(This article originally appeared on Forbes)
Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?
1 — Facebook Pay buttons are coming to online stores in August.
Facebook announced this past week that-beginning in August-it will be expanding Facebook Pay to help support web-based purchases and transactions. Facebook Pay will now allow customers who are based in the US to purchase items from businesses that are powered by Shopify. When users visit a seller that uses the platform, they will be able to buy something with a saved PayPal account or card by simply using the Facebook Pay button. Previously, Facebook Pay was available through WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. (Source: Engadget)
Why this is important for your business:
Back in October I interviewed Rich Rao, who is Facebook’s Vice President of Small Business (you can listen to the full discussion here), and he said that the company would be significantly expanding its ecommerce initiatives. He wasn’t kidding. Facebook is competing against Amazon and other ecommerce platforms and could be a great alternative for your products if you find that your audience and customers are active on the social media platform.
2 — QuickBooks is introducing new hardware to enhance mobile payments offerings for small businesses.
With contactless payments becoming more prominent since the start of the pandemic, QuickBooks is rolling out QuickBooks Card Reader. QuickBooks Card Reader is a new piece of payments hardware that is geared toward small business owners. (Source: Business Wire)
Why this is important for your business:
This is important news for QuickBooks users — this innovative device will be able to be integrated with QuickBooks Payments and is the most recent offering designed to assist small businesses in getting paid quicker, regardless of whether they work remotely or in an office.
3 -PayPal is increasing purchase limits for cryptocurrency.
In order to meet the rapidly changing needs of customers, PayPal has raised its cryptocurrency purchase limits, according to an announcement made this past week. Moving forward, PayPal users who are eligible and located in the U.S. will be given a purchasing limit of $100,000. PayPal launched capabilities for cryptocurrency in the United States in October of last year and has been active in engaging with customers to understand their needs more fully to help develop a secure and trusted platform for users to checkout, sell, hold, and buy with cryptocurrency. (Source: IBS Intelligence)
Why this is important for your business:
PayPal continues to expand its commitment to cryptocurrencies. This is something that is here to stay. We’re still telling our clients to be extremely careful with digital currencies — the markets are very volatile. But I do believe that digital currencies are the future and should not be ignored as viable options to both pay and receive funds.
4 — Bill.com is acquiring Invoice2go, a leader in accounts receivable software for small businesses.
Leading cloud-based software provider Bill.com announced this past week that it has acquired accounts receivable software company Invoice2go. Invoice2Go provides small businesses and freelancers with the capabilities to build their brand, manage payments and invoicing, and expand their client base. Through the acquisition, Bill.com will be able to offer a more robust accounts receivable experience for businesses, helping businesses create professional invoices, interact and engage with their customers, and more. (Source: Business Wire)
Why this is important for your business:
Bill.com is more known for its accounts payable automation technologies. But the company has always offered ways to streamline receivables too. Now the company is expanding its reach into revenues. Through the acquisition, Bill.com will be able to offer a more robust accounts receivable experience for businesses, helping businesses create professional invoices, interact and engage with their customers, and more.
5-These are the best free apps for video calling, according to The Verge.
Technology website The Verge recently reviewed free apps for video calling as well as some chat apps with video calling capabilities, concentrating on apps that let you have more than ten people participating and apps that let you use them without downloading the application. According to The Verge, some of the best free apps for video calling include Zoom, Skype Meet Now, Cisco WebEx, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Google Duo, StarLeaf, Jitsi Meet, Whereby, RingCentral Video Pro, Spike, and Telegram. (Source: The Verge)
Why this is important for your business:
You’ll know a lot of these names. But you will also not know a lot of these names. Always good to have alternatives and maybe one of these platforms are better suited to the way you do business than the one you’re currently using.
