Today In Digital-First Banking: Oracle Rolls Out Cybersecurity Apps For FIs; The ACH Reports Rise In Q3 Activity

Today In Digital-First Banking: Oracle Rolls Out Cybersecurity Apps For FIs; The Automated Clearing House Reports Rise In Q3 Activity

In today’s top news in digital-first banking, Oracle is introducing new cloud offerings to provide smaller banks with the tools to combat large-scale money laundering schemes, while the Automated Clearing House saw a sizable increase in acidity in Q3. Plus, Brex unveiled an Instant Payouts function created to help eCommerce merchants smooth out their cash flow.

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    Oracle Launches New Cybersecurity, AML Apps for Smaller Banks

    Oracle is debuting new cloud services to offer tools to smaller banks to combat large-scale money laundering schemes. The Oracle Financial Crime and Compliance Management Cloud Service offers comprehensive cybersecurity functions to FIs of various sizes. Customers can now access Oracle’s Regulatory Reporting and Transaction Monitoring apps, with the Customer Screening and Know Your Customer (KYC) functions forecasted to be available prior to the conclusion of 2020.

    Surge in Commercial Payments Pushes ACH Payments Volume up 9 Pct in Q3

    The Automated Clearing House experienced a significant rise in activity in Q3, even as government assistance initiatives trailed off. To that end, the ACH Network saw 6.8 billion payments in Q3, marking a 9 percent rise over the same timeframe last year, according to Nacha. Federal assistance payments to the unemployed have fallen sizably as money from last spring’s $2 trillion COVID-19 package has diminished.

    Brex Launches ‘Instant Payouts’ Service for eCommerce Firms

    Brex has introduced an Instant Payouts function designed to assist online merchants with smoothing their cash flows. The feature lets companies that sell online tap instantly into their sales revenue in lieu of waiting weeks or longer for the money to come. Brex is rolling out the new function for merchants that sell on Amazon, with the intention to provide the offering to other sales platforms.

    Fed Reserve, FinCEN Seek Input on Bank Secrecy Act Rule Changes

    The Federal Reserve Board and The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) are looking for input on a potential regulation that would amend recordkeeping and travel rule regulations under the Bank Secrecy Act. The two organizations have joint authority on the recordkeeping rule and have together found appropriate changes. However, FinCEN has complete authority for the travel rule and will make its own proposals for amendments.


    Target Halting Practice of Price-Matching Amazon and Walmart

    Target’s price-matching days have reportedly come to an end.

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      The retailer will stop the practice of matching the prices of products from rival retailers like Walmart and Amazon beginning July 28, Retail Dive reported Friday (July 18).

      The company has seen that shoppers “overwhelmingly price match Target and not other retailers,” a Target spokesperson told the news outlet.

      “We’re always working to deliver consumers outstanding value and give them confidence to choose Target, with our everyday low prices, affordable and quality-focused owned brands, incredible deals, free-to-join membership program, Target Circle, and more,” the company said.

      With the soon-to-be-discontinued policy, Target matches prices on identical qualifying items from Amazon and Walmart, and allows customers to request such price matching at the time of purchase or within 14 days afterward, the report said.

      The report noted that this change is happening amid a major turnaround effort by Target following sliding sales and foot traffic, consumer backlash and the rocky tariff environment.

      Former CEO Brian Cornell said on an earnings call in May that price increases are seen as a “last resort” when it comes to softening the impact of tariffs.

      PYMNTS has contacted Target for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

      Target’s move is happening during a summer that is turning out to be a pivotal one for retail giants, as PYMNTS wrote last week.

      “Sitting at the intersection of geopolitical headwinds, U.S. tariffs, AI disruption and an increasingly cost-conscious consumer, the question hanging over the retail industry is this: Can anyone thrive when the shopper won’t save them?” that report said.

      Although extended sales events such as Amazon’s Prime Day and Walmart+ Week were once “celebratory bonanzas of consumption,” PYMNTS added, they felt this year “more like high-stakes stress tests of brand agility, pricing power and technological readiness.”

      Amazon’s longer-than-normal Prime Day drove billions in sales, but also showed that consumers were more interested in essentials they could buy for under $20 than in big-ticket impulse buys. The average household spend — $156 — was roughly flat year over year, even with cooling inflation.

      Walmart responded by leaning on its Walmart+ Week event to underscore “everyday low prices,” especially on school supplies, which it advertised as costing less than last year.

      Meanwhile, the report added, Target and Sam’s Club froze prices on seasonal items to maintain loyalty amid looming threat of tariffs on products imported from China. 

      “But the move may signal desperation as much as differentiation,” PYMNTS added. Target’s sales and stock are both down, and Cornell’s exit “has thrown future strategy into question.”