Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, Motorola’s (NYSE:MMI) Droid, Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry — whatever the make and model, these connected devices are selling and people are anxious to use them. This means that mobile payment services, technology that lets people use their phone to pay for goods and services, are no longer just a niche market.
It’s natural to want to get in on the mobile payments boom while the technology is still hot. Luckily for investors, some familiar and reliable stocks are poised to benefit greatly from the increasing interest in mobile payments. These five stocks offer their own services and are heavily invested in the technology. Mobile payments totaled $32 billion in 2009. In 2010, that jumped to $245 billion.
American Express (NYSE:AXP)
The originator of the plastic credit card is unsurprisingly moving fast to stake its claim in the mobile payments sector. It opened its own digital payments service, called Serve, letting its customers not only make payments using their mobile phones but even make cash withdrawals at ATMs. Users fund the wallets using a bank account number or even a competing credit card like MasterCard (NYSE:MA). American Express also invested $19 million in mobile payment service Payfone, which lets you check out using your cellphone number.
Visa (NYSE:V)
Like American Express, Visa also is busy making its own digital payments service as well as investing in new mobile payment startups. The company announced earlier this month that it would start its own, still-unnamed digital wallet service in the fall that will let users make one-click purchases at online stores as well as through their phones. More significant for its long-term stake in the mobile payment business however is Visa’s $27.5 million investment in Square. The startup offers does away with cash registers entirely — customers merely wave their Square-supported phone in front of an electronic reader.
eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)
The original giant of online payments, the eBay’s Paypal is already an established player in the mobile payments field. The company started up the Titanium+Conference mobile payment program last fall that lets small businesses design their own smartphone apps for accepting Paypal account-based mobile payments. Paypal claims to have a stable of 98 million active accounts, meaning that it has a ready-made base of customers with accounts ready to use its mobile payment services.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Amazon started Amazon Payments back in 2006. While it hasn’t quite matched PayPal’s popularity with consumers, it’s still managed to grow a sizable customer base. A March report by Bloomberg said Amazon is likely to unveil a mobile payment service for Amazon Payments later this year. Amazon has aggressively expanded into the mobile business with services like the Kindle electronic bookstore and the Amazon app store for Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android devices.
VeriFone (NYSE:PAY)
VeriFone is behind many of the programs and devices that accept and process the financial services offered by the four companies above. It is already deeply entrenched in the mobile payments business with products like the iPhone-based PAYware application. On Monday, it announced that it had partnered with Micros Systems to create a device specifically for restaurants looking to use mobile payments.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.
