We have seen how virtual assistants can improve our lives. Now the banks and payment companies also have started taking note of chatbots.

iDice is the world’s first mobile blockchain gambling app powered by Ethereum. This is touted as the next biggest innovation in the gambling industry since the first blockchain Dice game, Satoshidice. SatoshiDICE gambling made up almost all bitcoin transactions ever made in before 2013. SatoshiDICE was sold in 2013 for a 126,315 BTC, or US$12.4 million at the time of the announcement.

Paytm is planning to launch chat messenger within its app. The $8 billion-valued company has over 230 million users (active userbase of 54 million). Using the chat service, India’s top digital wallet aims at expanding its services into person-to-person communication, games and other mobile content.

Crédit Mutuel and IBM have announced that the French bank will use Watson technologies to strengthen customer relationships. The move will support 20,000 employees across its 5,000 branches. The bank’s customer advisors have been using Watson services in French for the past year.

We know Apple is working on iOS 11 for the iPhone and iPad. And also that this new version of the company’s mobile operating system is going to add peer-to-peer payments. Named Apple Pay Cash, this platform is the company’s upcoming peer-to-peer payment system that will allow iOS users to send and receive payments to family and friends.

Fitbit is finally getting into ‘true’ smartwatch business with Ionic. Not only will it support third party apps, but also will have a new Fitbit Pay platform, based on its acquisition of wearable assets of Coin. The company has struck deals Visa, Mastercard and American Express to bring NFC payments to its new Ionic smartwatch.