USAA members residing in the states will soon be able to log into their accounts through mobile devices using biometric recognition. This will make USAA the first U.S. financial institution to offer facial and voice recognition on a mobile app as added protection against fraud and identity theft. USAA members are expected to have access to biometric logon capabilities in early 2015. A recent report by Juniper Research forecasts that more than 770 million biometric authentication applications will be downloaded per annum by 2019. Also, a research by Visa Europe indicates that three-quarters of 16-24 year olds are in favor …

The momentum behind Apple Pay continues to build, with 750 banks and credit unions having already signed on and the service now being integrated into 200,000 vending machines, laundry machines and parking meters. During a conference call with analysts this week to discuss Apple’s fiscal first quarter results, CEO Tim Cook reported that Apple Pay makes up more than $2 out of $3 spent on purchases made using contactless payments across the three major card networks. Mr. Cook claimed the results are stronger for some merchants, with Panera Bread seeing Apple Pay account for more than 80 percent of mobile …

A Clorox campaign that lets consumers earn the right to enter a $1,000 monthly sweepstakes by submitting product purchase receipts leverages a retail-agnostic strategy to drive sales and enhance customer relationships with the consumer packaged goods brand. The program, which launched Jan. 26 and will run through May 30, awards participants one entry for registering on clorox.com, another 10 entries for submitting a receipt showing purchase of two Clorox products, and an additional entry for daily site visits.

Visual product search platform Slyce Inc. has announced the acquisition of mobile couponing company SnipSnap for the consideration of $6.5 million payable in a combination of cash, Slyce common shares and conditional shares. The companies said that SnipSnap founder Ted Mann will continue to lead SnipSnap, which will remain based in Philadelphia. The SnipSnap app, available for iOS and Android, allows a user a way to take a photograph of a retail coupon and instantly transform it into a digital, mobile format, which can be easily searched, retrieved, and shared with other SnipSnap users on their smartphones. With all pertinent …

According to the a new report that was recently published by Marin Software, mobile marketing is seeing a steady improvement in the number of people who are clicking on ads displayed on their smartphone and tablet screens as they browse the web and shop online. The report showed that fifty percent of all of the clicks that were made to online ads came through mobile marketing channels, revealing the importance of tablets and smartphones to advertising online. It also suggests that there could be a time in the near future in which the number of clicks over mobile devices will exceed that …

January is the right time to peer into the future. After all, the new year represents 12 months of new opportunities. So let’s look at some ways technology will change grocery shopping and the in-store environment in 2015 and beyond.  These days, most supermarket shoppers carry a smartphone. Some of them may be scanning QR codes on packages or displays. Others may be looking up nutritional information before making a purchase. Still others may be checking their electronic shopping list.

As mobile screen sizes continue to proliferate and consumers conduct more financial activities on these devices, phablets are becoming popular for banking, with use expected to grow by more than 100 percent, according to a new report from Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group. More than 55 percent of United States consumers claim that mobile banking is a regular part of their lifestyle, which opens wider opportunities for banks and financial marketers seeking to bolster their mobile strategies and reach customers with streamlined methods of conducting transactions.

Bonneville International is leveraging SMS messaging to better engage audiences across its portfolio of radio stations in contests and sweepstakes while reducing costs. Bonneville’s use of Marketron’s SMS service will enhance marketing programs by allowing a disc jockey to alert listeners about a sweepstakes, then broadcast what keyword or short code they have to text in to be entered to win. The move points to mobile’s ability to help broadcasters efficiently streamline audience communication at a cost that makes the system readily available to all stations, regardless of market size.  

Alibaba Group’s chief financial officer said during its earnings call today that the e-commerce giant’s focus on mobile will result in some “near-term growing pains” but ensure profitability in the future. The company’s revenue for the quarter ending in December rose 40 percent to $4.22 billion, but still missed the $4.45 billion analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected. Alibaba’s net income was $964 million, a 28 percent decrease year-over-year. Alibaba attributed the decline to compensation expenses, a one-time charge for financing-related fees, and an increase in income tax expenses during the quarter.

“Beacon” technologies could soon capture data where it is difficult to track consumer interest without old-fashioned interpersonal interaction: brick-and-mortar stores. A partnership between Norwegian media platform Unacast and California-based proximity solutions specialist Total Communicator Solutions plans to capture and gauge consumer interest in specific items in-store using beacons, then use that data to target the same shoppers with online and mobile ads. The partnership represents the first effort to automate and quantify in-person shopping.