Back in April I blogged about how rapid developments in NFC technology should incite retailers to start preparing for widespread market entry of the mobile wallet. What I regretted to emphasize was how equally important it is for retailers to start thinking about the impending adoption of EMV chip-and-PIN technology in the U.S.

For those of you who don’t already know, EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, and is the payment security standard of choice in just about every developed country in the world except the U.S.

But that’s all about to change now that some of the bigger credit card companies are throwing their weight behind the globally compatible technology. In an effort to get more U.S. merchants on board the payment innovation train, Visa developed a “road map” to aid retailers in their roll-outs. And, as many analysts had predicted, MasterCard quickly followed suit by announcing in January 2012 its own plan to advance the electronic payment system in the U.S.

Back in November 2011, Greg Buzek, President of IHL Group, provided our tekSESSIONS attendees with valuable insight into the way mobile solutions typically unfold in 4 stages:

1)    Store Managers
2)    Store Associates 
3)    Mobile POS
4)    Consumer Engagement

While Buzek explained that Stages 1 and 2 usually serve as an enhancement to an existing POS solution, it’s Stage 3—Mobile POS—that he said would be the real game-changer for retail.

And, so far, it appears that Buzek was spot-on with his presumption. Since then, a number of mobile POS payment solutions have hit the market and begun ushering in a new era of retail.

As a matter of fact, just this past week, Isis—the joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless—announced a roster of national merchants that will be joining the mobile commerce solution’s network this summer.

This past week, I attended the annual IBM RS4 event at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, Calif. While the tone of this year’s conference was a bit subdued in light of the recent IBM/Toshiba TEC acquisition, it was still packed with informative sessions and insight into the future of retail technology and IBM Retail Store Solutions (RSS). While it may not have been “business as usual,” most of the attendees I talked to are optimistic about the promise of the recent acquisition.

Yet despite the prevailing optimism throughout the industry, there are still retailers who have come to us with significant concerns.