A new study from Juniper Research has found that the value of mobile payments for digital and physical goods, money transfers and NFC (Near Field Communications) transactions will reach almost $630bn by 2014, up from $170bn this year, representing the gross value of all purchases or the value of money being transferred.
The mobile payments report revealed that growth across all market segments was being driven by the wide adoption of Smartphones and the increased use of apps stores. In addition SMS ticketing schemes such as those offered by OBB Austrian Railways and Skane Traffic in Sweden were also important developments. Shopping by mobile at stores such as Amazon Mobile is also tipped for significant expansion over the next five years.
In developing markets SMS driven money transfer services are the main driver, increasing at a rate of 30% per annum.
Report author Howard Wilcox explained: "Our analysis showed that whilst the digital goods segment will account for nearly half of the market in 2010, the emerging segments such as physical goods payments, NFC and money transfers will impact the market rapidly. By 2014 for example we forecast that physical goods mobile payments market will be worth $100bn."
Key messages from the report include:
- The top 3 regions for mobile payments (Far East & China, W. Europe and N. America) will represent nearly 70% of the global mobile payment gross transaction value by 2014.
- Vendors, retailers, merchants, content providers, mobile operators and banks are all actively establishing new services and schemes.
- However, in some areas such as NFC for example, greater collaboration is required to establish a widely accepted business model that translates easily into tangible services.