Coffee Briefings are timely deliveries of the latest ITWC headlines, interviews, and podcasts. Today’s Coffee Briefing is delivered by IT World Canada reporter Pragya Sehgal, with files from the rest of the editorial team!
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What’s new this week
Visa partners with CIBC and Simplii Financial to expand global money movement capabilities
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Visa Canada yesterday announced a new offering with CIBC and Simplii Financial to help its consumer and commercial customers more easily move money. CIBC and Simplii Financial will use Visa Direct Payouts to enable cross-border person-to-person (P2P) and business-to-consumer (B2C) payments as part of their Global Money Transfer service. Visa Direct Payouts enables Visa’s clients and partners to use a single point of connection to send payments to bank accounts through eligible Visa Debit cards, as well as eligible Visa credit cards, for cross-border payments. Now available to CIBC and Simplii Financial’s customers, the new offering can be used by consumer and business clients to send money to a combined total of over 5 billion cards and bank accounts in real time, enabled by Visa Direct, explained Visa.
Click2pay launches new refund feature
Payment service provider Clik2pay, a service that facilitates bill, invoice, and online payments directly and securely from bank accounts, is implementing a new refund processing feature that will allow retailers to send refunds to consumers through the service.
This will help retailers securely refund customers in the event that items are out of stock, for example, or if there is a problem with the purchase. The refund will be deposited into the customer’s account and processed quickly. Click2pay says a feature like this, along with its other services, helps retailers as it eliminates the fees credit card companies often assess for purchases.
Cloudflare joins Microsoft 365 Networking Partner Program
Web infrastructure and website security company Cloudflare last week announced it has joined the Microsoft 365 Networking Partner Program (NPP), providing customers of Cloudflare’s Zero Trust platform, Cloudflare One, with better connectivity to Microsoft 365 services. The Microsoft 365 NPP consists of partners whose deployment practices and guidance are aligned with Microsoft’s networking recommendations for Office 365. NPP validation adds to the growing collaboration between the two companies Cloudflare joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) early in 2021 and offers Microsoft Azure Data Transfer Routing Preference to allow its customers to enjoy lower data transfer costs.
Apple introduces AirTag detector for Android users
Earlier this year, Apple expanded its Find My ecosystem with AirTag, an iPhone accessory that provides a private and secure way to locate items using the Find My app.
The company yesterday launched a similar offering for Android users. As part of this offering, those who use an Android device can download the Tracker Detect app from the Google Play Store, which looks for item trackers within Bluetooth range that are separated from their owner and that are compatible with Apple’s Find My network. These include AirTag and compatible item trackers that use the network. Android users who think someone is using an AirTag or other item tracker to track their location can scan to try to find it. If the app detects an AirTag or compatible tracker nearby for at least 10 minutes, the user can make it play a sound to help locate it.
More to explore
A roadmap for digital leadership
Companies continue to feel the impact of COVID-19 in everything from staffing issues, and supply chain disruption, to collaboration and cybersecurity. Some are stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide, yet others – according to a new SAP Canada study conducted in partnership with IDC Canada – are well on their way to becoming intelligent enterprises and are poised to emerge from the pandemic with strength and resilience.
Federal and provincial departments including the Canada Revenue Agency, Employment and Social Development Canada and the Toronto region transportation system Metrolinx took their websites offline over the weekend to deal with the critical log4j2 Java library vulnerability.
Making a difference in the new hybrid workplace: A changing role for IT
Acting as moderator for a December 2021 briefing titled How IT Can Support Employee Productivity & Retention, Jim Love, CIO and Chief Content Officer for ITWC, welcomed guests Holly Zhou, Product Marketing Manager of Video Collaboration for Logitech, and Toby Lewis, Logitech’s Collaboration Strategy Manager. Together, they looked at IT’s changing purview and the importance of technology during a global pandemic.
Walmart Canada launches Interac debit payments for ecommerce shopping
Walmart Canada customers will now be able to pay with Interac Debit on Walmart.ca and within the Walmart Canada mobile app, Walmart Canada and Interac announced Dec. 8.
Three new payment card skimmers found aimed at WooCommerce installations
Web administrators overseeing retail sites using the WooCommerce platform should watch for new payment card skimmers that hackers are embedding in checkout pages.
Zayo announces network expansions in Toronto
Zayo, a global network provider, plans on expanding its networks to better connect Toronto’s key industries. The expansion will see Zayo pull 140 km of new fibre-optic cables throughout the Greater Toronto Area by the end of 2022, marking the beginning of a series of planned network development projects for the company.
Montreal-based Amadis partners with Middle East financial solution provider
Montreal-based payment software solution provider Amadis is partnering with eMcREY, a Middle East financial solution provider allowing Saudi Arabian merchants to transform mobile devices into contactless point of sale (POS) terminals.
Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.
ITWC Podcasts
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending
Tragedy in an Amazon Warehouse is causing an uproar, Better.com CEO is taking time off after viral mass layoff, and Elon Musk has been named Time Person of the Year.
Listen to the latest episode of Cyber Security Today
The hunt for apps with log4j vulnerabilities continues, new threat and ransomware groups discovered and a warning to WordPress admins
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances (Hosted by Direction Informatique)
If you live in Quebec or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them on Twitter as well.