The scale of global mobile payment transactions is anticipated to reach $1.3tn over the next five years, according to a new report from Juniper Research.
The report, Mobile Payments Strategies: NFC, Remote Purchases & Money Transfer 2012-2017, found that growth would primarily be driven by sales of physical goods by both remote purchases and NFC transactions.
According to the report, the transactions will account for 54% of the total value of mobile payments by 2017 and have already been bolstered by stimuli such as the widespread rollout of NFC support infrastructure and the increased engagement of operators with the mCommerce space.
Physical goods sales conducted through the mobile phone would still only account for around 4% of global retail transactions by 2017.
The report said the recent spate of activity across the NFC value chain has marked a tipping point and it cited Google Wallet, VeriFone’s POS terminals and the operator-led ISIS and Project Oscar consortia as key developments in this regard.
It also found that physical goods sales from mobile/nomadic devices will account for 30% of eRetail by 2017 and MNOs should start to invest in Secure Elements and Trusted Service Manager infrastructure.
Report author Windsor Holden said that due to significant deployments of contactless infrastructure, consumer awareness is extremely low.
"Thus, it is imperative for all members of the NFC value chain to engage with the public to heighten its profile as a simple, intuitive payment mechanism," Holden said.
