Mobile payments

Kenya Commercial Bank is working with Visa to bring the first mobile payment solution to its customers in East Africa that utilizes a quick-response code for e-commerce and in-store transactions.

The e-commerce company is expanding the buy buttons from one-off buttons used in the home to order items like soap or toilet paper.

The deployment comes as Singapore is in the midst of a broad digital initiative for the entire city.

The parent of Alipay is also investigating uses for biometrics and artificial intelligence.

Rather than killing off the plastic card, smartphones are strengthening it. Many issuers' card accounts are more valuable than ever, with perks made possible only through the development of smartphone apps.

As payments become "invisible," easier execution will also make transactions more safe and power marketing programs

German car maker Daimler AG has acquired PayCash Europe SA as part of its plans for a broad range of new vehicle-related mobile payment services dubbed “Mercedes Pay," in the latest deal linking automobile manufacturers with payment providers.

Mastercard is launching a mobile payment platform to help farmers be more aware of the needs for produce sales in East Africa, calling it the first use case from technology developed at Mastercard Labs in Nairobi, Kenya, which opened in 2014.

The technology revolution requires ISOs and agents to pursue merchant relationships based on a range of services in addition to traditional hardware.

Bigger isn't always better; as card issuers compete to bring in more spending, many are rethinking the way they offer rewards. Some of their approaches focus on streamlining redemption, while others dabble with cutting-edge technology such as virtual reality.