The northeastern United States is on its third week of snow storms big enough to shutter schools for successive days. This week, for example, Massachusetts—where Ardent Partners is located—has enjoyed an additional foot of snow over yesterday and today.
But enough about the weather. In this week’s news roundup, we’re visiting the Crimean Peninsula, where branded Visa and MasterCard cards will start functioning again, as well as witnessing the explosive growth of business travel in China. Read on for more details.
Visa, MasterCard Cards to Resume Functioning in Crimea in April
Russia Beyond the Headlines has the story that credit cards branded as Visa or MasterCard will start working in Crimea in a few months. That’s when transactions are expected to be transferred fully to Russia’s National Payment System, a homegrown set of card rails designed to circumvent Western sanctions and allow Russian businesses and consumers to pay with cards. Read the full story at http://rbth.com/news/2015/02/06/visa_mastercard_cards_to_resume_functioning_in_crimea_in_april_43497.html.
Why China is a Booming Business Travel Market
Chinese business travel spending jumped 15.9% in 2014, Joe Brancatelli writes in The Business Journals. Brancatelli also discusses the titanic growth in Chinese business travel, with the World Travel Organization expecting 100 million outbound Chinese travelers in the skies this year. Chinese business travel is growing so much—its 15.9% was triple the growth of U.S. business travel—that many U.S. and Chinese airlines are doubling down on new air routes into and out of mainland China. Read the full article at http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/blog/seat2B/2015/02/joe-brancatelli-china-business-travel.html?page=all.
Domestic MasterCard: 5 Russian Banks Begin New National Payment System
RT reports that the first five Russian banks processed transactions through that country’s new National Payment System on January 30. The payment system was initiated in December amid Russian fears that Western sanctions would cause the country’s expulsion from the SWIFT protocol currently used to facilitate international payments. The new payment system currently handles only Russian domestic transactions, but there are plans to expand into settling international payments as well. Read the full article at http://rt.com/business/228883-mastercard-national-payment-system/.
MasterCard Ramps up India Operations; to Have 1,500 People in Tech Hub
The Economic Times reports that MasterCard is expanding its tech hub in India with plans to build a tech hub in Pune, the seventh largest city in India. The addition of a tech hub in Pune, when MasterCard already has one location in Vadodara, will expand help expand the company’s staff to 1,500 employees across the two technology centers. Only about 19 million credit cards are currently in use in India, but debit card usage is on the increase. Read the full article at http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-02-04/news/58795955_1_india-operations-tech-hub-payments.
George Osborne Appointed Director of IT Infrastructure for Corcentric
Corcentric announced last week that George Osborne, a nine-year veteran of the company, was appointed to the director of IT infrastructure position. Osborne will lead the internal IT team’s management and deployment of internal networks at the company’s multiple locations.
Tradeshift Partners with VISEO, Signs SNOP to Expand Its Presence in France
Tradeshift announced two new developments to expand its presence in France. The first, a partnership with VISEO, adds a new channel partner to the Tradeshift stable, while SNOP is a leading automotive parts manufacturer. SNOP will use Tradeshift to manage 100% of its invoices, while VISEO will assist with enabling SNOP’s straight-through invoice processing. SNOP is the first joint customer of the VISEO/Tradeshift partnership.
UXC Oxygen Teams Up With Concur in Aussie Market
ITwire reports that UXC Oxygen has become a reseller of Concur’s travel and expense management software in Australia. Concur’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Matt Goss, noted that the offering will give UXC Oxygen customers access to Concur’s cloud-based solution, which can offer significant savings on travel and expense management. Read the full article at http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/resellers/66836-uxc-oxygen-teams-up-with-travel-solutions-provider-concur.
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