Gartner: 50% of consumers in mature markets will use smartphones or wearables for mobile payments by 2018

Gartner said mobile payments are gaining acceptance among consumers in North America, Japan and some countries in Western Europe, and predicted that half of consumers in mature markets will be using smartphones or wearables for mobile payments by 2018. The research company noted that there are three types of mobile payments or mobile wallets available now: smartphone or wearables-based payments; branded mobile wallets from banks or credit card providers; and branded mobile wallets from retailers such as Starbucks. However, Gartner warned that NFC-based mobile payment services such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay would be limited in the short- to medium-term due to a lack of partnerships between retailers and financial organisations, as well as consumers seeing little value in such payments. It commented that mobile payment wallets that are tied to the device would have limited adoption, while cloud-based solutions are expected to have a better chance of success. Report