Mobile payments are expected to grow nearly 100 per cent per year-over-year for the next three years, reaching a value of £591 billion (€717 billion) by 2015, according to new research from consultancy KPMG.
This rapid increase in m-payments will be fuelled by seemingly unbridled adoption of smartphones and tablets, which are boosting customer confidence in using mobile devices for payment purposes, according to KPMG. The report predicted measurable drops in cash and credit card payments over the same period.
"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," said David Hodgkinson, senior manager in KPMG's customer and channel consulting team. "Today premium SMS dominates m-payments, but by tomorrow contactless and cloud-based services will dominate, with an expected market share for contactless of 37 per cent by 2015."
Of note, the KPMG 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 2 per cent see m-payments as unimportant, believing it will have no bearing on their organisation.
However, the report warns that tightening regulation requirements will force m-payment companies to consider how they use customer data. The European Payments Council has already issued guidelines to the industry regarding the development of standards around m-payments.
For more:
- see this KPMG release
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