Today in PYMNTS data, call centers are putting customers at risk by having them read their sensitive information aloud, vertical farming systems could revolutionize urban produce output and consumers are dissatisfied with apparel and accessory retailers’ omnichannel offerings. Also, companies are increasing primary cash management relationships, and accounts receivable (AR) departments are still seeing commercial credit and debit card payments.
Here are the numbers:
70 percent | Portion of call centers that require customers to read their information out loud to a call center agent — a litany of data that includes sensitive streams of numbers like birthdates, Social Security numbers and more.
40 | Number of times the output per square foot of Smallhold’s vertical farming systems — an urban farming concept that reduces the environmental impact of growing produce and uses 96 percent less water — is multiplied compared to the average farming setup. According to Smallhold, the system allows produce to be grown almost anywhere, including in dining rooms, basements and even at grocery stores.
37.9 | Average satisfaction score for apparel and accessories retailers on a scale of zero to 100, according to the PYMNTS Omni Usage Index™. The Index found that consumers are unhappy with clothing companies’ capabilities, but some are looking to buck the trend. This includes Frank And Oak, a Canadian clothing company that has woven omnichannel into its offerings since its founding in February 2012.
20 percent | Portion of surveyed professionals who said they had increased the number of primary cash management banks with which they’re working as of last year. Only 13 percent said they decreased the number of cash management solution providers with which they were working.
11 percent | Percentage of commercial credit and debit card payments that come into AR, according to a National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) survey. Respondents told NACHA they expect cards to hold 12.5 percent of payment volume by 2020. The survey also found that ACH payments currently account for 32 percent of payments received by AR, and ACH payments are expected to account for up to 45 percent of payments received by 2020.
The U.K. has reportedly replaced its competition watchdog for failing to prioritize the government’s growth agenda.
According to a report Wednesday (Jan. 22) by Reuters, the government has replaced Marcus Bokkerink as head of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) with Doug Gurr, former head of Amazon’s U.K. operations.
During an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, British finance minister Rachel Reeves said she needed a CMA head who agreed with her “strategic direction.”
“He recognized it was time for him to move on and make way for somebody who does share the mission and the strategic direction that this government are taking,” Reeves said.
The report notes that Bokkerink’s ouster came one day after Donald Trump returned to the White House, pledging to reduce regulation governing industries such as the tech sector. Some of that work is already underway, with Travis Hill, acting chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), saying Tuesday (Jan. 21) that the agency would conduct a “wholesale review” of banking regulations.
Critics of the U.K. government’s decision say it suggests a period of regulatory rollbacks is about to begin in England, which has typically not been shy on cracking down on big business.
“Now is the time to file your mergers with the CMA,” said Tom Smith, former legal director at the authority and now competition lawyer at Geradin Partners. “The government is sending a clear signal that it wants the CMA to go easy on dealmakers.”
According to Reuters, the U.K.’s Labor government, facing pressure to jumpstart the economy, has called on regulator to “tear down the barriers hindering businesses” and focus on growth, though some have questioned whether rolling back competition rules would achieve this.
After his removal, Bokkerink said on a LinkedIn post that markets should not be held back “by a few powerful incumbents setting the rules for everyone else.”
The move follows other recent measures in the U.K. to relax financial regulations. Sam Woods, chief executive of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority, told a House of Lords committee earlier this month that financial resilience and economic competitiveness “go hand in hand” as he discussed efforts to address government demands to bolster economic growth.
The changes can happen without leading to “a race to the bottom” on financial regulation, he told the chamber’s financial services regulation committee.