The market research firm Gartner in its latest study has estimated the worldwide mobile payment volume to register a growth of 62 per cent to reach $171.5 billion in 2012. The mobile payment market was worth $105.9 billion in 2011.
The research firm also predicts that the number of mobile payment users will reach 212.2 million in 2012 up from 160.5 million in 2011. The study expects global mobile transaction volume and value to average 42 per cent annual growth between 2011 and 2016. It forecasts mobile payment market to become $617 billion industry with 448 million users by 2016.
As per the study the growth of the mobile payment market will create new opportunities for service and solution providers, who will be required to cater to the local demand patterns by customising their offerings.
The findings of the study reveal that SMS is likely to remain the dominant access technology in developing markets due to the constraints of mobile phones whereas in the developing markets money transfer and airtime top-ups are going to account for most of the volume.
The research also reports that the wireless application protocol (WAP) will remain the preferred mobile access technology in developed markets, where mobile Internet is commonly activated on the phone.
The study expects WAP access to account for about 88 per cent of total transactions in North America and about 80 per cent in Western Europe by 2016.
For the developed markets like the US and Western Europe, Gartner expects the merchandise purchases to drive the transactions. The study projects the highest user growth between 2011 and 2016 for Eastern Europe from a smaller user base.
In terms of users Asia Pacific has the maximum number of consumers using mobile payment services. Africa has the second highest number of users using mobile payment services. The study predicts that by 2016 both the regions Asia Pacific and Africa will account for more than 60 per cent of the global mobile payments volume in 2016,
