Mobile payments

A group of tourists visiting Finland from China recently concluded a completely cashless trip sponsored by Alipay, which is claiming Finland is the first country where Chinese visitors can manage and pay for all aspects of travel solely using its mobile wallet.

To pitch their payments system of the future, U.S. banks hired Daveed Diggs, an actor best known for playing Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette in the Broadway musical "Hamilton."

Retailers used to be able to hold onto their physical presence as a differentiator against Amazon. In the past year, Amazon has taken even that advantage away.

For financial institutions to match Venmo and Apple Cash's power, they need an embedded, mobile and social payment strategy, write Richard Crone and Heidi Liebenguth of Crone Consulting.

The bank's commitment in the last couple of years to an "agile" environment of rapid testing and learning produced answers within a couple of months.

The card brand is navigating almost daily changes in the payments industry, resulting from company mergers and partnerships to advancing payments delivery and security.

Sometimes an idea is ahead of its time. Many of the most ambitious products in fintech were dismissed as absurd or overambitious at the time — only to feel perfectly normal years later as culture and consumer habits evolved.

In many instances, mass transit systems have proven to be catalysts for adoption of new payment technology, starting with the genesis of contactless cards for access to buses and trains in Hong Kong and Japan in the late 1990s.

Despite millions spent on promotions and marketing for Apple Pay and other proprietary options from banks, mobile payments volume is still weak.

American Express has acquired artificial intelligence technology provider Mezi, which has powered the AskAmex application in the past to help card members find and book travel, dining and entertainment through messaging via iPhones.