It’s funny how stolen wallet could easily turn someone into a mobile payments devotee. Uncanny, but this and several other reasons have made mobile payments a certified hit in the industry. Slowly climbing into the mainstream, this service is brimming with the potential to bring in next-level improvements including digital receipts, real-time account updates, highly targeted offers and deals and customizable alerts to name a few. Both consumers and merchants are bound to benefit from mobile payments approach, something that Google Wallet and Isis are pursuing.

A strong arm of mobility, it has become one of the last decade’s technological movers that have transformed how people pay for purchases. By 2014, experts sees a $50 billion-worth industry, and a year later, eradication of cardless and cashless transactions are predicted. These forecasts may be years ahead, but companies are introducing reinventions and distinctive tactics to stream at the forefront of the competition.

PayPal

On a course to widen their lead over the big names and the upcoming players, PayPal gears up for expansion. The eBay-owned online payment channel is busy to gearing to spread out, this time in partnership with Home Depot. PayPal already has Android mobile and Apple iOS app and they are planning to venture on a mobile wallet paradigm. Before executing the plans, they have increased testing grounds to 2,000 Home Depot stores, which was originally pegged at 51.

In a statement read in Bloomberg, Herman Leung, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group in San Francisco provided his insights on this development:

 “Longer term, this could move the needle for PayPal, but right now it’s still in testing mode. You will have to see a larger commitment from Home Depot (HD) than the 51 stores to truly incentivize the consumer to use it. There’s a little bit of a customer adoption cycle that needs to ramp.”

mopay

One of the many companies that have thrived well within the industry is mopay. Their innovative payment solutions have placed them into the top ranks. At the onset of the year, the company discussed key trends for mobile payments for 2012 in this article.

Kolja Reiss, Managing Director at mopay, shared his fearless forecasts for the industry:

“Everyone within the direct carrier billing space must bear in mind that much of the activity witnessed in 2011 will not only continue but become amplified. Merchants will chose their payment partners more deliberately, emphasizing features such as conversion rate optimization, cross-platform support and global as well as local expertise alike. We’re already seeing some of these trends come to life, particularly on the security front, which everyone will want to keep an eye on.”

With conviction, he added:

“One thing is for sure: the direct carrier billing – and thus the mobile payments landscape right now – will not be the same one we’ll see at the end of 2012.”

Another facet that has greatly contributed to mobile payments success is the massive engagement in the online gaming arena via virtual payments. mopay has partaken from this advantage and they are now bringing their services to the online dating market.

eBay

While eBay does not offer mobile services for payments, it business model is highly influenced by the influx of money from online transactions where mobile payments rule. They have grown to be almost dependent of it that their partnership with PayPal has been quite successful and drove in $4 billion in mobile payments for 2011. The largest internet marketplace has recorded an impressive fourth quarter sales, thanks to holiday shopping extravagance. PayPal units also grew as a result.

However, recent reports have mentioned about the two giants separating—something that could really shake-up the mobile commerce. No concrete evidence has surfaced to support this rumor, but experts are seeing some positive results for both organizations if the split pushes through. For now, the loss of PayPal’s Chief who transferred to Yahoo! is something that they are problem-solving together.

Other Ventures

The conventional banking groups has by now seen the bright future with mobile payments and have invested in strategies to explore this field. American Express has just inked a deal with Lianlian Group, a Chinese payments company, to create the mobile payments platform called Serve. With an ample set of manpower estimated to be at 300,000, the Chinese provider can easily convert cash to mobile-phone minutes, bills payment and purchased goods.

Skrill, a leading provider of digital wallets has just announced the rollout of Skrill 1-Tap—a service that brings payments from customers to merchant quickly by just “one tap” and veering away from the usual re-logins of details and credit card information. Middle East has also joined the craze with Skyband getting the secure payment service of NewNet Solution.

Direct carrier billing, online shopping and fast transactions have catalyzed innovations within the mobile payments space. Although transition from the traditional methods of cash and plastic imbursements will not going to be as painless with alarming security challenges, users are crossing over at a record pace already. As the competition tightens, more options are presented to the table, benefitting consumers with variety. Small businesses choose mobile payments method depending on how these could aid them lower operating costs.