Mobility is on everyone’s minds. According to a recent survey by the Federal Reserve, one out of five people used their mobile phone to access their bank account, credit card or another financial account last year. An additional one out of five indicated they are likely to start doing so in the future. In fact, the Federal Reserve predicts that by 2013, this number will rise to one in three.

Banking and regulatory agencies like the Federal Reserve have been preparing for the inevitable mobile payment revolution, which is expected to spread like wildfire when it takes hold. In the U.S., we are extremely late to the party—mobile payments are commonplace in many parts of the world. It’s even the dominant form of payment in developing parts of the world like Kenya and South Africa. The infrastructure is far less developed in these areas—the entire country may be served by one telecom company and a few banks. Although it seems like a technological shortcoming, these simpler networks have given rise to a more secure and accessible banking and payment system in what were once predominantly cash societies.

If the revolution is happening so fast in these emerging countries, how come it’s so slow to catch on in the U.S.? Fortunately, we already have secure, advanced payment systems, and there are so many players already established on the landscape that coordinating all of them can be difficult and time-consuming.

It’s inevitable that mobile payments will catch on, so forward thinking companies and retailers have already started to adapt. Visa has released a set of incentives for merchants to use mobile options, MasterCard has formed a partnership with Google and Google Wallet and PayPal recently struck a deal with 15 retailers, including Toys R Us, Barnes & Noble, Abercrombie & Fitch, Jamba Juice and others, to give consumers the ability to pay with their mobile phones.

Don’t get left behind when mobile payments take over. pcAmerica offers several pieces of hardware that are compatible with Google Wallet payments. Please call your account manager for more information at 1-800-722-6374.