Once upon a time, artificial intelligence (AI) was an academic pursuit. Now it has become more attainable, though, and has been opened up for use by a variety of companies for a variety of purposes. 2017 has seen AI applied to fraud and security, identity verification, customer service and more, and it could be saving U.S. companies as much as $60 billion by 2020. AI is projected to add $8.3 trillion in economic activity for the U.S. by 2035. This trend is definitely building momentum in the payments space and adjacent industries, and these are some of the top developments of the past year.  Read More...

Many merchants watch what consumers do in the physical store and then reverse-engineer their omnichannel strategies using those learnings. In a conversation with PYMNTS, Finish Line’s senior vice president of brand and consumer experience, Mike Grimes, explains how the footwear and apparel retailer is using digital technology and information to track how its customers digitally engage with the brand to totally redesign its brick-and-mortar experience. Find that, plus headlines and a directory of 292 omnichannel developers, all inside the latest Omni Developer Report, powered by Vantiv.  Read More...

Jonathan Wu, co-founder and former chief operating officer for global eTailer Touch of Modern, didn’t choose the payments life. The payments life chose him, and it took lots of time away from sourcing unique products from around the world to sell to urban male consumers like himself. In a recent webinar with Karen Webster, Wu shared the top six lessons he learned on his cross-border payments journey, and what he believes is the single most important asset an international retailer can have.  Read More...