Going cashless seems to be all the rage in the UK this month. It has been just a few days since the buses in London went completely cashless, with passengers now allowed to ride only if they use prepaid tickets or payment cards. More and more retail outlets are already allowing users to tap their cards to pay for goods. Now, cabbies are following suit too! You heard it right: You don't have to carry copper the next time you take Ian Cable's cab. Cable is using the Pingit app as an alternative to cash for the next five days. …

Citgo customers in Southern Illinois and Indiana who downloaded a mobile application recently received thousands of dollars in gift cards as part of a free-gas giveaway. The Club Citgo Free Gas Giveaway sweepstakes offered consumers special offers and prizes at 50 select Citgo locations. Paul Barczewski, the first grand prize winner, was presented with $2,500 in Citgo Gift Cards at the Knapp Citgo station in Nashville, IL. The program reflects how as smartphones continue to win wide acceptance, brands are tailoring loyalty campaigns accordingly.

Apple's plan to develop hardware to complement its iBeacon technology could make the location-awareness technology available to a broader range of retailers, dramatically redrawing the marketing landscape. The Cupertino, CA-based company said in a Federal Communications Commission filing that it tested the product jointly with China's Audix Technology over 14 days from April to May. Up to now, only third parties have offered iBeacon-powered hardware. The development underscores iBeacon's growing prominence due to its potential to reach a vast audience in numerous sectors.

In what will likely be regarded as one small step for Apple's payments ambitions, and one giant leap for Apple rumor mongers everywhere, the high-concept tech firm has launched an iTunes-backed payments system - in Japan. The company has launched a mobile payment system based on the iOS 7s Passbook app. Japanese users can now use it to pay for apps through its iTunes-based App Store and for products in its physical Apple Stores, according to MacObserver.

In a significant expansion of its already cutting-edge mobile platform, Marriott is piloting the use of iBeacons to send guests push notifications based on their location at one of its properties. Marriott claims the strategy is the first implementation by a major hotel to offer geo-targeted mobile offers during stay. The recently announced LocalPerks program will tie in with Marriott Rewards for savvy travelers to enjoy instant gratification via time sensitive offers from the hotelier's brands and its partners.

One company that has been busy in the payments industry over the past year or so is Fortumo. And there is a good reason: It has the financial muscle of VC money behind it. Why are investors interested in Fortumo's story?Because carrier billing is emerging as an excellent proposition, and Fortumo does well in that segment. In the next three years, global revenue from mobile content purchased via carrier billing will increase threefold, to more than $13 billion in 2017, according to Juniper Research. On 1st July 2014, Fortumo announced the launch of direct carrier billing in Pakistan, in partnership …

eBay will release its Q2 2014 earnings on July 16. We expect robust growth driven by continued expansion in Europe, growing e-commerce volume, the positive impact of a new delivery system that allows customer to collect their purchases from a nearby store and PayPal's ever-growing customer base. The company's stock price has come down in recent months owing to some negative incidents ranging from security breach to management shakeup. We believe that eBay will take this opportunity to dispel investors' doubts, offer a clear roadmap and discuss corrective measures it has taken. The growth in PayPal's customer base and eBay's …

Wearable technology just received another shot in the arm as it has now received its own store at Amazon.co.uk, which suggests that it is much more than just a short term fad, and is being considered to be a solid tech trend that will be around for a while. The wearable technology store is now open and features over one hundred different types of device. They include many different subcategories of wearables, such as health and fitness trackers, smart glasses, smartwatches, wearable cameras, and others. The very nature of this type of mobile device often causes them to fit into …

Alibaba, China's e-commerce giant and one of the largest Internet companies in the world, has increased its valuation to $130 billion less than a month before its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. That's about $13 billion more than the Hong Kong-based company valued itself in June in its original filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The new figure is based on a higher share price at which the company is granting stock compensation to employees. The company now values those shares at $56 each, up from $50 in the previous filing. The company has decided …

Nigerian technology firm ActivEdge has entered into a partnership with SAP Africa to provide mobile payment services to local clients. The deal will culminate in ActivEdge Technologies offering key SAP services such as SAP Mobile Banking, SAP Mobile Inclusive Banking, SAP Mobile Consumer Payments, SAP Mobile Remittance, SAP Mobile TopUp and SAP Mobile Payments. Richard Edet, SAP West Africa MD, said the partnership would help his company to further penetrate the thriving financial services space in West Africa. SAP intends to become the platform of choice in mobile commerce banking and a trusted advisor to the banking industry in West …