistic knowledge of Uber Freight provides an attractive expansion avenue to Marqueta. It will help them bring their newly issued cards and the accelerated payments of Branch into the logistics and transportation industry.

American Trucking Society has stated in their terms of rules and regulations that the trucking industry of the U.S has the responsibility for the transportation of seventy percent of the country’s goods. In 2020 they earned a profit of up to $879 billion. Driver experiences have remained the same despite the technological advances in the industry.

The purchases made during the COVID-19 pandemic through e-commerce reached a high of $792 billion, based on the sales data reported by retailers. It puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the companies dealing with the shipping as they are responsible for satisfying their customers. They also have to make improvements in the experiences for carriers delivering their goods.

This partnership is a great solution to work with the rapid increase in the small carriers. It will help provide the carriers a continuous cash flow and give them confidence to make bigger investments. This will support them financially, allowing carriers to run their business smoothly and grow efficiently..

Quoting Lior Ron, Uber Freight’s Head, the purpose behind its existence was to support carriers of all sizes. By doing this, Uber Freight will allow carriers to get the most out of their workday. They have transparent pricing and have reached a point where they can support the most extensive digital carriers of the world. They are the first logistic company in the market to have such a level of transparency.

They realized that this partnership would enable them to build more tools for carriers as well. This allows them to offer their platform small carriers and businesses, including the small shops and startups. This will give them the benefits of fuel discounts, faster payments, and other benefits which are usually reserved for larger carriers and businesses. Uber Freight has touted their ability to provide small carriers a competitive edge and to allow them to grow their businesses rapidly.

The digital wallet of Branch helps facilitate faster payments. It offers secure financial services, which is excellent for carriers because it helps their business grow. It also includes a checking account insured by FDIC. Branch issues a commercial card made especially for enabling the most rapid settlements in the trucking industry for carriers.

The Branch-powered Uber Freight Card is free to use by the company’s carriers. It will allow them to access funds in the Branch digital wallet with ease and reward drivers with fuel bonuses to help them with their largest expense.

The CEO of the Branch, Atif Siddiqi, said that Uber Freight is doing a great job in creating high standards for logistics and trucking industries. He was satisfied with the considerable visibility and customization it offers carriers in load booking. Atif Siddiqi believes that entrepreneurs will benefit significantly from these new partnerships and technologies. It will enable faster payments and improve cash flow for both carriers and drivers within the system.

Branch’s optional cards and digital wallets assist companies in making payments to contractors on the spot and helping them bring access relevant information in a convenient manner. These optional cards and digital wallets enable users to have a more consistent and streamlined experience with payments.

There are several benefits for contractors that will sign up directly with Branch. They will get access to their zero-fee account, receive payments on the completion of their job instantly, and get finance tools to manage their cashflow.

SMBs benefit from Credit Relief from Automation

2020 has been a devastating year for businesses all around the globe. But even in 2021, we can see the aftershocks of the pandemic wreaking havoc on businesses. Companies are going bankrupt left and right as cash inflow is not enough to keep the business viable.

But with these troubles, a new wave of innovation in the financial markets are digitizing services. SMB (small and medium-scale business) owners and employees of those businesses can benefit significantly from it. Back when Fintech was not as active as today, the only option for small business owners was to get money from their friends or a very high interest loan from a less than reputable provider.

Banks did not cater to small businesses the way they did for their larger, more established clients. Therefore, there wasn’t an accessible channel for small and medium scale businesses to acquire capital. Disreputable lenders made high profits because businesses had no alternatives, and the companies kept struggling to survive.

Accounts Receivable (A/R) automation is the recent Fintech trend that saves small and medium businesses considerable revenue and simultaneously protects customers. Traditionally, invoices, returns, and disputes were handled manually by employees hired by the company.

Why is A/R Automation so Necessary for SMB?

Having employees for A/R was inefficient because of three main reasons. Firstly, the employees had to be paid a salary for performing their duties. Secondly, it burdened customers as they had to make a phone call during specific office hours of the business. Thirdly, invoices entered manually were more prone to errors. Automating A/R helps save the time and money of both the customer and the company in the long run.

One significant way A/R automation brings money to the business is by receiving more payments through clients. Usually, customers leave invoices unpaid as they don’t have the time or plan to pay them later and forget about them. In this case, a single employee cannot follow up on every customer to get the invoices paid.

With automated A/R, the client can receive a gentle reminder of an unpaid invoice. Furthermore, they can avoid having to call the business to make the payment through a manual process. Online banking and payments have made it much easier and quicker to pay in just a few clicks. This inflow of cash is critical to the health of a small business.

Automation improves efficiency through the simple concept that a client will be more willing to make a payment if it is easy to pay. It gives power to the client to pay wherever and however they want. The efficient process does not take much of their time, and they have less reason to delay the payment.

Customers have preferred ways of receiving payment notifications. Some might like getting it through e-mail. Others might choose notifications from an application on their phone. A few may feel easier with a text message. Communicating the information the right way is an essential step in speeding up the payment process. If a client receives a notification through a channel they are uneasy with; the payment will take longer.

Automated accounts and receiving processes can learn the ways every customer prefers the notification. Automated messages can be sent with a specific ‘pay now‘ button. These systems allow the customers to make the payment only in a few clicks. Effortless methods of payment solve the critical cash inflow problems of a small business through efficiency.

Businesses have reported receiving their payments up to fifteen days quicker on average than did previously.

Automation in SMB Loans

These significant improvements in business protocols originated with the first Fintech startups that offered a new channel for businesses to acquire capital. While the interest rates for the loans were high, they were better than having no source at all.

Inspired by these Fintech startups, Bobley, the CEO of Ocrolus, started thinking of ways to improve this further. Even though credit was now accessible to SMBs, manual analysis of all the bank statements and receipts of a business to validate their loan was a tedious and inefficient process.

Ocrolus introduced a platform that would process the receipts instead of manual labor that usually did it. Not only did this process reduce the cost of processing a loan, but it reduced human errors too. In competition to Ocrolus, several other Fintech establishments came up with their version of automated loan processing.

Banks did not know of the technology to underwrite small businesses accurately; this was why banks hesitated to give loans to small businesses. But with the emerging Fintech options, banks were now more eager than ever to work with smaller companies. Now, options like Square and PayPal were more accessible to these businesses too.

The rapidly growing market for loans to SMBs has increased competition among lenders too. Growing demand means increased opportunities that everyone wants a part of. One of the many intriguing options for SMBs is the ‘proactive loan.’ Through this, businesses get a loan before they even need it. Companies can plan their future expenditures and use ‘proactive loans’ to balance out their cash flow.

Shifting to an Automated Platform

Not all automated platforms are equal. Research is crucial in choosing the right platform. The system should have a robust cashless payment system other than integrating existing A/R software and electronic billing. Several features in automated A/R systems allow businesses to boost their revenue. Ensure that the system accounts for late fees, processing fees, and other such fees that affect the business’s finance.

Reviews are critical to judging how good a system is before getting it. Businesses need to make sure to thoroughly research before they get into A/R automation. SMBs need to provide extensive customer support as customers adapt to the new system.

When done right, automation can be the salvation of a business that is struggling with breaking even. Most companies that fail in the U.S. are due to cash flow issues. Automation has almost become a necessity to survive the competition of modern financial markets.

29M People Have Used BNPL Services in the Past Year

Buy now, pay later is the new craze when it comes to the present trends of the payment industry. The BNPL market has grown exponentially in the Asia-Pacific region recently. These services allow customers to split a more significant payment into smaller ones that they can pay over some time.

Businesses faced a very polarizing effect when the pandemic struck the world back in 2020. Some business models faced immense depressions and went bankrupt, while others flourished. The e-commerce and digital payment sectors were amongst the sectors that benefited.

Despite the tremendous success of cashless and online business models, FinTech saw a decline in revenue. Now, companies are resorting to new business tactics to gain traction as the economy stabilizes and expands. BNPL services are amongst the recent trends that are becoming popular as the world recovers from the pandemic.

Even PayPal intends to cash in on this burgeoning trend. Paypal wants to acquire a Japanese BNPL service known as Paidy. This decision came as a result of their rival, Square acquiring AfterPay, another buy now, pay later firm from Japan. The excessive growth has gotten its share of criticism too. Regulators are pressing these firms to ensure that the customers don’t take on more loans they can afford to pay.

A recent survey of around 2200 people showed that customers prefer the convenience that BNPL provides them with. Customers are getting BNPL on lesser-priced items, too, not just on big-ticket ones. Consumers state that using BNPL services is much easier than getting a loan for the same purchase.

In the past year, 29 million consumers from the U.S. have used the buy now, pay later services, and 59% of them even agree to accept these services from a third-party provider. It is a desirable option for people living a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle. Through BNPL, they can afford vacations and other expensive purchases that they usually cannot pay for up front.

A personal finance company called Credit Karma recently showed that U.S. consumers have already started to fall short on their BNPL payments. Around 72% of those consumers had a decreased in their credit score too. The most prone to miss their payments were younger consumers, especially Gen Z and the millennials.

The problem with these payments is that they do not have the same impact that a regular purchase does. People quickly buy stuff that they would never purchase when paying in full. The consequences seem less dire, but that also the cause of trouble.

Most consumers that use BNPL payments purchased an item of $500 and less. Gen Z is the most likely to make low-cost BNPL purchases. Half of the purchases by Gen Z are even less than $100.

Regardless, BNPL payments still seem to grow in popularity every day. For a considerable forecast period, they seem to show no signs of slowing down!