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Buzzwords crop up in the business world all the time, whether it's "synergies" or "unicorn," there's always a new term of the moment for companies and investors.

Lately, the corporate world and Wall Street have begun to shift their focus towards emerging technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence.

The growing use of robotics and AI in industries from manufacturing to finance have intrigued business types (or if you're cynical, made them all jump on the bandwagon).

Wall Street investors have taken notice of the recent focus on these technologies. A note from Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist at Bank of America Merril Lynch, showed that investments in funds that focus on robotics has grown exponentially in the past two years and continues to gain steam.

Clearly, investors have an appetite for companies that are on the cutting edge, and businesses are doing their best to make note of their own investments and capabilities in these areas.

For instance, many companies have begun to crow about their abilities to integrate artificial intelligence into their businesses. Michael Donough, Bloomberg Intelligence's Global Director of Economic Research & Chief Economist, tweeted a chart on Thursday showing the number of times that companies have mentioned artificial intelligence in their quarterly earnings calls.

Prior to 2014, based on the chart, almost no companies were talking about AI when discussing their business with analysts. Since then, the number of mentions has gone parabolic.

In a note on March 8, Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Uglow wrote that the trend is happening among large manufacturing companies as well.

"Digital Manufacturing has reached the tipping point, and is now going mainstream," Uglow wrote. "Industrial companies have begun to engage in a digital 'race', quickly building out their software competences.

While there certainly have been a number of technological developments in these two areas, the sudden uptick in mentions of robotics and artificial intelligence may be worth a dose of healthy skepticism. Many companies may be blowing hot air to seem like they have kept up with the latest trend and attract the investors interested in these technologies.

Or, as Ugnow said, "...it can be difficult to distinguish fact from rhetoric in terms of what relative strengths different companies have."

SEE ALSO: Ray Dalio explains why we may be repeating the mistakes of the 1930s

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NOW WATCH: 7 mega-billionaires who made a fortune last year

 Mic has raised $21 million in new funding, which co-founder and CEO Chris Altchek said will accelerate the digital publisher’s investment in video news. The company says it currently reaches 66 million unique readers and viewers each month, and that 75 percent of its daily views coming from video — particularly impressive when you consider that it launched its first video… Read More

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This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

Two Japanese retailers announced plans to accept bitcoin payments, potentially clearing the way for shoppers to use the cryptocurrency in 260,000 stores in the country, according to Coin Telegraph.

Recruit Lifestyle announced it will add bitcoin acceptance to its mobile point of sale tool AirRegi, which is used in 260,000 merchant and restaurant locations across Japan. The second retailer, Bic Camera, will begin a trial acceptance of bitcoin at two of its stores, and could expand to more stores pending the program's success.

Recent decisions by the Japanese government will open the floodgates for merchants to accept Bitcoin.  

• Japan’s regulatory bodies have embraced the digital currency. Just over a year ago, in March 2016, the Japanese cabinet approved bills which elevated bitcoin and other digital currencies to the same status as other forms of money. The government took it even one step further on April 1, 2017, when the parliament recognized Bitcoin as an authorized method of payment.
• In Japan, bitcoin acceptance has grown from a trickle to a stream. Merchants accepting the currency grew nearly fivefold from 2015 to 2016, expanding from 900 to 4,200 locations, according to a survey by NHK. With AirRegi set to add Bitcoin acceptance to up to 260,000 locations, the stage is set to see whether bitcoin will catch on with consumers. Chinese tourists visiting Japan may serve as a first-adopter base for the digital currency, because China’s most popular mobile wallet, Alipay is integrated with AirRegi, allowing the tourists to pay with bitcoin and avoid foreign transaction fees.

Recent global bitcoin developments have been a mixed bag. In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month poured cold water on an attempt to bring bitcoin to the mainstream by opening up an exchange-traded fund for the digital currency. However, there are a few bright spots for the currency outside of Japan: Australia and Switzerland, for example, both recently introduced changes that could drive bitcoin adoption. If the currency proves a hit in Japan over the next year, other countries may be expected to similarly warm to the currency. 

John Heggestuen, director of research at BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices.
• Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play.
• Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified.

In full, the report:

• Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond.
• Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers.
• Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step.
• Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more.
• Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem.

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A new bitcoin implementation called 'Bcoin' is attracting wide support as a means to end the scaling debate.

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