Global m-payment transactions are expected to grow by 97 per cent a year, over the next three years, reaching a value of £591 billion by 2015. According to a report, released by KPMG, the growth will be fuelled by consumer demand for devices with near field communication (NFC) – tablets and smartphones able to interact with scanners at the point-of-sale and immediately transfer funds.

It will also be driven by consumers’ growing desire to shop in environments that are ‘always on, always fast and always accessible’.

“Growth in the m-payments marketplace will be driven by customers’ increasing need for convenience and the development of a raft of new applications enabling commerce in the palm of our hands. Today premium SMS dominates mobile payments, but by tomorrow contactless and cloud-based services will dominate, with an expected market share for contactless of 37 percent by 2015,” says David Hodgkinson, senior manager in KPMG’s customer and channel consulting team.

Acceptance of m-commerce as an alternative to cash or credit card payments owes as much to the expansion of the smart-phone marketplace, as it does to retailers recognising the need to adapt. According to KPMG’s report, smartphone shipments accounted for 29 per cent of all mobile phone sales in 2011 – almost double the figure sold in 2009 (15 per cent).

The data also shows that 21 per cent of retailers already view m-payment capability as important enough to be their ‘main activity or, at least, a key enabler’. Just two per cent see m-payments as unimportant, believing it will have no bearing on their organisation.

The report concludes by warning that tightening regulatory requirements will force the players to consider how they use customer data. For example, with China becoming a significant market for m-payments, the government has introduced licence requirements for third-party payment providers. Similarly, the European Payments Council has issued guidelines to develop standards around m-payments.

Share Story: