50m to pay for goods and services via mobile by 2011

New forecasts from Juniper Research show that around 52m consumers will adopt new mobile technologies such as NFC and other physical m-payment methods to pay for everyday goods and services by 2011. This will help drive the physical m-payments market to $11.5bn by the same year.

NFC and other physical m-payments methods will begin to offer consumers a viable alternative both to cash, credit and debit cards supporting their increasingly mobile lifestyles.

The research study found that by 2011, around 12% of the total mobile phones in circulation will offer support for contactless payment, specifically NFC - equating to nearly 470m NFC-enabled handsets worldwide, thereby providing a significant marketplace for retailers to offer goods via m-payment applications.

Other findings from the report include:
• Mobile payment applications and services are already available in most regions in a variety of formats where they are being adopted in either a trial or commercial mode with favourable user feedback.
• Industry players (including retailers, handset vendors and the financial community) in the Far East and the US are seen as particularly receptive to the idea of using RFID or NFC to facilitate m-payments for physical goods and services.
• Members of the m-payments value chain must develop a mutually satisfactory, robust business model, guaranteeing revenue to all parties

Juniper Research assessed the current and future status of the m-payments market based on interviews, case studies and analysis from representatives of some of the leading organisations in the growing m-payments industry.