MasterCard has launched a new digital payment service called MasterPass.

It combines a secure ‘digital wallet’ for online shopping with the ability to use a mobile device for payments in high-street shops.

New figures from the comScore MobiLens service have shown how the use of QR codes is becoming an increasingly popular way of promoting product information and encouraging sales.

The study, which collected information from smartphone users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, revealed that the number of European smartphone users scanning QR codes via their devices grew by 96% in the past year to 17.4 million users.

The Welsh town of Monmouth is having QR codes - mobile barcodes - added to landmarks and other points of interest. It’s a project called Monmouthpedia, which is described as the first Wikipedia project to cover a whole town.

The QR codes will link to articles on notable places, people, artefacts, flora and fauna in a wide variety of languages including Welsh.

A new report from KPMG says consumers around the world are embracing new technology - and consumers in the UK are adopting many of these new technologies faster than the rest of the world.

The KPMG report, entitled ‘The Converged Lifestyle’, also says UK consumers appear to be more concerned about privacy and security than other countries.

Mark Bridge writes:

A brainstorming day run by T-Mobile UK with a dozen farmers, M&C Saatchi Mobile, the National Farmers Union and EBLEX (the organisation for the English beef and sheep industry) has resulted in some fascinating mobile-focussed solutions. The aim was to raise awareness of the benefits that smartphone technology can bring farmers and other small business owners.