The credit card giant intends to go mainstream with its service throughout this year.

Visa has unveiled its intentions to expand the use and availability of its mobile payments services to the point that they will become mainstream within 2013.

Its announcement claimed that the expansion of the systems is an “immediate priority” for the company.

The mobile payments that it has to offer are already working to help to bring the United Kingdom to the top spot in Europe. At the moment, Poland is in the lead in terms of the largest marketplace for transactions using a smartphone or tablet within the European Union.

Visa UK and Ireland have both made announcements regarding this mobile payments mainstream launch.

These were made by way of Marc O’Brien, the managing director of Visa UK and Ireland. He stated that the credit card company was making a series of different efforts that would lead to a mainstream launch of the mobile payments services.

O’Brien also went on to say that his company was currently working alongside the leading manufacturers of Android based devices, in addition to Vodafone and Telefonica. These partnerships are designed to help to established higher security standard levels through the NFC technology based transactions.

In 2012, the Olympic Games in London were used as a trial period for various types of mobile payments. Many of the participants were given smartphones that were enabled with NFC technology in order to boost the awareness related to mobile payments, and encourage its use. O’Brien explained that “Building momentum from the Olympic Games, we’re looking to roll out of the [contactless payment] cards and handsets this year.”

He went on to add that “We’re also working on a digital wallet for cloud-based e-commerce and that’s coming here too this year.” Data from Visa has shown that only 17 percent of the smartphones owned in the United Kingdom are equipped with the NFC technology required for the Visa mobile payments system. However, the company believes that by 2017, that figure will have climbed considerably, to reach 70 percent. It is hoped by the company that this will help to overcome some of the considerable hurdles that it has faced in its trials so far.

Australian market sees shift due to mobile games

Mobile games have been having a major impact in Australia. The Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (iGEA), leading game industry group based in Australia, has announced that the country’s game industry reported more than $1.16 billion in retail sales last year. Much of these sales were in the realm of mobile games. While mobile games adding momentum to sales in the game industry may not be a surprise, the effect they are having on consoles may mark a major shift in the retail side of the game business.

Console sales on the decline

According to iGEA, the rise of mobile games is having a major impact on consoles. For nearly the entirety of the game industry’s existence, consumers have relied on consoles to play their favorite games. The advent of mobile technology changed that, however, giving consumers the ability to play games from a smart phone or tablet. These devices has made it more convenient for consumers to game, thereby leading them away from consoles and toward mobile games.

Mobile games expected to see promising growth this year

The iGEA notes that the rise of mobile games has lead to the decline of console sales in Australia. Consumers throughout the country are favoring mobile devices for gaming and digital purchases. Technology analysis firm Telsyte estimates the mobile games sphere to experience 18% growth in 2013, backed from $620 million revenue generated in this sector during 2012. The firm expects that the growing popularity of mobile games will continue to have an impact on console sales well into the future.

Next gen consoles poised to compete with mobile games

A new generation of gaming consoles is on its way. Both Sony and Microsoft have plans to introduce their respective next gen systems this year. Both systems have been hyped aggressively and are highly anticipated among consumers, but whether they will be able to overcome the challenges they are facing from mobile games has yet to be seen. Sony and Microsoft may have taken steps to ensure that their consoles appeal to mobile gamers as it is expected for next gen consoles to include mobile elements.