APAC to dominate contactless payment market

The latest research from In-Stat has forecasted that proximity mobile payment transactions will reach 9.9 billion in 2016, up from 1.1 billion this year. Marked by diverse technologies and dispersed contactless payments approaches, the market has yet to reach maturity, In-Stat expressed in the report titled "Worldwide Mobile Payment Market Marches Ahead."

"The contactless or proximity mobile payments market is in its infancy and thus a variety of technologies are being explored and promoted," noted Amy Cravens, senior analyst at In-Stat. "2011, however, was a significant year in clarifying the future direction of market development. Based on the vast support for NFC and the endorsements made by significant players in 2011, it is apparent that this will be the dominant contactless payment solution going forward. However, there continues to be a great deal of support behind barcode-based payments as well (mFoundry and Starbucks, PayPal and Home Depot), indicating that these types of solutions will continue to be supported in the coming years."

The report revealed that Asia Pacific will dominate proximity mobile payments throughout the forecast period representing 41 percent of the transactions in 2016. Likewise, more than half of survey respondents are familiar with mobile payments, up from just one-third last year. In-Stat also stated that remote mobile payments will account for nearly $226 billion in mobile payments this year.