Global analyst firm Gartner has announced that according to its analysis of mobile
payments, worldwide mobile payment transaction values will reach $171.5 billion this year.
That is a 61.9% increase over 2011. The number of mobile payment users will also significantly increase this year, hitting at least 212 million worldwide.
Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner said: “We expect global mobile transaction volume and value to average 42 percent annual growth between 2011 and 2016, and we are forecasting a market worth $617 billion with 448 million users by 2016. This will bring opportunities for service and solution providers who will need to cater to the local demand patterns to customise their offerings.”
According to Gartner, web access will account for about 88 per cent of all transactions in North America, and about 80 per cent in Western Europe, by 2016. NFC transactions however will remain relatively low through 2015, but growth is forecast to start picking up from 2016.
“NFC payment involves a change in user behaviour and requires collaboration among stakeholders that includes banks, mobile carriers, card networks and merchants,” said Shen. “It takes time for both to happen, so we don’t expect NFC payments to come into the mass market before 2015. In the meantime, ticketing, rather than retail payment, will drive NFC transactions.”