Options-based strategies have been growing rapidly over the last decade, both in terms of available solutions as well as assets under management. As of May 31, 2018, there are 176 funds with over $20bn AUM in the Morningstar category “Options Based.” So what makes this options-based strategy so popular?
As part of our ongoing comparison series, we will explore the following:
NerdWallet’s rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Where World First shines:
• No fees for sending $10,000 and up
• Ability to deliver money within a day, especially between major currencies
Where World First falls short:
• Minimum transfer amount is $1,000
• Limited to bank accounts for sending and receiving money
The bottom line
As an international money transfer platform, World First lets individuals and businesses send money from the U.S. to over 120 countries. Both sender and recipient must have bank accounts to facilitate a transfer, and the minimum sending amount is $1,000. The company has reasonably cheap transfers for $10,000 – at which point the fee drops — or above, especially because of competitive exchange rates for major currencies. Standard delivery is about two to three business days.
B2B payments in the insurance industry suffer from many of the same challenges that other markets do: namely, check-based payments. However, to push insurance providers in the direction of ePayments, service providers have to acknowledge the nuances of the insurance payments machine.
In particular, a heavy volume of both B2C payments (consumers paying premiums to insurance companies, as well as insurance companies sending claim payouts to individuals) and B2B payments (insurance companies paying service providers) pave the way to a complex mix of payment rails. Of course, checks remain prevalent in this market, says Ben Peters, Chief Operating Officer at insurance payments solutions company VPay.
For policy subscribers, insurance companies’ shift away from paper checks toward ePayments can mean faster payouts to claimants. But the market’s B2B payments practices present a tougher sell to make the switch from faster, electronic payment technologies, Peters told PYMNTS. That’s because the insurance industry is heavily reliant on payment data, perhaps more so than other verticals.
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Perfecto, the leading continuous testing and monitoring platform for optimizing DevOps pipelines, today announced its Continuous Quality Lab for web, mobile, and IoT testing now supports three web testing frameworks: Codecept, Gauge, and NightwatchJS. Support for these frameworks expands Perfecto’s existing set of supported cross-browser test frameworks: Protractor, webdriverIO, selenium, and Quantum, the open source test execution framework contributed by Perfecto. Perfecto’s open and integrated approach enables its platform to support web, mobile, and IoT teams using a diverse set of test frameworks to achieve continuous testing at scale.
Across brands, web development teams are accelerating their software delivery as they move towards continuous delivery (CD). To meet velocity objectives, organizations are focused on choosing tools that fit best with their toolchains, practices, and skills. Behavior-driven development (BDD) frameworks have gained popularity in the web testing community due to their ability to develop automation using a simple English language syntax. Perfecto’s expanded support enables test automation to be built by non-engineers and provides development teams with the ability to choose the tools that fit best within their process.
When you hear “Tampa,” the mind conjures warm images of sunshine, cigar smoke and palm trees. The initiated may fondly remember walks along Bayshore Boulevard, a Lightning game at Amalie Arena, or a tour of the burgeoning craft beer scene.
All good things, to be sure. But living in paradise also means working in paradise. So what is it like to clock in where the rest of the world comes to kick back?
Insights from entrepreneurs who defied the odds
Financial advisers who launch their own firm often see themselves as entrepreneurs. But some of them dial it up a notch. An enterprising few start a technology company on the side. And a lack of knowledge about software development doesn’t stop them.
Given their background and training, advisers are well equipped to embrace entrepreneurship. They understand how to evaluate risk, allocate capital, and manage their time. If they run their own practice, they also have experience delegating, marketing, and enlisting outsiders for help — skills that tech entrepreneurs must master.
“To become a successful entrepreneur, you need passion and to surround yourself with others who share your passion,” said Michael McDaniel, an adviser who co-founded Riskalyze, a fintech firm, in 2011.
McDaniel spent 12 years as an adviser — including the last five running his own wealth management firm — before helping launch Riskalyze. “At the time, I was running a thriving practice and I had knowledge of intellectual property driving some of my success,” he recalled. “It was gnawing at me that I was using this technology and other advisers weren’t.”
EBANX has partnered with Light in The Box, a China-based ecommerce merchant, to process payments with domestic debit and credit cards in Mexico.
Due to this collaboration, Mexican consumers who want to buy from Light in The Box will be able to pay with local payment methods they are used to.
With a population of around 120 million people, Mexico is the second largest ecommerce market in Latin America. In 2016, it generated USD 7.2 billion in sales, as reported by Statista, and it is growing continuously. In 2017, three in every four Mexican internet users made at least one online purchase, according to a research conducted by the Mexican Internet Association cited in the press release. When it comes to purchases on international websites, the percentage is also high: 67% of online buyers bought from a foreign ecommerce store.
NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association® has designated VPay, a business-to-business payments solution provider, as a NACHA Certified Third-Party Sender.
NACHA Certified is a voluntary certification program that enables a Third-Party Sender in the ACH Network to show to their customers, banking partners, and peers that they are meeting NACHA standards that signal sound core practices associated with high-quality ACH payment processing.
“We congratulate VPay for becoming the first Third-Party Sender in the claims payments field to achieve the NACHA Certified designation,” said NACHA Chief Operating Officer Jane Larimer. “VPay has successfully demonstrated that it has policies, practices and controls that meet NACHA’s criteria for serving as a NACHA Certified Third-Party Sender in the ACH Network.”
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS PROVIDER RECEIVES HIGH MARKS FROM EMPLOYEES IN POST-DISPATCH SURVEY
Clearent, a full-service payments solution provider, has been awarded a 2018 Top Workplaces honor by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by Energage (formerly Workplace Dynamics), a leading provider of technology-based employee engagement tools. The anonymous survey measures several aspects of workplace culture, including alignment, execution and connection. This is the seventh-consecutive year Clearent has received this recognition.
“Top Workplaces is more than just recognition,” said Doug Claffey, CEO of Energage. “Our research shows organizations that earn the award attract better talent, experience lower turnover, and are better equipped to deliver bottom-line results. Their leaders prioritize and carefully craft a healthy workplace culture that supports employee engagement.”
On June 25, 2018, Sitehands, the world's first IT field services marketplace, will be kicking off its Partner Summit at the Embassy Suites in Charlotte, NC. This three-day event will include networking events and sessions focused on revenue growth, the future of IT field services and Sitehands' quest to redefine the industry. Key speakers include Sitehands CEO, JP Rosato, industry thought leaders and an open forum partner panel with AIS, Tekmark and Coranet.
"We are forming a community of likeminded people looking to create and shape the new standards of IT field services and we want you to join us" said Sitehands' CEO, JP Rosato. "With Sitehands, you are not only powered by our subject matter experts, platform, technology and customer reach, but also by our belief system. Together we can unleash opportunities, but you must participate, have integrity and own the outcome."
