It’s Monday, April 18 and today is tax day. While you can’t pay your taxes in cryptocurrency, your eCurrency gains are taxable. But if you haven’t sold your bitcoin or Ethereum and are a bit short on cash dollars, you can always join the 51% of crypto holders that use the digital currency to shop. Plus, if your company is emerging from the pandemic in hybrid form, new office furniture for a changing workplace might be on the list of to-dos.
Shopping with Bitcoin: Most people don’t think of spending cryptocurrency when shopping in-store or online, but it’s a trend that is quickly growing into a norm. The report “The U.S. Crypto Consumer: Cryptocurrency Use In Online And In-Store Purchases,” a PYMNTS and BitPay collaboration, shows that about half of crypto holders would change merchants if it meant they could pay in crypto. Millennials pulling in big paychecks use crypto to buy food, clothes, gaming subscriptions and more. READ MORE
Office Makeover: The pandemic has touched just about every facet of daily life — and one of the biggest shifts affects how we work. As people went from driving to work to walking to a spare corner of their homes, the need for office furniture skyrocketed. Branch specializes in desks, chairs and office accessories, with a focus on home-based and hybrid spaces. In an interview with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster, Branch CEO Greg Hayes said the enterprise office is making a comeback, but with a twist. READ MORE
Subscription Model Facelift: The subscription model has become a fixture, and the average consumer now subscribes to five different services. While the market might seem saturated — especially in light of record-high inflation — it’s still an innovative way to drive growth and engagement, Sanjay Kamble, vice president of product management at subscription commerce platform sticky.io, told PYMNTS. Product exclusivity is part of the draw, but another big aspect is the creation of communities through memberships. READ MORE
Fighting Fraudsters: The average eCommerce marketplace was hit by 344 fraud attempts in 2020, up 24% from 2021. Over half of businesses build fraud detection into digital payments processes, but cyber thieves still manage to infiltrate the barriers. Robert Johnson, senior vice president of Corcentric Payments, told PYMNTS in an interview that supplier validation is a bulletproof strategy for B2B interactions. READ MORE
DOJ Tightens Leniency: The Corporate Leniency Policy of the Department of Justice (DOJ) offers criminal immunity to the first company that reports a criminal antitrust violation and fully cooperates with the investigation. That time frame is now being refined, with the DOJ stating that companies should step up “promptly” at the first indication of wrongdoing. Heather Nyong’o, partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, told PYMNTS the new approach could be a predictability issue for companies considering applying. READ MORE
