On-Demand Pay: What Does the CFPB Have to Say About It?

Over the years, consumers have become accustomed to getting what they want when they want it, usually by doing no more than clicking a few buttons. They can watch new shows by the season, get same day shipping from marketplaces like Amazon, and order groceries online for immediate delivery. 

So it makes sense that this desire for immediacy extends past commodities. Employers are beginning to implement a system referred to as on-demand pay, which is exactly as it sounds: pay day, any day. On-demand pay gives employees access to wages as they are earned.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently released an advisory opinion titled “Truth in Lending (Regulation Z); Earned Wage Access Programs,” which explains the nuances of earned wage access (EWA) and the complications of regulatory uncertainty.

To help simplify the document and discuss on-demand pay and early access to wages, PaymentsJournal sat down with Jason Lee, CEO of DailyPay.

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Project Canary Acquires Troposphere Monitoring

• The acquisition strengthens Project Canary’s ESG trusted data solutions for the global energy industry

• Troposphere scientists join the team in key leadership roles, further enhancing Project Canary’s technology advantage

DENVER and DALLAS and AUSTIN, Texas and HOUSTON, Dec. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Project Canary, an International Environmental Standards company and the leading provider of environmental solutions for the global energy industry, today announced it has acquired Austin-Based Troposphere Monitoring, Inc. Troposphere is a leader in hydrocarbon emissions sensor technology. This is the second acquisition Project Canary has completed in the past six months.

“Measuring emissions in real-time at well sites and facilities is not only technically possible, but it is also scientifically accurate and affordable,” said Anna Scott, Ph.D., CEO at Troposphere. “Our innovative sensor technology offers companies at all phases of the energy supply chain a cost-effective method for continuously monitoring methane and other hydrocarbons. We’re excited to join the Project Canary team, as their wide operational footprint is the ideal platform for expanding the deployment of our proprietary methane sensing technology.”

Troposphere Monitoring’s sensor technology distinguishes between different gases, like propane, ethane, or butane, so permitted emissions look different than leaks to the monitoring system. Using advanced infrared spectroscopy technology, Troposphere sensors located at the fence line of a well site or facility can detect and identify quantities of methane, hydrocarbons and other byproduct gases at the ppb level of precision. The data is continually uploaded to Project Canary’s secure, cloud-based data platform for real-time alerts and ESG analytics.

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Stats Perform Acquires Breakthrough Platforms From Thuuz Sports

Stats Perform, the SportsTech leader in data and AI technology, announced the acquisition of platforms for creating automated video highlights and real-time excitement alerts from Palo Alto-based tech company Thuuz Sports. The patented technology in the SmartReels and SmartRatings products will be incorporated into Stats Perform’s robust product portfolio to generate new opportunities for media, technology and betting customers.

AI-powered SmartReels and SmartRatings are tailored to keep fans engaged whether they are watching a game live or not. Pairing these products with Stats Perform’s rich data and extensive customer base across media, technology and betting, clients will be able to serve up dynamic viewing experiences for fans that personalize the way they consume sports.

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Qmerit Accelerates Growth of its North American “Green Energy Transition” platform for installation and maintenance services for the electrification of everything

Qmerit is supercharging its innovative, industry-leading platform that connects EV buyers to its nationwide network of certified and vetted electrical contractors to ensure their EV charging and renewable energy systems are installed and maintained correctly – ensuring maximum ROI.

The electrification service market is $2.5B a year, and there is an acute shortage of qualified, licensed electricians resulting in inconsistent and unreliable service levels state to state. Qmerit simplifies finding properly trained and reliable electrical contractors with an easy to use platform that includes rigorous standards- ensuring every installation creates high satisfaction as evidenced by their industry leading Net Promoter Score of 89. Qmerit was built to solve the difficult problem of delivering exceptional installation and maintenance services nationally at scale using a distributed workforce.

Building on its existing nationwide contractor network in the U.S. and Canada, and deep relationships with fleet managers and leading electric vehicle and charging manufacturers, Qmerit simplifies the installation and integration of technologies for the clean energy transition—from electric vehicle charging hardware and energy storage to solar and microgrid integrations.

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To own an AR future, Niantic wants to build a smarter map of the world

Niantic  is continuing to bet heavily on the idea that it knows where consumer computing is headed, namely toward augmented reality.

The game development startup behind Pokémon GO has some good company with companies like Apple, Facebook  and Snap making similar bets, but stakes are high for the studio that hopes it can build an early advantage in foundational AR infrastructure and bring third-party developers onboard, edging out efforts from companies that are quite a bit larger.

Niantic’s experiments are still being bankrolled by their 2016 first-party hit Pokémon GO, which SensorTower estimates is having its best year ever in 2020. A report from the firm suggests that the title has pulled in more than $1 billion in revenue since the start of the year, a marked increase since 2019 that might be surprising, given the social effects of a pandemic. Those revenues have allowed Niantic to be one of the more active acquirers in the AR infrastructure space, buying up small buzzy AR startups like Escher Reality, Matrix Mill and, most recently, 6D.ai.

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