The number of consumers making mobile payments will reach 148 million this year, with Apple and Samsung together accounting for nearly 70 percent of new customers.
According to a new study by Juniper Research, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay are providing a strong stimulus for contactless payment in key markets. Consumers in China, for example, greeted last month’s arrival of Apple Pay by registering 40 million payment cards in 24 hours.
Also driving adoption: point-of-sale infrastructure. Juniper noted that 1 in 5 checkout terminals in the U.S. are now contactless-capable, suggesting that American merchants can begin to expect greater mobile-payment traction.
NFC-capable smartphones will be the initial driver of contactless payments in the U.S., due to the limited number of payment cards, the researchers said.
Juniper was less optimistic about the prospects for NFC tags, arguing that phones using prepaid top-up contactless wallets with a secure element represent “a significant security risk.”
A whitepaper assessing NFC payment trends is available here.
