EBay first-quarter financial results beat analysts’ expectations in part because of the leadership role that the company has taken in mcommerce, which is helping to drive healthy gains across its businesses as consumers increasingly embrace mobile to shop and pay for purchases.

Google’s acquisition of payments technology firm TxVia could translate to a better user experience for Google Wallet.

Reports suggesting that Google is rethinking its Google Wallet are based on revelations that two executives recently departed the project and that the search giant is scrambling to sign deals with wireless carriers to offer its mobile wallet. However, at least one analyst says Google Wallet is on track with where it should be.

VeriFone is seeing significant uptake of its mobile payments services by merchants and now expects its annual run rate to exceed $10 billion.

PayPal introduced new services for both consumers and merchants this week as it continues to focus on building a digital payments business with mobile as a key component.

Walmart, Target and other retailers are reportedly collaborating on their own mobile payments system that would compete with Google Wallet and Isis.

There has been a flurry of news related to mobile payments of late but two very important stakeholders have been mostly absent from the announcement: retailers and handset manufacturers.

Total mobile app revenues from pay-per-download, in-app purchase, subscriptions, and in-app advertising will soar over the next five years, growing from $8.5 billion in 2011 to $46 billion in 2016, according to a new report from ABI Research.

Following a flurry of announcements around NFC-enabled mobile payments last year from Google and Isis, there has been very little news on the NFC front so far this year while cloud-based payments such as is offered by PayPal appear to be picking up some steam.

With price comparison shopping increasingly popular these days, Target wants to discourage its customers from engaging in this activity by asking vendors to support in-store purchases with exclusive merchandise and better prices.