Empowering Amazon Connect Contact Centers to Navigate the Complex World of Payment Compliance by outsourcing the payment capture services to SequenceShift.

SequenceShift, a global leader in Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance solutions for Contact Centers, is proud to announce enhanced payment capabilities in its esteemed Payline and Secure Payment IVR solutions. Building on its Amazon Connect Ready designation from AWS, which validates SequenceShift as an AWS Partner that provides solutions that integrate seamlessly with Amazon Connect software solutions, SequenceShift continues to innovate, now supporting not just credit and debit card capture but also Electronic Banking payments like Automatic Clearing House (ACH).

Built on AWS, this new offering comes in response to the evolving needs of the North American market for direct debit payment services, where ACH and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) hold significant weight, respectively. SequenceShift's initial release focuses on ACH payments to meet the demands of its U.S. customer base, with plans to support additional Electronic Bank Payments like EFT.

"NACHA, the governing body of the ACH network, imposes stringent and evolving security standards," said Dmitri Muntean, SequenceShift Managing Director. "This addition to our portfolio allows contact centers to securely capture sensitive electronic bank payment data without exposing their agents and contact center to this sensitive information." 

The integration of Electronic Bank Payments is an important addition to SequenceShift's outsourced compliance payment solutions, allowing businesses to securely capture customer card and bank data. This greatly mitigates their ACH compliance exposure, enabling them to focus on core business operations.

"We've always been dedicated to simplifying and accelerating the compliance journey for businesses," said Muntean. "The support for ACH payments is already being rolled out to customers, further validating our commitment to meet market demands."

The Generative AI tool will drive greater value for Basware customers

Basware, the leader in making AP automation and invoice processing happen, has come together with Microsoft and Zure to announce the launch of its generative AI tool which uses Microsoft Azure OpenAI ChatGPT. The tool, named AskMary, integrates ChatGPT technology to help Basware draft responses to customer inquiries. AskMary will empower Basware's customer support team to deliver a more accurate and faster support function for its customers.

Basware has teamed up with Microsoft and Zure to create a solution in the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform. The collaboration allows Basware to leverage ChatGPT technology through Microsoft Azure's OpenAI service within Basware's own Microsoft Azure environment. This ensures the highest level of customer data security.

Customer inquiries in financial management can be complex and varied. AskMary uses Microsoft Azure OpenAI ChatGPT to provide tailored suggestions on engaging with customers, delivering what customers expect – fast, stress-free and helpful resolutions. The tool works by Basware's customer support team inputting customer inquiries via 'prompts' within the AskMary platform. The tool then returns detailed suggestions for customer responses. 

AskMary is named after communication expert Mary Gober, who has developed renowned methodologies around customer satisfaction and service excellence.

1. Enhanced Communication: Basware's enhanced customer support function will provide clear, consistent and timely responses, delivering greater customer satisfaction.
2. Customer Data Security: AskMary operates within a secure Microsoft Azure environment and enhances Basware's system on safeguarding customer data.
3. Human-led Support: The tool requires human input to create customer responses, which are then refined and sent by Basware's customer support team. It ensures that Basware personnel remain at the heart of customer interaction and allows them to refine their quality of customer interaction.
4. Ease of use: AskMary is easily accessible via an app within Basware's Microsoft Teams platform, increasing efficiency and reliability for Basware's customer support function.

For 40 years, Basware has streamlined the accounts payable (AP) function within organisations through its AP automation and e-invoicing platform. Basware uses AI and machine learning technology to automatically match invoices to purchase orders, approve and submit for payment, revolutionizing the way businesses manage their financial operations.

Implementation of the AskMary tool has received positive feedback and it opens up possibilities for Basware teams to utilize its benefits beyond customer support. 

Matthias Lippert, Chief Customer Support Officer at Basware, commented:

"Delivering customer value is one of our core objectives at Basware. As a platform built on AI and ML technology itself, we were relentless to introduce AI technology within a secure Microsoft Azure environment to enhance our customer service. In our early use of the tool, we have witnessed a transformation in our customer communications that maintains the human element and allows us to help customers better and faster.  

Basware's commitment to AI doesn't end with AskMary. Our goal is to learn from Microsoft Azure OpenAI ChatGPT's usage and by 2024, we expect to see a range of AI-powered solutions within our support function. We're working towards a goal where the best customer support is the one where there is a need for minimal customer support – as it all just happens."

ChatGPT was developed by OpenAI, which uses Generative AI technology to provide detailed responses to human queries. AskMary is built within Basware's Microsoft Azure environment, leveraging its OpenAI service.

Mari Tuominen, Director, Corporate and SMB Business at Microsoft Finland, commented on the collaboration with Basware:

"At Microsoft Azure, we take pride in empowering organizations to harness the full potential of AI. The collaboration with Basware is a testament to their dedication and our robust cloud computing platform. We are excited to see the positive impact it's having on Basware's customers."

Zure, an Azure-focused digital innovation company, worked with Basware to implement the technology in Basware's platform within a matter of weeks.

Sakari Nahi, CEO at Zure, commented on the implementation: 

We are pleased to have accelerated Basware's use of AI innovation in setting the standard for customer experience in the era of AI. With the help of Microsoft Azure, and as technology continues to evolve, we look forward to further collaborations that push the envelope of what's possible in enhancing customer experience, streamlining operations, and ensuring data security.

Earlier this year, Basware was recognized as a 2023 Gartner Peer Insights™ Customers' Choice for Procure-To-Pay Suites. Basware achieved a 4.6 out of 5 rating* based on reviews by customers that had used its solutions, taking into consideration support experience.

• IBM's deep engineering and AI expertise to deliver extended customer-focused functionality via NatWest's virtual assistant, Cora

• Collaboration is part of NatWest's broader generative AI approach, which leverages IBM's enterprise AI platform, watsonx

NatWest and IBM today announced enhancements to the bank's virtual assistant, Cora, that will use generative AI to provide customers with access to a wider range of information through conversational interactions. The bank will be among the first in the UK to deploy generative AI with a virtual assistant enabling a safe, intuitive, and accessible experience in its digital services.

Harnessing the power of responsible and ethical AI forms part of the bank's wider strategy, collaborating with IBM and other experts to help customers achieve financial wellbeing through personalised support. By leveraging IBM's enterprise grade AI and data platform, watsonx, teams are co-creating a digital concierge (Cora+) that evolves the chatbot's capability into a more interactive and conversational experience, where this benefits customers.

Personalised, conversational responses to complex customer queries 

This innovative capability has been designed to provide a more accessible and human interaction for customers looking to compare products and services across the product suite, or who are looking for information across the NatWest Group websites. 

Cora+ will be able to access information from multiple secure sources that were previously inaccessible through chat alone, such as products, services, information about the bank and career opportunities. Customers can ask questions and receive responses in a more natural, conversational style and are provided with links to requested information, which they can either view immediately or bookmark for later. Customers will continue to have the option to speak on the phone with branch representatives during business hours.

Wendy Redshaw, Chief Digital Information Officer of the NatWest Group's Retail Bank said: "We are a relationship bank in a digital world, building trusted, long-term relationships with our customers through meaningful and personalised engagement. 

Building on Cora's success over the last five years, we're working with companies like IBM to leverage the latest generative AI innovations that will help make Cora feel even more 'human' and, most importantly, a trusted, safe and reliable digital partner for our customers."

In a digital world, banks focus on fostering talent, technology and trusted collaborations

As banks increasingly become digital enterprises, attracting and retaining top technology talent has become an industry priority.  The importance of mindful innovation and safe exploration is key, and aligned to NatWest's Digital X Strategy, which focusses on three pillars: engineer, protect and operate. This provides the bank with opportunities to collaborate with specialist industry leaders, like IBM, and work together on cutting edge, emerging technologies to deliver what matters most for customers. 

To accelerate the pace of innovation and delivery, the IBM Client Engineering team worked alongside the NatWest business and technology teams to rapidly co-create, test, and validate the outcomes with the aim of safely and swiftly delivering a viable generative AI digital assistant. 

"NatWest and other forward-thinking leaders of financial institutions around the world are exploring the potential of AI technologies as part of their competitive business strategy," said John Duigenan, Distinguished Engineer and General Manager Global Financial Services Industry at IBM. "With the appropriate guardrails and governance in place ensuring that AI is open, trusted and targeted, banks can deliver an empowering value proposition enabling an even deeper level of customer loyalty. We're excited about the opportunity to collaborate with NatWest on their vision for customer care."

Banking industry leaders globally see value in generative AI and are selectively exploring how it can be used

According to a recent study by IBM's Institute for Business Value, CEO Decision-Making in the Age of AI, banking and financial markets CEOs are being selective and deliberate in their use of generative AI. They recognise its potential, with over 40% of the 360 banking and financial markets leaders responding that they expect generative AI, deep learning, and machine learning to help deliver financial results over the next three years. Talent, security and customer experience were cited the most frequently identified areas in which financial services leaders indicated interest in applying generative AI. Customer care was cited by 54% of these industry chiefs as among their highest technology priorities and a full three quarters (75%) of financial services CEOs surveyed believe that the competitive advantage will go to the institutions that have the most advanced use of generative AI.

WEX, the global commerce platform that simplifies the business of running a business, today announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Payzer, a high-growth, cloud-based, field service management software provider.

“We are excited about this deal and to welcome the Payzer team to WEX,” said Melissa Smith, Chair and CEO, WEX. “We believe our combination will only strengthen and deepen our offerings to WEX’s Mobility customers – approximately 150,000 of which operate field service management companies – by providing them a new, scalable, and integrated business management software offering.”

WEX previously announced its entry into a definitive agreement to acquire Payzer on October 26, 2023.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements including statements regarding the expected benefits of the acquisition. Any statements in this press release that are not statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such words. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance to be materially different from future results or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including WEX’s ability to successfully integrate the acquisition or to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition, as well as other risks and uncertainties identified in Item 1A of WEX’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2023, and WEX’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2023 and June 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on April 27, 2023 and July 27, 2023, respectively, and subsequent filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. WEX disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Inaugural Global Impact Report sets foundation for building future "Alteryx for Good" environmental, social, and governance goals

Alteryx, Inc., the Analytics Cloud Platform company, today released its inaugural Global Impact Report, which measures Alteryx's progress against its key impact pillars and highlights its accomplishments in 2022 with respect to Alteryx's people, its impact on the planet and its corporate governance and ethics. The release of this report establishes Alteryx's commitment to reporting on ESG metrics and sets a baseline to be used in building future goals and targets related to giving back to local communities, increasing workforce diversity, and reducing environmental impact.

"I am tremendously proud of our efforts in 2022 to become a more socially and environmentally responsible company.  We believe tracking our ESG data is the first step to honoring that commitment to our Maveryx community," said Mark Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, Alteryx. "This report provides an overview of our impact initiatives: how we are protecting and fostering diversity and wellbeing on our teams, engaging our customers in giving back, and building sustainability into our development strategy with an aim towards a greener, brighter future for everyone."

• Paying it forward: In 2022, employees donated over 6,400 hours to over 300 nonprofits through the Alteryx for Good program, which grants each employee 20 paid hours per year to volunteer with any nonprofit that is meaningful to them. The company also donated over 400 licenses to nearly 200 nonprofits through its Tech for Good program, to help organizations fuel change by harnessing the power of analytics. OzHarvest, Australia's leading food rescue organization, has been able to streamline tasks and focus on delivering more meals since joining Alteryx's Tech for Good program.

"At OzHarvest, we've delivered over 19 million meals and rescued 5,000 tons of food waste since 2020. By partnering with Alteryx, we've been able to streamline manual data collection efforts, provide access to accurate data, and enable analysis of programmatic impact," said Andrew Miller, National Logistics Manager, OzHarvest. "Alteryx has saved us at least 10 hours of manual work per week, helping us deliver more meals. Additionally, Alteryx has allowed us to uncover reliable statistics on impact and program reach that directly unlocked additional funding support."

• Providing Humanitarian Aid: Alteryx has raised over $140,000 for Ukrainian relief efforts through employee giving and corporate matching. The company also donated $100,000 to Doctors Without Borders to help improve emergency preparedness and response delivery and collaborated with State Street Corporation to organize a free Alteryx training course for Ukrainians looking to start careers in information technology.
• Protecting our planet: Alteryx developed its first greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory to measure the carbon emissions associated with the company's global operations, the first step needed to be able to reduce Alteryx's environmental impact. Simultaneously, the company has been using the Alteryx Analytics Platform as a tool for leveraging the power of analytics to quantify our environmental impact and identify areas for reduction.
• Advocating for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The team uses the Alteryx platform to measure diversity hiring goals and pay equity. Alteryx also publicly discloses its workforce demographics and has established quarterly touchpoints with each executive leader to review and discuss their diversity goals and objectives.

The new advertising portfolio from Yahoo is fully responsive and optimized for high impact, driving increased ad creative performance

Yahoo Advertising has announced the launch of Edge-2-Edge, a new collection of premium formats designed to offer advertisers an opportunity to maximize their exposure and engagement on Yahoo properties. With the capability to fill any screen from edge to edge, it provides a seamless viewing experience across all device types.

This collection provides advertisers with the tools they need to effectively engage their target audience, boost ad performance and elevate overall ad creative quality.

"The introduction of Edge-2-Edge underscores our commitment to delivering modern advertising solutions," said Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, Chief Revenue Officer at Yahoo. "We believe in empowering advertisers and are excited to continue offering a variety of tools and opportunities to create impactful and engaging ad experiences across the Yahoo ecosystem."

Key Features of Edge-2-Edge include:

• Enhanced Scale and Inventory: Edge-2-Edge provides advertisers with access to premium formats across the entire Yahoo ecosystem, spanning mobile, tablet, and desktop, with both above-the-fold and below-the-fold placements.
• Robust Features and Customization: Edge-2-Edge offers a rich set of features, and the canvas can be fully customized to align with advertisers' unique branding and messaging.
• Flexible Buying Options: Advertisers can purchase Edge-2-Edge as a takeover, rotational, or programmatic guaranteed, allowing them to choose the buying strategy that suits their needs.
• Targeting Capabilities: Edge-2-Edge has robust audience targeting capabilities, reducing wasted impressions and driving advertising efficiency.
• Diverse Premium Formats: Addressing the need for unique premium formats, Edge-2-Edge offers a wide range of ad formats, allowing a larger canvas that spans the width of any page and the ability for ads to adjust, maintaining edge-to-edge formatting as screens or browsers are resized.

Advertisers including Princess Cruises are already benefiting from the new premium formats.

“Edge-2-Edge opens up new possibilities for our ad campaigns, giving us the freedom to craft our advertising strategy just the way we want," said Jeff Larson, Senior Vice President Marketing at Princess Cruises. "Connecting with our audience through smart targeting and standout ad placements is vital for reaching our marketing goals. With Yahoo's cutting-edge ad tools, they remain a valuable partner, helping us create a more impactful and meaningful connection with our audience, resulting in a notable spike in website traffic when we put these formats to work on Yahoo Sports this past summer.”

Edge-2-Edge will replace its predecessors, Stage and Moments. Unlike Stage, which was a singular product, Edge-2-Edge is a comprehensive ad collection that offers advertisers more premium placements across properties, more flexible buying choices, and enhanced custom features. Additionally, while Stage was confined to three homepages, Edge-2-Edge will scale across the entire Yahoo ecosystem, from Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Finance and Yahoo News to Yahoo Entertainment, AOL, and Engadget, providing more extensive reach. Edge-2-Edge also excels in precise targeting, addressing the limitation of targeting capabilities in Stage.

Edge-2-Edge is rolling out across Yahoo properties now, bringing consumers best-in-class content and advertisers high-impact ad products.

Agency Executives Now Include 1% IVT Benchmark in Contracts, Codifying New Industry Standard for Success in Fighting Fraud

The digital advertising industry has reached consensus on a single metric to measure its success in achieving a predictable, consistent, and low fraud rate, according to the 2023 TAG US Fraud Benchmark Study.

For the third consecutive year, the study found that invalid traffic (IVT) in TAG Certified Channels (TCCs) in the United States was held under 1%, while interviews with executives from major agency holding companies validated that sub-1% level as the new de facto standard for the industry, with most agencies saying they include it as part of their client contracts. (TCCs are channels in which multiple entities involved in the ad transaction – such as the media agency, buy-side platform, sell-side platform, and/or publisher – have achieved the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal.)

"If you're batting .300, shooting 20 points per game, or passing your way to a 100+ QB rating, you've proven yourself among the best of the best at those sports," said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. "Now the ad industry has reached consensus on a unified metric to validate the success of our own all-stars at fighting fraud. Interviews from this year's US Fraud Benchmark Study confirm that our industry has reached consensus on a sub-1% IVT rate as the appropriate benchmark to validate the effectiveness of a company's anti-fraud efforts. Happily, the study also shows that TAG Certified Channels have achieved that milestone in the US for the past three years, which is cause for both commendation and continued commitment to vigilance against criminals looking to commit ad fraud."

According to the study, the IVT rate in TCCs for the first six months of 2023 was 0.82%, even lower than the 0.98% rate measured in the prior year's study. The IVT rate in Non-Certified Channels (NCCs), where only a single entity was certified, was 46% higher at 1.19%.

Year-Over-Year Summary of US Fraud Benchmark Reports

The 2023 benchmark study was conducted by The 614 Group, which also conducted interviews with executives from major agency holding companies to add additional first-hand context and information. Among the findings from those qualitative interviews:

• Agency executives confirmed that the sub-1% benchmark is used by their clients as a standard for success and included in their contracts. They also reported sharing the TAG US Fraud Benchmark Report with roughly 1,500 of their clients across major holding companies to drive engagement and assist with planning.
• Interviewees felt significant work still needs to be done by the industry around Made for Advertising (MFA) sites, particularly on definitions and measurement, to separate legitimate publishers from bad actors.
• Agencies are also focused on the opportunities and risks from the rapid integration of AI. While many noted it was too early to predict the full impact of AI, there was a consensus that more education was needed for agency execs and that the technology has a significant potential for good, as well as enabling more malicious activity.

TAG also announced that the 2024 TAG US Fraud Benchmark Report will undertake a deeper analysis of IVT rates among major Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) in the industry to provide a more holistic view of IVT both at the end point of agency purchase as well as upstream in the supply chain.

"It's a truism in research that where you measure matters, and we suspect that may prove true when measuring fraud in the digital advertising supply chain," said TAG COO Rachel Nyswander Thomas. "One would assume that there is more fraud or IVT as you move downstream in the supply chain towards publishers and SSPs because fewer rounds of filtration have taken place, and the rate decreases upstream with buyers as campaigns are filtered through MRC-accredited vendors and platforms in TAG Certified Channels, but this issue has not been thoroughly investigated or quantified to date. In 2024, TAG intends to put this hypothesis to the test and see whether - and how much - IVT varies at different points in the supply chain."

"Over the last seven years, we've seen tremendous progress on both the quantitative and qualitative fronts in our research," said Rob Rasko, CEO of The 614 Group. "In 2023 we have seen an extreme increase in the data reviewed overall and specifically, given our first foray into China earlier in the year. The "where you measure matters" initiative will bring even more data and new partners into the mix, and I am excited to share even deeper results and perspectives on the amounts of IVT throughout the supply chain as a result of that effort."

The TAG Certified Against Fraud Program was launched in 2016 to combat invalid traffic in the digital advertising supply chain. Companies that are shown to comply with the Certified Against Fraud Guidelines are awarded the Certified Against Fraud Seal, which they can use to publicly communicate their commitment to combating fraud. 

New product will help advertisers measure CTV outcomes using industry leading search data

Captify, the leading Search Intelligence Platform for the open web, today announced the launch of TV Search Lift, a proprietary TV study that evaluates the success and outcomes of CTV campaigns using authentic onsite search data.

This offering will bring Captify’s Search Intelligence to the television landscape for the first time, helping brands elevate their CTV campaigns with real-time intent audiences and measure the impact on highly relevant, in-market households.

Specifically, TV Search Lift will enable brands to measure their campaigns based on shifts in consumer behavior, understand changes in brand perception and sentiment inspired by a campaign and determine the effectiveness of a brand message and how it resonates with target audiences. As a result, brands will better understand the effects of a CTV campaign on viewer search behavior in real-time.

“In order to understand the impact of CTV campaigns, marketers commonly have to rely on unvalidated and outdated data sources, which can leave knowledge gaps for advertisers,” said Britt Augenfeld, Vice President of Video and Advanced TV at Captify. “With the largest collection of search data outside the walled gardens, Captify’s onsite search data provides a window into consumer true and authentic attitudes towards a brand, its competitors, and the market overall. Now, advertisers can identify consumer interest and purchase intent based on search behaviors, giving them a true measure of campaign impact and success, helping fill those gaps and enabling better CTV outcomes.”

“Our search intent data has long helped brands improve the effectiveness of their digital campaigns,” said Isaac Gerber, Global Director of Commercial Insights at Captify. “Entering the CTV landscape is a natural evolution of our solutions that will offer unprecedented insights for a channel that has so far lacked the precision and measurement of traditional digital campaigns.”