The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council will take a stronger approach to mobile data security in 2012 to assist companies in making and accepting payments on portable devices. Some of the priorities it will focus on will be end-to-end encryption, tokenization and data security and compliance regulations, according to a BankInfoSecurity report.

"The adoption of mobile is running rampant, and when it comes to using personal mobile devices, people have not thought about all of the security," PCI SCC general manager Bob Russo said, the news source noted. "We have a task force looking at this, and in 2011 we issued some guidance. This year we will be issuing some best practices."

While mobile capabilities have the potential to completely transform the payment industry, the technology also comes with risks that need to be tackled. Security should be the focus for organizations addressing mobile demands, PCI SCC chairman Mike Mitchell said, BankInfoSecurity reported.

According to a study by IE Market Research, the 1 billion mobile payment users in existence by 2016 will complete more than $998 billion in transactions. To prepare for this approaching phenomenon, businesses should improve their mobile data security.