Techflier

BI Intelligence This is a preview of a research report from BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about BI Intelligence,   click here . Fintechs have found a way to serve small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) while still making a profit, and now incumbents want in on the action.  SMBs have been historically underserved by financial services providers, but that's starting to change as both fintechs and incumbents continue to roll out SMB-targeted services. This report will look at the areas in which incumbents have failed SMBs when it comes to financial services provision — including credit, digital business services, and bank accounts — and give examples of where fintechs have successfully filled the gaps. It will also provide examples of incumbents that have introduced new SMB products in response, and our verdict on which type of supplier — fintech or incumbent — will dominate each area of the market for SMB-focused financia...

BII In an increasingly digitized world, brick-and-mortar retailers are facing immense pressure to understand and accommodate their customers’ changing needs, including at the point of sale (POS).  More than two years after the EMV liability shift in October 2015, most large merchants globally have upgraded their payment systems. And beyond upgrading to meet new standards, many major retailers are adopting full-feature, “smart” devices — and supplementing them with valuable tools and services — to help them better engage customers and build loyalty. But POS solutions aren’t “one size fits all.” Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) don't usually have the same capabilities as larger merchants, which often have the resources and funds to adopt robust solutions or develop them in-house. That's where app marketplaces come in: POS app marketplaces are platforms, typically deployed by POS providers, where developers can host third-party business apps that o...

BI Intelligence This is a preview of a research report from BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about BI Intelligence, click here . Insurance companies have long based their pricing models and strategies on assumptions about the demographics of their customers. Auto insurers, for example, have traditionally charged higher premiums for parents of teenage drivers based on the assumption that members of this demographic are more likely to get into an accident. But those assumptions are inherently flawed, since they often aren't based on the actual behaviors and characteristics of individual customers. As new IoT technologies increasingly move into the mainstream, insurers are able to collect and analyze data to more accurately price premiums, helping them to protect the assets they insure and enabling more efficient assessment of damages to conserve resources. A new report from BI Intelligence explains how companies in th...

Reuters North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed the US will never be able to start a war against North Korea, in a New Year's Day message taunting the US. "The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk." he said. North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September. SEOUL (Reuters) -  North  Korea n leader Kim Jong Un said on Monday that the United States will never be able to start a war against  North  Korea  now that his country has developed the capability to hit all of the U.S. mainland with its nuclear weapons. "The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a threat," Kim said during a televised New Year’s Day speech. "This year we should focus on mass producing nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles for operational deployment," Kim said. "These weapons will be ...

Screenshot via Jacob Rascon/KPRC A man in Houston, Texas, is facing multiple charges after police found a small arsenal of weapons and ammunition in his hotel room. Employees at the Hyatt Regency initially called police early Sunday morning because the man was drunk at the hotel bar and refused to leave. Police later found an AR-15 rifle, a shotgun, handgun, and ammunition in his top-floor room. Police identified the man as 49-year-old Russell Lawrence Ziemba. Investigators said they do not believe Ziemba intended to use the weapons. Police in Texas arrested a man on charges of unlawfully carrying a weapon after they found an AR-15 rifle, a shotgun, handgun, and ammunition in his top-floor hotel room at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Houston. Hotel employees initially called police early Sunday morning after Russell Lawrence Ziemba refused to leave a bar, the local news station KPRC reported . Responding police called for backup at 1:30 a.m. local time and found ammunition ...

Shaban Athuman/Getty Images The NFL playoff field is now set. The Atlanta Falcons clinched the final spot in the NFC and the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills clinched the final two spots in the AFC. We also now know who will be playing on Saturday and who will play on Sunday during the first weekend of the playoffs. We now know all 12 seeds for when the NFL playoffs begin next weekend. In the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons clinched the final playoff spot with a win over the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers had already clinched a playoff spot, but their loss means they will be the other NFC Wild Card team and the New Orleans Saints are NFC South champs. We already knew the Philadelphia Eagles would be the top seed in the NFC with home-field advantage. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings also earned a bye in the first round by being the 2-seed. Here is the bracket for the NFC (via the NFL): NFL network In the AFC, things were more complicated heading into Week 17, but the Tennes...

White House/Shealah Craighead President Donald Trump's historic first year in office is nearing its end. Below are the official White House photos that stand out most from Trump's first year. President Donald Trump's first year in office is drawing to a close, and White House photographers have documented just about every day in their hundreds of photos. From Trump's first 100 days, to top-level meetings with cabinet members, national security officials, and foreign dignitaries, the photographers employed by the White House were given access to capture defining moments of Trump's presidency that the independent press corps were not. Here are the White House photos that stand out most from Trump's first year in office: January 20, 2017: President-elect Donald Trump walks to take his seat for the inaugural swearing-in ceremony at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. White House/Shealah Craighead January 31, 2017: Trump joins Judge Neil Gorsuch, his wife...