A  new form of location based marketing is now being made possible through a strategic partnership between Captive Networks and xAd, allowing targeted ads to be displayed in the form of video in previously unused (or limited use) places, such as elevators and lobbies. The two companies in this partnership are hoping to reinforce their brand messaging through the use of integrated location based marketing techniques and mobile ad delivery. They say that this strategy can be verified based on the actual position of the ad viewers based on the longitude and latitude of approximately 12,000 different Captivate screens that have already been installed …

Visa EVP of Technology Rajat Taneja gets understandably excited when you mention Apple Pay. That makes sense given that Visa – along with American Express, MasterCard – is one of the key partners in Apple’s new smartphone payments ecosystem, but Visa is a partner in Isis/Softcard and Google Wallet as well. What gets Tenaja really worked up is that Apple Pay could become a blueprint for all sorts of other mobile payments services worldwide.

With more retail sectors marketing heavily towards mobile users, consumers are becoming more accustomed to seeing flash sales for airline tickets that promote last-minute deals and extremely low prices. Many airlines are now experiencing more traffic on mobile sites, and flash sales are a controversial topic of discussion. For some airlines, they may negatively affect the financial landscape, while for others, flash sales function as another marketing strategy that helps sell valuable seats.

Subway will launch a new mobile application on Oct. 1 that exemplifies how brands can bring together exclusive video content with promotional offers to engage smartphone users over time. The Freshbuzz app is just one of the mobile elements in a new Diet Coke and Taylor Swift promotion that also includes a mobile-friendly Web experience, mobile media and engagement on social and CRM channels.

So much for rebuffing Carl Ichan and his calls to split the company: eBay today announcedthat it would split itself into two separate, publicly traded businesses, with an ex-American Express executive, Dan Schulman, heading up the new PayPal, and an eBay veteran, Devin Wenig, running the remaining eBay portal. Schulman joins PayPal immediately as president and will step up to CEO after the separation. The two new companies will continue to maintain a relationship through “arm’s length operating agreements,” eBay says, an arrangement that the company says “will create sharper strategic focus and better position each business to capitalize on those growth opportunities as …

Despite social media now accounting for 9% of all marketing spending and continuing to spiral, the platforms still only lead to less than 1% of sales. Powa Technologies is now looking to finally unlock the vast potential of social commerce, with its innovative PowaTag mobile commerce app enabling consumers to buy through social media in seconds with a single tap on their smartphone. PowaTag gives shoppers the power to complete purchases anytime, anywhere using a variety of triggers such as listening to watermarks hidden in broadcast audio or scanning tags on anything from products to billboards. Sales are finalized in …

As mobile commerce becomes more popular, questions regarding its security are beginning to be raised. Some consumers have expressed a lack of confidence in mobile payment systems, claiming that they do not do enough to protect their financial information. The Mobile Payments Industry Workgroup believes that a new way to keep consumers information sector is becoming more viable. The organization believes that tokenization could help instill more confidence in mobile commerce among consumers. Tokenization involves the digitization of financial information. Instead of using these information directly, mobile payment platforms use “tokens” as a way to authenticate a payment from a mobile device. 

Payment solutions provider USA Technologies’ collaboration with mobile wallet solution Softcard recasts the mundane task of doing the laundry while  driving momentum for NFC adoption.  There has been few payments options when it comes to visiting a laundromat so by introducing these customers to tap-and-go payments could drive trust in NFC.

The retailer has awarded £100,000 to mobile technology start-up Localz to bring its service to market following a 12-week mentoring scheme. John Lewis plans to pilot the platform, which uses beacons dotted around stores to serve content to smartphones, once it has been expanded.  The Localz platform uses a combination of location technologies such as GPS and iBeacons to push opted-in messaging via an IOS or Android. John Lewis says future uses of the tool could trigger a customer’s Click and Collect order to be selected as they enter stores in order to speed up collection and improve the overall brand experience. 

Gemalto, known for its digital security solution, has been selected by China Mobile to offer its UpTeq NFC Multi-tenant SIMs. This will help protect consumer credentials used for mobile contactless applications. The new initiative by China Mobile would mass transit services first in Beijing. Gemalto would pre-load the SIMs with the Beijing transport application and would enable over 22 million daily commuters to simply tap their smartphones on contactless ticket readers. China Mobile is the largest operator in the world with a total subscriber base of around 800 mn.