Whole Foods Market is making grocery shopping more convenient by allowing customers in 15 United States cities to use a mobile application to have groceries delivered to their door within an hour in a move into the growing mobile grocery-delivery space. By ordering at Instacart.com or through San Francisco-based Instacart’s mobile app, Whole Foods customers select their ZIP code, add items to a virtual cart, choose delivery within one or two hours or at a scheduled time and then check out. 

Australian near-field communication (NFC) technology startup Tapit Media has inked a joint-venture agreement with Australian-listed Chinese mobile commerce company 99 Wuxian Limited. Tapit said in a statement today that the joint venture aims to "revolutionise Chinese m-commerce and offline media by integrating [NFC]-enabled interactive offline marketing campaigns with 99 Wuxian's platform". Although the value of the agreement has not been made public, the Chinese company will own 55 percent of the joint venture under the terms of the deal.

The advent of new communication technologies and mobile money transfer has forced banks to adapt or risk closure. ABC Holdings chief financial officer Beki Moyo said the bank was relatively quite advanced as far as IT is concerned but said priority is presently being accorded to mobile banking. “If you look at our mobile banking platform, we are a bit behind the curve but we will be rolling out in the next two quarters and it should be a very robust system,” Moyo said. He said the bank had already done a Request for Proposal and would soon be choosing …

Most of the largest retailers have moved to EMV-based systems, but smaller businesses are well behind. And of those that have embraced the chip card standard, most also are including Near Field Communication chips in the terminals, executives at terminal manufacturer VeriFone Systems Inc. noted during a fiscal third quarter earnings call with analysts Sept. 4. The question is, are the EMV or NFC functions activated? In all likelihood, they’re not. “Most Tier 1 retailers already have EMV in place,” VeriFone CEO Paul Galant said “It’s really about turning the system on as opposed to putting in terminals.”

Taiwan’s e-commerce sector is expected to see major growth in the coming years. More people throughout the country are beginning to shop online as new services become available to them The Institute for Information industry has released a new report concerning this trend, highlighting the fact that e-commerce is becoming more attractive to these consumers because of its convenience factor. The growing adoption of mobile devices is also playing a role in the growth of e-commerce. According to the report from the Institute for Information Industry, e-commerce in Taiwan is expected to grow by 20% annually over the next few years.

PayPal has taken another step into the world of offline payments. This time, it aims to streamline payments and transactions from online, offline and mobile sales using a simple point-of-sale (POS) payment solution. This week, the e-commerce giant launched its new PayPal HereSoftware Development Kit (SDK), a payment system that lets small businesses integrate online, offline and mobile sales within their POS.

Mobile wine marketplace application Hello Vino has added an in-app call button that connects users to a live telephone operator ready to answer questions and make recommendations. The tap-to-call feature, dubbed “concierge” by Hello Vino, is a new development in the mobile wine marketing industry, according to Hello Vino’s founder and CEO. The move reflects a growing interest among marketers in leveraging the smartphone’s native functionality as both a voice-communications tool and a research and browsing device. 

One out of five top fashion brands lacks a mobile optimized Web site, including Adidas’ subsidiary Reebok and clothing retailer American Apparel, according to a new study. The Fashion on Phones study, completed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, lends concern to these brands’ levels of mcommerce, which could be threatened due to a lack of mobile optimization.

Baidu Inc., China’s biggest search engine, is challenging the country’s No. 1 e-commerce company, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., by adding services that help shoppers find retail stores and retrieve product information. Baidu agreed to invest in mapping companyIndoorAtlas Ltd., which allows users to find their way through malls and office buildings, the companies said today. The search operator also unveiled a headset that can delivers product information to shoppers and a mobile service that makes it easier for consumers to find nearby businesses.

Restaurant chain Pizza Hut and floral and gift retailer 1800Flowers are participating with Visa Checkout for its nationwide NFL campaign, offering promotions and exclusive deals to the platform’s enrollees. With football being a prime focus of the fall season, Visa Checkout is attempting to expand its presence as mobile payments become more prevalent. A multi-channel approach, Visa’s campaign to promote Visa Checkout takes numerous paths of reach to appeal to a variety of consumers, which in this case, are all tech-savvy football fans.