Responding to consumers' increasing mobile device usage, more retailers of all sizes and types are relying on mobile purchases, with nearly 1 in 10 merchants accepting mobile payments in 2013, an increase of 50% per year since 2011. But the increase in mobile payments is also increasing the risk of fraud, especially for small merchants that might be less aware of fraud detection schemes, according to "The True Cost of Fraud" study, conducted by Lexis-Nexis and Javelin Strategy & Research.

Mobile browers, mobile applications and mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) hardware technology such as Square have put mobile payments within the reach of even the smallest merchants (less than $1 million in annual sales), 39% of whom are attracted to the mobile channel. And the trend is growing: 25% of merchants of all sizes expect to accept mobile payments in 2014, with mPOS poised to generate the biggest growth: 7% of merchants used mPOS devices in 2013, after no merchants reporting using it in 2012.

This represents a diversification to different types of businesses, such as clothing and accessories retailers and food and beverage stores, besides the non-store retailers and electronic goods merchants which initially used mobile payments.