Near field communications (NFC) could facilitate transactions valued at US$74bn worldwide by 2015, according to Juniper Research. The technology is being increasingly used for mobile payments in stores and for transport tickets.
According to Juniper Research, this figure is more than three times the estimated value of the current market in 2011.
NFC allows people to use their mobile phones to pay for goods and services by swiping their devices over an in-store terminal. Juniper Research believes that along with the growth of NFC, mobile commerce segments, such as money transfers, banking payments and coupons, will also experience similar growth levels.
“Our report demonstrates the spectacular growth we see across all segments of the mobile commerce market,” said David Snow, author of Juniper Research’s Mobile Commerce Markets report.
“Four of these segments – money transfer, physical goods, NFC and coupons – will more than treble in transaction value over the next three years, while digital goods, banking and tickets will still, on average, double over the same period,” he said.
While mobile coupons made up the smallest mobile commerce segment, it is experiencing the highest growth rate, according to this research.
The report also urged mobile commerce providers to always consider security issues as even if there is a perceived security risk, it could set back the entire mobile commerce market until trust is regained.
