Mobile payments

Though cash remains the most prevalent form of payment in Africa, some companies are setting the wheels in motion for a much-anticipated e-commerce revolution.

A Seattle virtual currency provider is embedding its service in Starbucks' popular mobile app.

The path to success is almost never smooth, and many well-known companies have made expensive mistakes along the way. Here are some of the ideas that are no longer around but may never be forgotten.

Bluetooth beacons, which communicate with consumers' apps as they enter and leave stores, have been bouncing around the retail industry for a few years looking for the right combination of foot traffic, product and customer experience.

Banks are often taken for granted in digital wallets, treated as a "dumb pipe" for funding another account. PayPal is working to provide a more welcoming atmosphere with deals recently announced with Citigroup, FIS and two other banks.

Bank of America's forthcoming mobile app update will include personal financial management features.

Payments are inevitably merging with social media, but the mix comes with a clear and very public risk if not handled correctly.

By now, the term "omnichannel" seems to have lost some of its buzz in the payments world. And that’s because banks are learning that the process of creating a seamless cross-channel experience can't be summed up so succinctly.

In expanding its work with Facebook, American Express has introduced the Add a Card feature on its bot for Facebook Messenger.

The recent history of mobile wallets includes a lot of crashes and failures, but the people behind those projects are still around and are wiser for their experiences.