With Mobile transaction set to grow exponentially from here on in, recent research by the Yankee Group suggests that actual mobile transactions will exceed $1 trillion by 2015.
Backing a recent report by Juniper stating that mobile payments would exceed $200 billion by 2012.
The research by the Yankee Group, titled “The Mobile Money Forecast,” makes the case that NFC (near field communication us not only growing but is here to stay) and that not only is Near Field Communication taking off, it is here to stay, while the adoptions of mobile banking is also growing quicker than expected compared to m-commerce, mobile payments and mobile coupons.
Nick Holland, senior analyst at Yankee Group, Boston, is quoted saying:
“Our new research shows that mobile transactions are not just news, we now have the data to back it up,”
Mobile banking grows to number one in terms of transactions
With 27% of participants in the survey using mobile banking, and 13% using some form of mcommerce, only 11% had used mobile coupons and 9% mobile payments.
Mr. Holland suggested that these figures were based more on trust and will not be key indicators for future use, as banks are inherently more trusted than other companies less familiar that have emerged in recent months.
“As much as mobile is radically new for payments, credit cards and cash will still be used in the foreseeable future, people trust banks and existing bank networks.”
NFC enabled phones will grow
The study has also indicated that the growth of Near Field Communication enabled smart phones will grow from around 7 million in 2011 to in the region of 200 million by 2015.
Who will adopt mobile payments?
24% of people between the age of 20 and 44 said yes to being interested in the ability to make payments on their mobile phones, while only 1% of over 65s said it was of interest to them.
Men were more interested overall with 84% saying they would be interested in some form of mobile payments compared to only 66% of women.
Price comparison apps shaping the future for mobile commerce:
According to the study the amount of people seeking price comparison applications before making purchases on their phones and online is increasing.
Mr Holland states:
“Consumers aren’t just using it to browse; they are using it for action,”
“It shows how empowered users have become while using mobile apps. We also found a significant percentage of consumers would actually ask for a price comparison on it.”
Opportunity costs
While mobile payments are obviously of huge interest to the financial sector, retail sector and for consumers in general. For service providers, the ability to make sure that your mobile presence is universally enjoyable despite differences in phone capabilities is something that will need to be evaluated and executed with precision.
“We’ve moved past the focus being on payments, now retailers need to focus on what they can do to make shopping more fun for consumers.”
What are your thoughts on mobile transactions, are you happy to do more and more payments online, does it make sense that we are moving in this direction?
Anthony Munns