Several sports bars and restaurants are leveraging a new mobile social gaming application to drive customers into their locations. The app enables users to create their fan clubs or find existing merchant clubs to connect with other users, play pool games and receive special discounts from participating merchants.

Only 6 percent of smartphone owners used their devices to make point-of-sale purchases, based on a survey of 2,600 consumers, who are "skeptical of the benefits and security of mobile payments, or believe it is simply easier to use another method of payment."

The latest unique use of QR codes has been revealed by Laurice Rahme, with the release of her latest fragrance, Bond No. 9, which will be available for purchase only through scans of the barcodes.

To capitalize on the opportunities in mobile payments, or e-wallets, a new study suggests that financial institutions should develop expertise in using big data analysis on transaction data, negotiate with payment networks for greater flexibility to set pricing, and focus on a "soft strategy" of influencing consumer behavior, rather than a "hard strategy" of controlling it.

An online beauty reviews and tips site has found that more than three-quarters of its audience uses mobile in store, with more than half using mobile to aid in making in-store purchase decisions and 25 percent using mobile to find coupons while shopping. The results point to how engaged beauty shoppers are with mobile.

For many consumers it would likely be a pain in the neck to download all of the apps from all of the retailers that might carry products they are interested in buying. Now there's a mobile site and iPhone app that features 50 retailers under one mobile roof.

Mozilla is gearing up to show off something new in the world of Firefox by launching an API that makes possible secure payment capabilities inside Web-based applications designed for the HTML5-based Firefox OS mobile OS.

Technology has accelerated lifestyles so greatly that smartphones and tablets are fast becoming retail's digital wallets and payment terminals and Hong Kong's smartsters are setting the tone in tomorrow's new call to spending

Western Union has partnered with a Nigerian company in order to provide locals with smartphone money solutions. The Virtual Terminal Network will provide a mobile payments solution to consumers in the country.

Dean & Deluca is encouraging consumers to discover a new way to shop with a new iPhone application that lets them browse and buy gourmet food. The Gifting on the Go iPhone app is available for free download in Apple's App Store.