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• Mobile distracted shoppers buy more, study suggests

  ​A small study suggests people who use their mobiles while shopping are more likely to make unplanned purchases and forget items they had planned to buy.

• How PayPal almost cancelled Christmas

  Internet darling, Regretsy, is a site and community built around poking fun at strange and weird offerings on the handmade goods site Etsy. Regretsy is also known for its charitable funding efforts, which have helped Etsy sellers in need and charities to the tune of over $100,000 since 2009.

• Tips for getting more out of PayPal

  In the last 13 years, PayPal has expanded far beyond its initial growth spurt on auction Websites. According to its second-quarter results, the online payment service busted through the $1 billion-earnings mark and is processing more than $315 million a day in online payments.

• Why your business should accept mobile payments

  Isis, a mobile payment provider established by AT&A, T-Mobile and Verizon in 2010, announced a deal with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express Tuesday. Isis offers mobile payment options based on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which allows users to "swipe" their phones in front of a scanner to make a payment.

• Four Safer Ways to Pay Online

  Who has your private info? Who knows, given how common <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/229301/are_you_a_data_breach_victim_heres_what_to_do.html">security breaches</a> have become. And credit card information is one of the most common types of <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/227255/protect_your_data_from_the_breach_epidemic.html">personal data</a> we volunteer online. So what can you do to minimize credit card fraud? Well, you can't stop the break-ins, but here are four ways to keep your funds out of the hands of the bad guys.

• Symantec Uncovers Bitcoin-Stealing Trojan

  Security firm Symantec is warning that more people may end up like Bitcoin user "Allinvain" and find their Bitcoin digital wallets pilfered by malicious hackers.

• Google Wallet: The debate rages

  Google's announcement last week of its mobile payment system Google Wallet has attracted a fair amount of skepticism and praise from journalists, bloggers and security experts.

• Visa gets behind mobile payment startup Square

  Square, a mobile credit card processing startup, received an undisclosed strategic investment from Visa, the world's largest credit card company. The investment is strategic because Square probably doesn't need the cash. The company was started in 2009 by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, and recently closed a $27.5 million round of funding at a $240 million valuation.

• Why you may not need Facebook to sell stuff

  Facebook is often touted as a must-have tool for small businesses as a means to boost their brand awareness and to reach existing and potential customers. However, the social network does not necessarily translate into more sales if you are an e-tailer. In fact, a Facebook page will have little or no impact on an e-tailer's sales, Forrester Research says. And using Facebook to boost revenues remains "elusive" for e-tailers.

• Process credit cards anywhere: Five smartphone tools

  Whether you work as an in-home massage therapist, operate a taco truck, or run some other small business, you're missing sales if you can't process credit cards. However, a number of mobile payment tools now let you accept credit cards on an iPhone, an Android handset, a Windows Phone, or a dumber handset. You just need to sign up, attach credit card reader hardware, and navigate the fees.

• PayPal users beware of holiday phishing scam

  With Black Friday quickly approaching, and retailers racing to outdo each other with earlier and earlier deals, it is safe to say that the holiday shopping season has begun. If you're shopping online, though, and paying with PayPal -- be warned. There is a phishing attack targeted just for you.