In the past year alone, there has been a dramatic rise of mobile payments. Systems such as Google Wallet have incorporated loyalty programs, expanded their payment vehicles and made it easier for users to engage. Starbucks reports that almost 11% of all its transactions are now being done on mobile.

This is really heartening. But as merchants sign up for these services, and look to build out their infrastructures to accommodate this trend, they must keep the bigger picture in mind.

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