MasterCard is rolling out a new digital wallet product called MasterPass, which works on computers, tablets and smartphones. MasterPass officially launched in Canada on Thursday with three companies on board: Grocery Gateway, Porter Airlines and WagJag. When consumers go to finalize a purchase on one of these sites, they'll be given the option to pay via MasterPass.

Barclays will be launching its mobile banking application Hello Money, in Zimbabwe this month, accounced as part of the launch of new ATMs by the company a few days ago. Hello Money will allow Barclays account holders to transfer money to a Barclays account or to an account at another banking institution, airtime top up, mini statements and balance enquiries.

Duane Reade has launched an iPhone application to help consumers store their loyalty cards and aims to elevate the in-store shopping experience. The framework for the new app is based on parent company Walgreens' popular mobile app that lets consumers refill prescriptions and store loyalty card information.

Department store chain Nordstrom is enhancing the consumer experience on its iPhone application with updates that include product sharing via SMS and user reviews. The new functions of the app will help consumers share their opinions on Nordstrom's products with their friends and fellow shoppers.

A new United Kingdom study indicates that retailers are working harder to meet rising consumer expectations as mobile becomes an increasingly important part of their digital marketing mix, with an encouraging average score of 55%, improving from 2011's score of 47% across the top online retailers.

The initial wave of innovating in payment solutions has addressed low-volume merchants and small businesses, leaving enterprise players and high-volume merchants (like professional sports venues) out to dry. One company leverages a software-centric, SaaS approach to help enterprise merchants upgrade and simplify their payment solutions.

EBay updated the RedLaser mobile commerce app this week with a new Local Deals tab, and other functions like the ability to clip coupons, view weekly circulars, receive push notification alerts when in a store that has RedLaser offers, and interact with in-store mapping of Walgreen Co. and some The Home Depot Inc. locations.

In this 2013 CEO Series is an interview with one of the leaders of the payments industry with an eye toward how he views innovation, change and growth. In this installment, Henry Helgeson, CEO of Merchant Warehouse is featured to learn his thoughts on payments innovation, how the industry is changing and more.

An industry report showed that China overtook the US as the world's top market for smart devices-tablets and smartphones running Apple's iOS or Google's Android operating system. One of the most popular online activities is m-commerce, shopping via mobile devices.

Starbucks has worked with Apple to expand its Pick of the Week program and finally allow for application and book downloads through its iOS application and in-store Wi-Fi network, the coffee company shared exclusively with CNET. The announcement makes the retailer's Pick of the Week program, initially launched in 2008 to provide customers with digital content freebies, more accessible to people on mobile devices.