T-Mobile is becoming the first wireless carrier to offer Square credit card readers in select retail stores.

“When T-Mobile’s fastest 4G smartphones running on America’s Largest 4G Network are combined with Square,” the carrier says, “small businesses can accept credit card payments in the U.S. nearly anywhere, anytime, with the money from transactions sent for deposit into their bank accounts the next business day.”

For T-Mobile, of course, the timing couldn’t be better, as the latest stats show mobile payments are gaining in traction and popularity across the U.S. and abroad.

Investment bank Barclays Capital estimates that U.S. mobile commerce sales hit $5.3 billion in 2011, up 83 percent from 2010.

For the time being, however, more than 26 million small businesses still do not accept credit card payment.

“The availability of Square card readers as an accessory in T-Mobile retail stores will make it easy for many small businesses to accept credit card payments for the first time,” the carrier said this morning. “The success of our small business customers is important to us. Formerly ‘cash only’ small businesses can now simply and cost-effectively accept credit cards with their smartphone using Square, giving them an easy path to growth,” said Matt Millen, vice president of small and medium business sales at T-Mobile. “As these businesses evaluate their wireless needs, T-Mobile is committed to providing quality of service, cost savings and connectivity that are a requirement for their success.”

The trial testing allows shoppers to purchase items at checkout either directly through their mobile device or through a special PayPal card.

On Monday, it was reported that the number of “select stores” is expanding… to all of them.

PayPal says it will expand trials of the new mobile wallet services to well over 2,000 Home Depot stores in the United States.

“Home Depot is the first retailer to roll out a limited pilot program for our new POS technologies,” admitted PayPal director of communications Anuj Nayar on the PayPal Blog earlier this month. “We frequently run trials with our retail partners. The Home Depot pilot is currently being run in five stores and involves a small number of PayPal employees.”

With a 100-million strong user base, the chances for PayPal’s success at Home Depot are certainly more favorable than not.

If you’re unfamiliar, GoPayment helps small businesses – and anyone, for that matter, who sells products or services – easily and securely process credit cards payments on the go via smartphone or tablet.

Today’s announcement means that more people around the world will soon experience this surging solution for myriad entrepreneurs and business owners.

Intuit Inc. today announced that it plans to take its free GoPayment mobile credit card app and card reader hardware global, with the first implementation in Canada.

According to Tuesdays revelation, Canada’s mobile-savvy population coupled with Intuit’s 18 years experience in Canada made the country a natural choice for Intuit’s first international expansion of GoPayment.

In addition to this news, Intuit will soon begin shipping a free, newly-designed GoPayment Card Reader in both the U.S and Canada.

“We’re taking two big steps forward today: announcing GoPayment in Canada, and releasing a new and improved card reader,” said Chris Hylen, vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Payment Solutions division. “This is part of our strategy to offer GoPayment internationally and to innovate in ways that make it easier for our customers, in all markets, to never miss a sale.”

GoPayment for Canada and the new GoPayment card reader will both be available in early 2012.

The trial testing allows shoppers to purchase items at checkout either directly through their mobile device or through a special PayPal card.

Although PayPal’s mobile wallet aspirations are only four months old, the company has aggressively pursued any available channel that could help the service take root and grow rapidly in the coming year.

“Home Depot is the first retailer to roll out a limited pilot program for our new POS technologies,” admits PayPal director of communications Anuj Nayar on the PayPal Blog. “We frequently run trials with our retail partners. The Home Depot pilot is currently being run in five stores and involves a small number of PayPal employees.”

Optimism for PayPal’s chances of success in this endeavor remain high, particularly in light of the company’s 100-million strong user base.

“Stay tuned throughout the year as we continue to re-imagine money and make it work better for merchants and consumers – whatever device you’re on, wherever you are in the world, and however you prefer to pay,” Nayar says.

On Wednesday it was announced that the new partnership will involve free pizza for anyone hanging out on New Year’s Eve in Times Square, New York City.

“Ready to load up on carbs before those resolutions start?” the team at LevelUp asks. “Noshing on $10 worth of free food on New Year’s — pizza, pasta, Stromboli, salads (if you’ve already started being good) and more — is as easy as paying with your phone.”

LevelUp is a mobile payment app that runs on the iPhone and Android, not to mention a mobile web app that works on BlackBerry and Windows Phones. The service makes it possible for users to register for their own personal QR code. They can then use it to pay – and, ostensibly, to save money – while patronizing local businesses. Instant digital receipts show what you spent and how much you saved.

“We’re really excited to be the first brand to adopt this innovative mobile payment solution that anyone can use,” said Peter Jurta, Vice President of Operations for Villa Enterprises. “We thought, what’s the most excellent way of ringing in the New Year for our customers? Free food for trying something new and awesome at America’s hottest spot for New Year’s celebration!”

If you’re planning to be in the Big Apple this weekend, stop by Villa FIK in Times Square at 263 West 42nd St. New York, NY to sign up for LevelUp and load up on $10 worth of free Italian food.

Just in time for the holidays, Fandango announced Thursday that moviegoers now have the option of using PayPal when purchasing movie tickets through its iPhone and Android showtimes and ticketing apps.

“We first offered PayPal as a payment option on the Web, and we’re now pleased to extend it to mobile,” says Rick Butler, Fandango Executive Vice President and General Manager. “More than 20 percent of Fandango’s ticket sales come from mobile devices and, PayPal will offer an additional safe, easy and fast payment method for our moviegoers on the go.”

Fandango has seen a 73% year-over-year increase in mobile ticket sales in 2011. The year overall marked the best-performing year in the company’s 11-year history, with record highs for its ticket sales, online and mobile traffic, advertising sales and the number of theater screens it represents across the country.

“Millions of PayPal customers globally make payments through mobile devices, so combining our frictionless mobile payments experience with Fandango’s iPhone and Android apps makes ticket purchasing easier and faster than ever before,” said David Marcus, Vice President of Mobile, PayPal. “Fandango has made it incredibly convenient to purchase movie tickets with a mobile device and PayPal helps customers make these transactions seamlessly.”

Does the addition of a PayPal payment option to Fandango’s popular app line make you more inclined to use the popular mobile ticketing service?

For its initial roll out, PayPal will partner with some of the top 200 U.S.-based merchants.

PayPal is admittedly seeking its share of a daily coupon market that is on pace to double to $4.17 billion by 2015, BIA/Kelsey forecasts.

“The experience is going to be completely different than anyone else’s through and through,” PayPal President Scott Thompson tells BusinessWeek. “We’ll only give you something that we think fits the category of unique and relevant. Everyone else is going to bombard you.”

PayPal, however, will face no shortage of stiff competition in its latest venture.

Groupon and LivingSocial had a combined 73 percent market share in daily deals in October, according to an estimate from Yipit, a website that aggregates online offers.

“EBay could definitely use coupons as counterpunch-type of approach to retain customers,” says Peter Sorrentino, a senior fund manager at Huntington Asset Advisors. “If you can get consumers to your site for something that has a pretty broad appeal, then you can capture their wallets before the couponing companies lead them away from you. Once you’ve got the eyeballs, the clicks will soon follow.”

According to the details made available in the announcement, Gemalto was selected by Isis to secure its mobile commerce platform through Gemalto’s Allynis Trusted Service Manager (TSM) solution.

Isis is wisely taking every step possible to beef up the security of its mobile efforts as the group aims to provide consumers and merchants with “an open and secure mobile commerce platform that will revolutionize how consumers shop, pay and save.”

“We selected Gemalto for their long-standing relationships with financial institutions and mobile operators, which includes experience in securely provisioning services over the air and issuing sensitive financial information to the consumer,” says Ryan Hughes, Chief Marketing Officer of Isis. “Gemalto’s dedication to security is unmatched in the industry and will provide the Isis Mobile Commerce Platform with the necessary infrastructure to ensure consumer and merchant confidence in the Isis Mobile Wallet.”

Isis will enable consumers to enjoy the speed, security and convenience of mobile contactless payment using NFC technology at retail outlets such as restaurants, movie theaters and drug stores. Consumers will be able to securely pay, present loyalty cards, and redeem coupons all with a tap of their phones.

“Gemalto is thrilled to support Isis in delivering the speed, security and convenience of mobile contactless payment,” added Sébastien Cano, Senior Vice-President, Gemalto North America. “Using our extensive experience with worldwide commercial deployments Gemalto has designed a solution for Isis to support mobile payment and a host of NFC services like digital couponing and loyalty programs, access control and mass transit.”

Pretty vague, huh?

Bango, in the company’s only formal acknowledgement of the deal, will simply say that “it has signed an agreement to provide services to Amazon. The terms of this agreement are not being disclosed. The Board believes it is too early in the relationship to accurately forecast the level of business which it may generate.”

The assumption, of course, is that Bango will provide a carrier billing service to Amazon for its flourishing Amazon App Store for Android. Others believe that since the Kindle Fire is a Wi-Fi only device, Amazon may be planning a 3G version of the tablet, which would then explain the need for Bango’s “services.”

All told, it remains to be seen how this mystery deal will ultimately manifest. A Bango spokesperson says “commercial sensitivities” are preventing any further details from being divulged at this time.

“This was very much just a regulatory announcement that Bango was required to release as it is a publicly quoted company. We hope to be able to release more information in 2012,” the rep for Bango tells TechCrunch.

When it comes to being adept, able and prone to shop on mobile devices, IAB says, “Space City” consumers nabbed Houston the highest spot on the list, followed by New York and Atlanta.

The rankings were determined by looking at the mobile shopping audience today along with the distribution of mobile-savvy shoppers across major U.S. cities. The research used to determine the list refers to “mobile shopping” to mean both completing purchases via a phone or tablet and using a phone or tablet to research or shop for products that are later purchased in physical retail locations or online.

All told, the complete “2011 IAB U.S. Mobile Shopping Savvy Cities Index” is as follows:

1. Houston
2. New York
3. Atlanta
4. Los Angeles
5. Dallas/Ft. Worth
6. Tampa/St. Petersburg
7. Chicago
8. Philadelphia
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Seattle/Tacoma
11. San Francisco/Bay Area
12. Boston
13. Detroit
14. Minneapolis/St. Paul
15. Phoenix

“Early data this holiday season already indicated the growing importance of mobile as a shopping tool,” says Joe Laszlo, Deputy Director, IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. “Identifying mobile shoppers and delivering relevant messages to consumers as they are in shopping mode represents a key opportunity for marketers. That’s why we took this study one step further — pinpointing cities where advertisers would need to quickly embrace mobile strategies as a part of their overall plans to attract shoppers, both during the holiday season and throughout the year.”