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💳✨How Payment Technology Companies and Agents Can Use Loyalty Programs! In today’s cutthroat🤝 business environment, it is imperative that we as payment technology professionals find ways to help small and mid-sized businesses keep pace with their larger competitors. One highly effective way to do so is by offering a robust customer loyalty program. According to Queue it, ✨65% of a company’s revenue comes from the repeat business of existing customers. Meanwhile, it’s at least 5x (and as much as 25x) more expensive for a merchant to acquire a new customer than it is to keep an existing one. Add in the fact that 84% of consumers are more likely to stick with a brand that offers a 💳loyalty program while the average annual spend of members who redeem rewards is 3.1x that of members who don’t, and the power of customer loyalty is clear. 🚀Loyalty programs don’t just help businesses unleash the earning power of repeat purchasers and higher customer spends, they also allow merchants to: * Attract new customers through the positive word of mouth of their most loyal customers/brand ambassadors. * Collect invaluable insights into their customers’ preferences and purchasing patterns. * Use that data to create more effective marketing campaigns. Loyalty programs also pay for themselves. To wit: ✨90% of loyalty program owners reported a positive return on investment with the average ROI being 4.8x. Additionally, a ✨5% increase in customer retention can help businesses see a 25% increase in profits. As popular as loyalty programs are already, the future for loyalty is even brighter. In fact, while the customer loyalty management market is currently valued at more than $5.5 billion, it is expected to surpass ✨$24 billion by the end of 2028. #PaymentTech #LoyaltyPrograms #CustomerEngagement #FinTech https://lnkd.in/gew6ZUin

💰🛡️Five ways to help combat money laundering! All it takes is for one bank to falter and fraudsters gain a new portal to launder money. That one bank’s weakness could affect the whole industry, bringing greater regulatory scrutiny down upon all 💰financial institutions. As Cummans notes, “all major regulatory change has come as a result of catastrophe. It takes a number of actions to fight against money laundering. We’ve compiled five tips from TCF Bank to take back to your own institution. 1. Improve Searches with Technology 2. Have Regular Cross-Communication 3. Use Data Analytics to Find Patterns 4. Standardize Your Systems 5. Structured Training Is Essential All financial institutions, from large banks to small credit unions, need to be on the lookout for money launderers. By integrating due diligence technology with people training and a robust partnership with law enforcement, banks like TCF can more effectively combat the increasingly sophisticated money launderers in the United States and abroad, helping 🛡️prevent criminal activity from continuing on their watch. #CombatMoneyLaundering #FinancialSecurity #AML #StayVigilant #PreventFraud https://lnkd.in/gcepSD3B

🚀 Federal Agency Notes Widespread Medical Marijuana Use By Cancer Patients, Saying Rescheduling Can ‘Open The Doors’ To More Research!🌿🧬 A federal health agency is acknowledging that a sizable portion—between about 20 percent and 40 percent—of people being treated for cancer are using cannabis products to manage side effects from the condition and associated treatment. Such widespread uptake by 💚patients raises concerns that use is outpacing scientific knowledge on efficacy and risks, the agency said in a blog post published on Wednesday, but added that rescheduling marijuana could help remove current barriers to research to address the “scientific evidence deficit. According to findings from several of the studies, anywhere from about 💚20% to 40% of people being treated for cancer use cannabis or cannabinoids,” the National Cancer Institute (NCI) post says, “often broadly referred to as medical marijuana—to help manage side effects like nausea, pain, sleeplessness, anxiety, and stress. Nearly 3 in 4 Americans now live in a state where medical marijuana is legal, the post says, citing a Pew Research Center study from February. Among the research cited in the new NCI post is a series of scientific reports published last month in NCI’s journal JNCI Monographs. The package of 14 articles detailed the results of broad, federally funded cannabis surveys of cancer patients from a dozen agency-designated cancer centers across the country—including in areas where marijuana is legal, permitted only for medical purposes or still outlawed. A main finding of one study led by NCI researchers, for example, is that patients’ “reported use of cannabis since diagnosis varied only slightly by legal status.” Of those surveyed between September 2021 and August 2032, 🌿34.3 percent of patients who resided in states where marijuana was legal reported using the substance, compared to 31.5 percent in medical-only states and 24.7 percent in states where cannabis was illegal. #MedicalMarijuana #CancerPatients #Research 💪💚 https://lnkd.in/gVudXin5

📈 OFW remittances up by 3.2% in August!💵✨ CASH REMITTANCES from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) rose by an annual ✨3.2% in August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. Data from the central bank showed that cash remittances grew by 3.2% to $2.89 billion from 💵$2.8 billion a year ago. “The growth in cash remittances in August 2024 was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said in a statement. Remittances from land-based workers increased by ✨3.9% year on year to 💵$2.28 billion, while money sent by sea-based workers inched up by 0.7% to $603.216 million. Personal remittances, which include inflows in kind, increased by 3.3% to $3.2 billion in August from $3.1 billion a year earlier. Remittances from workers with contracts of one year or more went up by ✨3.7% to $2.47 billion, while money sent home by workers with contracts of less than a year edged higher by 1.4% to $670 million. In the January-August period, cash remittances expanded by 2.9% to $22.22 billion from $21.58 billion a year earlier. Other sources of remittances were the United Arab Emirates (4.2%), Canada (3.5%), Qatar (2.9%), Taiwan (2.7%) and South Korea (2.6%). Meanwhile, personal remittances increased by 3% to 💵$24.74 billion as of end-August from $24.01 billion a year ago. #OFW #Remittances #EconomicGrowth #PositiveNews https://lnkd.in/gS-ZDvEm

🌿Group That’s Been Backed By Elon Musk Donates $500,000 To Anti-Marijuana Legalization Effort In Florida! A political committee opposing a Florida marijuana legalization ballot initiative has received a half-million-dollar contribution from an organization that Elon Musk reportedly used to quietly support Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. At the same time, the pro-legalization campaign has officially exceeded 💰$100 million in total contributions. The campaign finance news comes as a new poll again shows majority support for the cannabis measure—but not enough to meet a 60 percent requirement to pass the constitutional amendment. Faithful & Strong Policies, Inc., a group run by Florida-based attorney Scott Wagner, made the 💰$500,000 contribution to Keep Florida Clean, Inc. earlier this month, campaign filings show. Keep Florida Clean, which is led by DeSantis’s chief of staff James Uthmeier, is committed to defeating Amendment 3, the cannabis legalization measure, at the ballot. 🚫Musk’s relationship to this newest contribution from Faithful & Strong Policies committee is unclear. But The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Tesla and Space X leader previously gave the organization 💰$10 million, about half of which went to a PAC supporting DeSantis’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination. #Florida #AntiMarijuana https://lnkd.in/gx-tejKi

💳Visa Sees Cloud-Native Banking and Flexible Credentials as Modern Issuing Must-Haves! In a world where the average consumer has more computing power in their pocket than the Apollo 11 spacecraft, it’s no surprise that the financial landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. That shift is rapidly progressing past innovations in contactless payments or mobile banking. A fundamental reimagining of how consumers and businesses interact with money and value is at stake. Case in point: For decades, payment cards served specific, often distinct purposes. 💳Credit cards offered options to pay in full, revolve or access rewards. Debit cards provided access to funds on hand. Today, those lines are blurring. As Senior Vice President and Head of Visa Issuing Solutions Kathleen Pierce-Gilmore told Karen Webster in a series of recent interviews, the payments and banking industry is witnessing innovations that reinvent the credit experience, such as buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions, while debit is transforming into an account-to-account ✨(A2A) experience through open banking initiatives. Payment cards are increasingly becoming digital credentials embedded in both online and offline use cases — integrated seamlessly into the fabric of commerce itself. An important new development in this evolution is the creation of flexible digital credentials. Visa’s “Flexible Credentials” offering allows consumers to toggle seamlessly between payment options like credit, ✨debit or BNPL with just a click. For example, a consumer shopping online might choose to use BNPL for a larger purchase while opting for a debit transaction for smaller, everyday items — all managed easily from the same digital wallet. In practical terms, this means that card issuance itself is evolving. Getting a new card is no longer a physical, cumbersome process. Instead, Visa’s digital issuance solutions ensure that ✨consumers can access their cards — or credentials — in real time, right when they need them, wherever they may be. With Click to Pay, consumers can register their preferred Visa card as their default payment option for an easy checkout experience. 🚀Visa is also helping issuers navigate complex new regulations and the technical challenges associated with digital transformation. Visa’s software developer kits (SDKs) help issuers embrace 🚀digital issuance more efficiently. “This is one of the key areas we want to highlight. The SDK is a way to make it a lighter lift for our issuers — whether it’s provisioning, digital issuance, or subscription management,” Pierce-Gilmore said. This ☁️technology helps issuers deploy solutions quickly while focusing on the needs of their 💳customers. #Visa #CloudNativeBanking #FlexibleCredentials #Fintech https://lnkd.in/gQ5dJYXs

🌿🚫Florida cannabis businesses shut down, halt delivery as Hurricane Milton nears! Florida cannabis businesses began shutting down this week in anticipation of Hurricane Milton, which was expected to make landfall late Wednesday on the state’s west coast. Milton’s wrath didn’t sway Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to extend the Oct. 7 deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5 election. Chicago-based marijuana multistate operator Cresco Labs closed some of its Sunnyside medical cannabis dispensaries at 5 p.m. ET Monday in anticipation of Hurricane Milton. 🌀Closures continued through Tuesday, bringing to nine the total of Sunnyside dispensaries closed in Florida. We are simultaneously working with our store teams to make sure they have the time and resources needed for them to personally prepare their homes” for the coming storm. As of Wednesday afternoon, Trulieve Cannabis Corp. had closed 🌿80 stores and planned to close another 26 early, according to the company’s website. Chicago-based Verano Holdings Corp. closed two-dozen of its Müv stores in Florida on Tuesday. As of Wednesday afternoon, 37 Müv stores were closed, and the company planned for 55 of its Florida dispensaries to remain closed Thursday. The MSO also halted 🌿delivery operations because of the potential impact of Hurricane Milton. #FloridaCannabis 🌿🚫 #HurricaneMilton 🌀 #SafetyFirst https://lnkd.in/g6Ev5KKr

💳💰Optimizing payments and financial services to exceed consumer expectations and maximize revenue! As payments technology innovation continues to evolve exponentially, today’s 🤝consumers expect a seamless, connected, and personalized buying experience. Buyers don’t care about payments per se, but the overall shopping experience. ISOs and ISVs that understand this are well-positioned for success in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The consumer demand for a truly holistic experience is evident in the growth of the embedded 📈finance market. According to Grand View Research, the global embedded finance market clocked in at 💰USD 83.32 billion in size in 2023 and projections estimate a compound annual growth rate of 32.8% from 2024 to 2030. If we look beyond the basic payment transaction, 🤝consumers want options in how they finance their purchases. Integrating a point-of-sale lending solution API offers your merchants a valuable add-on service that improves their customers’ purchasing power and drives business growth by extending the customer relationship lifecycle. A payments partner that can offer functionality beyond 💳payment acceptance is crucial in a crowded market, but growing your geographic footprint is an equally important consideration. Selecting a partner that gives your business access to a diverse sales channel with specific vertical specialization increases your revenue potential. If you’re offering more ✨value than your competitors, offer it in more locations. As your global footprint expands, enhance the consumer experience with global 💰currency solutions that simplify the buying experience. #PaymentSolutions #FinancialServices #ConsumerExperience https://lnkd.in/gTwkTGVs

🌿💚 Lesser-Known’ Marijuana Components Like CBG And THCV Are ‘Promising’ Treatments For Parkinson’s And Alzheimer’s, Study Shows! A new scientific review on the potential benefits of marijuana in treating brain disorders says that in addition to THC and CBD produced by the cannabis plant, “a diverse array of lesser-known phytocannabinoids, along with terpenes, flavonoids, and alkaloids” may also “demonstrate diverse pharmacological activities” and could offer therapeutic applications. Such compounds include THCV, CBDV and CBG. Their ✨antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuromodulatory effects position them as promising agents in treating neurodegenerative disorders,” says the report, authored by a pair of researchers from the Center for Dementia Research at the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research in New York and released last month through Preprints.org. The therapeutic potential of Cannabis sativa extends well beyond the widely studied 🌿CBD,” the report says, “encompassing a diverse range of lesser‐known phytocannabinoids that show promise in addressing various 🔬neurological disorders. While research has extensively examined the ✨neuropsychiatric and neuroprotective effects of Δ9-THC,” it adds, “other minor phytocannabinoids remain underexplored. That research, published in the journal BioFactors, looked at minor 🌿cannabinoids and multiple myeloma (MM), testing responses in cell models to the cannabinoids CBG, CBC, CBN and CBDV as well as studying CBN in a mouse model. Up to date, no reliable scientific evidence of this synergy exists, at least at the cannabinoid (CB) receptor level,” the report says. “Nonetheless, it would be premature to deny the existence of either pharmacodynamic or 🔬pharmacokinetic interactions among active compounds present in Cannabis, as many biological activities have been attributed to its terpenes, including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anxiolytic properties. The plant Cannabis exhibits an effect called the ‘entourage effect’, in which the combined actions of terpenes and phytocannabinoids results in effects that exceed the sum of their separate contributions,” that study found. “This synergy emphasizes how important it is to consider the entire plant when utilizing cannabinoids medicinally as opposed to just concentrating on individual cannabinoids #CannabisResearch #CBG #THCV #HealthInnovation #MedicalMarijuana https://lnkd.in/ghQ_YZYJ

🎁Gift Cards To Comprise 48% of Holiday Gift Budgets and other Digital Transactions💳! 💵Consumers are kicking off the holiday shopping season earlier each year and tapping into tech and loyalty points to help them check off their lists,” said Jay Jaffin, chief marketing officer, BHN. “Our research found that a growing number of people will be leaning on gift cards, actively looking for rewards and leveraging the points and stored value they’ve accumulated in loyalty and reward programs to fuel their holiday shopping. 🛍️Also new this year: while consumers look both online and in-store for the best buying options, about one in five surveyed shoppers said they plan to use AI to help with everything from finding the best deals, to comparing products and getting gift ideas. As shoppers adopt increasingly strategic approaches to holiday budgeting and spending, our annual holiday forecast helps retailers to better understand and leverage 💰consumer trends, allowing them to be well-equipped to maximize resources and hone marketing and gift card program strategies for holiday success Surveyed 😊consumers plan to spend 💰$760 on holiday gifting overall this year, which is relatively flat over 2023. However, shoppers plan to spend 48% of their total holiday budget on gift cards—up from 39% in 2023. While shoppers across all generations plan to spend more on gift cards this year, the largest increase is among younger shoppers. Gen Z and millennial consumers plan to spend more than half of their total holiday gift spend (54%) on gift cards, an increase from 41% last year. While we’ve seen inflation cool when compared to the last few holiday shopping seasons, our research shows that inflation remains the top concern for consumers. Forty-five percent of surveyed consumers said they plan to change their shopping behaviors, with a key focus on value and deals this holiday. For many consumers, loyalty programs with stored value that they have built up will serve as a 💳digital couch cushion this holiday season, helping shoppers find some extra spending power—especially for younger generations. Of the surveyed Gen Z and millennial consumers, 43% plan to pay for holiday gifts with store or credit card points and 26% plan to purchase gifts using 🎉loyalty points (i.e., hotel, airline, etc.). #GiftCards #HolidayShopping #DigitalTransactions https://lnkd.in/g8_Dhs_2