Gartner: Mobile payments are booming

There was a time not long ago when people considered payments over mobile phones to be the stuff of science-fiction fantasy. Now it’s becoming an everyday reality, according to a recent study by Gartner, with worldwide mobile payment transaction values surpassing $171.5 billion in 2012. That’s a 61.9 percent rise from $105.9 billion in 2011. The number of mobile payment users will reach 212.2 million in 2012, up from 160.5 million in 2011. What’s pushing the increase? Growth in near-field communication (NFC) technology and consumers’ increasing comfort with using their cell phones to make payments. “NFC payment involves a change in user behavior and requires collaboration among stakeholders that includes banks, mobile carriers, card networks and merchants,” Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner, said in a statement. “It takes time for both to happen, so we don’t expect NFC payments to come into the mass market before 2015. In the meantime, ticketing—rather than retail payment—will drive NFC transactions.” Looking forward, Gartner predicts that transactions will reach a volume of 41 percent annual growth between 2011 and 2016, with a market worth $617 billion by 2016 with 448 million users using such services.

• Gartner: Mobile payments will top $171B this year, despite fragmentation (Venture Beat)

• Gartner: Over $172B In Mobile Payments In 2012; SMS, Web Most Popular Routes (TechCrunch)

• Mobile payments to reach $617bn in 2016, says Gartner (ZDNet)

• Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Payment Transaction Value to Surpass $171.5 Billion (Gartner release)

• Global Mobile Payments To Hit $171 Billion This Year (MediaPost)