O2 UK is closing its Wallet service on 31st March 2014, less than two years after first announcing it.

The O2 Wallet enables customers on any network to send money from an existing debit or credit card to individuals or to retailers, rather like the Barclays Pingit service.

This week we're talking about two big announcements from BlackBerry: a luxury smartphone and some major management changes.

We also discuss the latest Samsung/Apple patent ruling, Vodafone's new mobile wallet, Android licensing, Doro's anti-virus deal, BYOD and the rise of the 'selfie'.

Vodafone has launched its mobile wallet in Europe, enabling customers to pay by touching a compatible smartphone against a retailer’s NFC reader.

It’s the first European mobile payment service built on the secure GlobalPlatform open standard.

The Isis mobile commerce joint venture from AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless is now available to use across the USA.

It was originally announced in November 2010 and launched pilot schemes in the states of Texas and Utah last year.

Rachel McCormack writes:

Mobile point of sale transactions (mPOS) are growing in popularity as mobile use takes over from desktop computers. The description of ‘mobile’ point of sale transactions denotes the ability of a payment to be taken via smartphone or tablet rather than a traditional card reader. There are many different ways to do this; mobile chip & PIN, mobile swipe & sign and NFC payments. All of these methods vary in popularity and security conceptions and many are difficult to understand. In this article we will explore each and give you the chance to understand the technology and issues surrounding the various methods.