Alexa can do a lot of things (more than 15,000 of them, to be exact), but reliably and securely authenticating customers who reach out to call centers may not be one of them just yet. In a recent interview, IntraNext CEO Patrick Brown told Karen Webster why Amazon’s voice-activated assistant isn’t ready for true voice biometrics primetime. Until she is, call center agents can rest easy — at least for a while.  Read More...

Square has managed it's third straight beat on analyst expectations this year. It's showing some solid growth in total transactions processes, the revenue from its services business and a big bounce in the number of larger merchants it is helping via its SMB services platform. Wall Street's reaction to the news may have been a bit tepid, but Square seems undaunted and ready to move full speed ahead toward the end of 2017 — and into the start of 2018.  Read More...

Grocery list: Milk, bread, eggs… and socks? Grocery retailer Kroger has announced it will be rolling out its own private-label, activewear-inspired lifestyle clothing brand to drive foot traffic and compete with players like Amazon, Walmart and Lidl. The supermarket chain — the largest in the U.S. — already sells apparel at some of its stores, but never under an in-house label. Can the move bring customers back through Kroger’s brick-and-mortar doors?  Read More...