Technology

It's surprising how much advice varies about how to respond to customer complaints on social media. Ignore small threats, some say, while others warn banks to respond immediately because they could go viral. Still others think banks should overhaul their whole customer experience to disarm critics.

McDonald's is putting more promotional muscle behind Softcard, the telco-backed mobile wallet, at a time when Apple Pay is raising overall awareness of mobile payment technology.

The "marriage" that Apple's CEO and Alibaba's founder are hinting at could create a mobile wallet with a global reach that well exceeds that of most banks, telcos and other mobile-wallet developers active in either company's home market.

Payment applications developer Ixaris is working with United Bank for Africa and Ojapay to launch a virtual card-based e-commerce system designed to make online purchasing an option for more African consumers.

The number of consumers using contactless Near Field Communication payments may quadruple in the next five years.

Payza, a London-based payment processor, has simplified its account-opening process for businesses.

Apple's Tim Cook and Alibaba's Jack Ma took to the stage separately at a tech conference and spoke about working together on mobile payments.

Even after partnering with MasterCard, Zwipe has a long journey ahead before its contactless cards with fingerprint authentication see mass adoption. But the high-tech cards have the potential to suppress fraud and deter security breaches beyond what traditional EMV-chip cards can do.

Designed as an alternative to current payment systems, digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, XRP and Dogecoin, are a way for people to track, store and send payments over the internet. They are intended to make payment processing cheaper and faster.

An older mobile-wallet technology is getting fresh attention at Westpac Bank in New Zealand, which wants to encourage people without the latest iPhone or Android handset to make contactless mobile payments.