The digital wallet and other forms of mobile payment may be on their way to replacing credit cards, but today the segment is characterized by a lack of standards, security concerns and competing platforms.

Despite these challenges – or perhaps because of them – the mobile payments space is rapidly heating up. Retailers, wireless carriers, banks, credit card companies, smartphone makers and a slew of others are all angling for a piece of the mobile payments action.

And it's not difficult to see why.

Consider:

• According to a new report from Juniper Research, global mobile payment transactions will skyrocket over the next five years, surpassing US$1.3 trillion by 2017.
• In August 2012, more than a dozen leading U.S. retailers – Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, 7-Eleven and others – teamed up to develop a mobile application that will enable consumers to make purchases through their smartphones. With combined annual sales of about $1 trillion, the group looks to challenge Google's digital wallet and other mobile payment solutions.
• While it may be a stretch to compare buying a cup of coffee with booking a trip, mobile payments in the travel space are quickly becoming commonplace. A recent PhoCusWright report found that more than one fourth of leisure travelers and one third of business travelers use their mobile phone to book travel products such as flights or hotel rooms.
• And one more thing… Apple's plan to acquire AuthenTec, a provider of mobile payment security solutions, is fueling speculation that the world's largest company may finally be ready to jump full-on into mobile payments. Clearly, Apple getting into mobile payments is a "when," not "if" scenario, and when the time comes it will surely shake up the space.