A new study shows that mobile commerce has grown at a tremendous pace in the U.K. Sales via mobile devices shot up from 0.9% in 2010 to 4% in 2011, reached 12% of e-retail sales in 2012, and hit 20.2% today, the firms say. Visits to retail sites via mobile devices have risen from 2.6% in 2010 to 8.2% in 2011, reached 21.3% of all e-retail visits in 2012, and hit 30% today.

Telefnica is joining forces with Spanish banks CaixaBank and Santander to create a joint venture to develop new digital businesses in mobile banking, including a mobile wallet. In what it's billing as the first European alliance of telecoms and financial institutions, Telefnica announced that the venture would start in Spain, targeting the area's 600,000 businesses, with plans to go international in the near future.

Threadflip, the online and mobile marketplace that helps users clean out their closets, or buy from those who are doing just that, is today introducing a completely revamped mobile experience for its iOS application following a surge of growth from its mobile user base. It's a welcome change, and one that should help the company better compete with similar services from Poshmark or thredUP, for example.

As consumers continue to show worry over their security, companies invested in mobile payments are beginning to take the issue more seriously. Such is the cash with Swish, which has been involved in the mobile commerce space for some time. Like other companies in this sector, Swish considers security to be a major roadblock for mobile payments. As such, the company has been working to develop more comprehensive security solutions to provide consumers with some peace of mind. Swish plans to begin showcasing its security solutions at the end of this month.

Wrapp has revamped its mobile application with new pages that help brands such as Clarins build long-term relationships with consumers, while also doling out gift cards. The new focus on brand pages is aimed at positioning Wrapp as more of a loyalty-building tool for retailers versus solely focusing on social gift cards. To kick off the new brand pages feature, Wrapp is highlighting its partnership with Clarins via a $10 gift card that consumers can use on the beauty brand's Web site.

New research reveals that 60% of UK consumers now own a smartphone and are using them as payment devices on the move. However current mobile payment behavior remains fragmented with mobile payments currently used on an ad hoc basis in a range of situations, including sending money to friends and family (6%), paying for parking (5%) and purchasing groceries in supermarkets (3%). The research reveals that there is no one solution which attracts more than 5% of current mobile payment users on a regular basis.

Pharmacy chain Walgreen Co. already has said that mobile technology is an integral part of its strategy for driving more traffic into its 8,300 stores nationwide. Internal company research shows why. Data recently presented indicates that customers who engage with Walgreens in person, online and via mobile apps spend six times more than those who only visit stores. Even those who just use the apps before visiting stores and not Walgreens websites generate four times the sales than store-only customers.

Coupon Web site RetailMeNot has revamped its Android application with location-based offers meant to lure consumers into stores. RetailMeNot initially launched location-based offers to the company's iPhone app during the 2012 holiday season. By segmenting offers by location, RetailMeNot's app revamp is aimed at making it easier for consumers to navigate through an inventory of coupons.

Mobile marketing for restaurants has proven a very cost effective use of scarce advertising dollars. Mobile websites, SMS campaigns, scannable QR codes, and mobile coupons have all become hot commodities on the marketing menu of restaurants. At the same time, mobile payments have become just as in-demand at restaurants, particularly as outdated cash-registers continue to go the way of the dinosaur.

An Australian commerce company has announced that it will launch a new mobile payments trial project in its home country in July of this year. The trial project is associated with an overarching partnership the company has with C-SAM, another company invested in the mobile commerce field. The project itself will promote the use of NFC-based mobile payments systems in Australian stores, which will be used to facilitate transactions from consumers as they make small purchases.