For the past few years, the mobile payments market has been more of a curiosity than a major area of investment. Though a few companies, such as Google and Square, have taken early steps in the market, most consumers still opt to use their physical credit and debit cards to make payments, or even cash.

But that may be changing faster than people expect, and merchants will have to adapt. As a recent article on Wired argues, "the mobile payments marketplace is set to explode — and soon." 

The news source cites reports that Apple's upcoming iPhone 6 will include the technology to make mobile payments possible. But it's more than that. The source added that a number of different market participants are racing to develop a payment option that will appeal to the greatest number of customers. Amazon, for example, recently announced its Fire smartphone, which will almost certainly contain some kind of mobile payment component, possibly offering Apple some serious competition.

Another example is Facebook, which is reportedly planning to introduce payment technology into its popular smartphone app, allowing users to buy items then and there. This allows Facebook to work with retailers to collect information about customers, which can then be used to target them for future advertisements.

Given the race to provide consumers with as many mobile payment options as possible, it is important for retailers to consider their options and make sure that they are where their customers are. If consumers settle on a new convenient method of payment, sellers would be wise to invest in the necessary payment technology to accept it.