Make no mistake about it: Mobile payments are bound to become a red-hot industry in the future. IDC believes that worldwide mobile payments will surpass $1 trillion by the time 2017 rolls around. Through its online payment business PayPal, eBay (EBAY -0.91%) has the early lead in the mobile payment revolution. This year, the company expects its PayPal platform to do more than $20 billion in mobile transaction volume. Looking to strengthen this position in mobile payments, eBay has recently acquired Duff Research, which will help drive future innovation to its mobile payment platform. In this video, Motley Fool contributor Steve Heller discusses eBay's motivation for purchasing Duff Research and what investors can expect out of the deal.