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December 02, 2015

Proximity Mobile Payments Market to Reach $21.45 Billion by 2019

It appears that the proximity mobile payment industry is about to explode – considering its potential for revenue and growth, that is.

According to a recent eMarketer report, “US Mobile Payments Forecast”, the industry had a banner year this year by doubling its revenue from 2014 to $8.71 billion in 2015. Furthermore, the researchers expect that 2016 will continue to climb with transactions tripling to $27.05 billion.

The trend, however, will not stop there. If eMarketer is correct in its predictions, the market will continue to grow until at least 2019 when it is expected to hit $210.45 billion.

This tremendous amount of growth may seem like a lot to handle. It could use some perspective by comparing it to the retail mobile commerce industry. Proximity mobile payments concern the use of mobile phones that utilize near-field communications to interact with point-of-sale terminals. Retail mobile commerce, on the other hand, concerns the purchase of goods on the Internet through a mobile device; this can take place on a website or in a mobile app and has shown a lot of growth on its own.

It is expected that mobile commerce will reach $149.79 billion in 2019 – a figure smaller than the predicted proximity payments industry by that year.

At retail locations, smartphones will become extremely useful as tools for easily making purchases. All near-field communications requires is a swipe of the device. In an instant, customers can make purchases after having held retail goods in their hands at the brick-and-mortar store. In many respects, this is the best of both worlds because customers can see, in person, their goods before purchasing but can also make quick transactions at the register.

It would be unfair to say that mobile transactions through a website or app are difficult, but they may be hindered by their impersonal nature. Customers now appear to gravitate to in-person purchasing and want to make that experience as simple as possible. Proximity payments can push forward that goal.




Edited by Rory J. Thompson


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