The company no longer manufactures its own smartphones but it is selling its name for branded devices.

TCL Communications entered into a BlackBerry licensing agreement to create and manufacture branded mobile devices. BlackBerry CEO John Chen recently said “BlackBerry is no longer just about the smartphone, but the smart in the phone.”

The goal is to continue the production of branded devices in the market without making them, themselves.

Chen assured customers that “when you see our logo it means security, from our class-leading enterprise software to devices secured by BlackBerry software.”

This is not the first time BlackBerry has worked with TCL Communications. In fact, it released two different Android-based smartphones in a partnership with that company. The DTEK 50 and DTEK 60 are both devices resulting from collaborations between the two firms. TCL Communications also manufactures Alcatel-branded smartphones.

The long-term BlackBerry licensing agreement is only the latest in that company’s turnaround strategy.

The partnership is a way for BlackBerry to place some distance between itself and handset manufacturing. The company can turn its focus toward growth as a security software and services company. As a part of this agreement TCL Communications will not only design, manufacture and sell BlackBerry-branded devices. It will also provide customer support for the products they sell.

BlackBerry COO and general manager of mobility solutions, Ralph Pini, said this partnership with TCL Communication is a core move in their strategy. It lets the company put “the ‘smart in the phone’ by providing state-of-the-art security and device software on a platform that mobile users prefer and are comfortable with.”

According to recent media reports, the DTEK 70 will be the next smartphone launched with the BlackBerry licensing brand agreement. This mobile device will be based on Android – as have been the last few models – and will have a fingerprint sensor. That feature will be uniquely positioned in the spacebar of the distinctive physical keyboard. It will have a 2.0 GHz Qualcomm processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and a 4.5 inch display. The rear-facing camera will be 18 megapixels and the front-facing camera will be 8 megapixels.

The two companies have decided to work together to make it easier for consumers to use smartphones in-store.

PayPal Holdings Inc. has entered into a new mobile payment partnership with Citigroup Inc. The goal is to let customers easily use smartphones to pay for products and services at a checkout counter.

The agreement between the two companies will not impact PayPal’s main e-commerce business.

The PayPal online payments and peer-to-peer transactions will not be connected with the new mobile payment partnership. Instead, it will open up a new direction for the company to be able to participate in smartphone transactions. It offers the ability to carry out transactions with in-store purchases.

This new agreement has raised certain questions about PayPal’s growth strategy. Some have questioned whether or not it has the potential to bring this business to a size that would rise above the lost fees.

PayPal’s CEO assures critics that the mobile payment partnership has taken this into account.

PayPal is offering deals to credit card issuers in order to provide incentives for using their new in-store mobile payments, said CEO Daniel Schulman. The company’s head of global core payments, Jim Magats, said “We talked about giving customers flexibility to pay how they want, and now we are rolling out new experiences.”

Citigroup and Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) will begin allowing customers to lead their credit cards into PayPal accounts. This will make it possible for point-of-sale mobile swipe technology. As Citigroup currently boasts 143 million customer accounts, this presents a considerable opportunity.

The idea is to “enable banking in the palm of our customers’ hands,” said Ralph Andretta, Citigroup card exec.

PayPal is also working with two smaller banks as a part of this mobile payment partnership through FIS. They include Wintrust Financial Corp. and Avidia Bank. This agreement is only the latest in a growing race among banks and credit card issuers to take hold of the mobile wallet market that has yet to move into mainstream use in the United States. Other massive participants include J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. as well as tech giants such as Google, Samsung and Apple.