Eaze released the beta of its 'Nod to Pay' application for Google Glass, enabling owners of the wearable tech to make bitcoin payments with simple head movements. The 'glassware' activates upon the voice command "OK Glass, make a payment," which permits scanning of a QR code from a mobile device screen, and then transfers a transaction summary onto the Glass lens, requiring confirmation of approval by nodding twice. Claiming to be the first global payment solution for glass, Eaze accepts bitcoin and integrates with existing bitcoin wallets Coinbase and Blockchain.info, with plans to expand currencies to dollars and euros this …

Mobile gift cards are experiencing a major growth spurt, especially in the most digital and cultural cities of North America, where several restaurants and bars in San Francisco including Dosa, Yank Sing, St. Vincent, Nice Ventures' Terzo, Rose's Caf, Rose Pistola and Michael Chiarello's Coqueta have all developed relationships with mobile gifting service Gratafy. Recently announcing the addition of 600 new gift items to its digital network of merchant partner storefronts, Gratafy users can now select from more than 2,500 menu items from eateries and bars expansive in Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, and now San Fran.

Apple has entered into a partnership with China UnionPay concerning a new mobile payments service. This may be a big move for Apple, who has been somewhat cautious with its participation in the mobile commerce field. Apple has been keen to avoid some of the pitfalls that its counterparts have fallen victim to with their own mobile commerce endeavors. In partnering with China UnionPay, Apple may be ready to break into the mobile payments space more aggressively. The new service will allow people throughout China to make payments from their iOS devices. Using the service, consumers can make payments at …

It should come as no surprise that U.S. consumers are becoming increasingly tech-savvy, especially when it comes to handheld devices. However, recent research from Forrester shows just how comfortable American shoppers are with the idea of buying items not just online, but from their smartphone or tablet. According to a Forrester study released earlier this week, m-commerce is expected to nearly double in four years, largely driven by consumers using tablets. Currently, those devices are the more popular shopping tool that consumers use, with $76 billion of transactions occurring on tablets this year, compared to $38 billion on smartphones.

Pinterest users should be prime targets for marketers' budgets, with many of these consumers being early adopters who love to try and buy new things yet are increasingly difficult to reach on traditional media outlets, according to a new report from Ahalogy. With Pinterest having just introduced its first paid advertising product, Promoted Pins, the report reveals some important marketing opportunities for brands. For example, 52 percent of daily Pinterest users are pulling up the app in-store to guide their purchases.

According to a recent report from BrightWire, a New York-based global investment newsier, it is likely that Apple will be adding NFC technology into its next generation iPhone. The BrightWire report, which obtained information from a "source close to the matter", revealed the deal that was made between the two companies would enable iPhone users to download the bankcard company's application to Passbook, giving users the power to make NFC payments on more than 3 million of the bankcard's "QuickPass" POS machines in China.

Square is ditching its Wallet app and replacing it with Order--a new mobile payments app that allows customers to purchase products before entering the store. Order will enable customers to pay for food, beverages and other products ahead of time to avoid waiting in-store. An article on Gigaom says you can pay for a meal at a restaurant--including tip--before you even sit down. This app is comparable to Square's Pickup--a program also focused on ordering goods ahead of time. The difference lies in Order's "location-aware" design, according to Gigaom, which tracks the coordinates of the user and suggests local businesses …

Birds Eye's new concept restaurant, The Picture House, enables customers to settle the bill by sharing Instagram pictures of their food. Birds Eye's initiative seeks to build the brand on social media after research found that 52 percent of diners regularly photo document their meals. The strategy is in support of a new line of products called Inspirations.

Tencent Holdings Ltd, China's biggest listed tech firm, is ratcheting up its profits on smartphones as it transplants its strength in social networking and gaming onto mobile. Now it aims to repeat that for new business ventures. At the moment, Shenzhen-based Tencent makes most of its money from the division which includes its video gaming business and sales of digital goods. But Tencent has already spent more than $1.2 billion in areas like e-commerce, real estate and digital mapping since the beginning of 2014, as it looks to develop mobile messaging app WeChat - Weixin in Chinese - as a …

A new promotion with 7-Eleven and PepsiCo.'s Doritos provides some insight into how the convenience store chain may be positioning itself to grab a bigger role in mobile payments and loyalty. The 7-Eleven and Doritos campaign is running within SessionM's network of reward-based applications. The campaign supports the launch of PepsiCo.'s Doritos Jacked mystery chips that gives fans the chance to vote for their favorite flavor out of three chip flavors, with the wining flavor rolling out to retail shelves this fall.