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Asia-Pacific region to be key driver of growth in mobile payments.

The outlook for mobile payments (mPayments) has been given a further boost with new estimates projecting they will account for $1 trillion in value in 2017, an increase of 124% on the $500 billion anticipated in 2015. The new research, carried out by the International Data Corporation, identifies the Asian and Pacific markets as the key drivers of this surge in uptake. The expected increase in smartphone penetration in the region's emerging markets will result in significant growth in mCommerce while bank accounts linked with mobile wallets are likely to take off in the place of those paired with debit cards. In contrast, the region's more mature markets will follow the same path as Western economies in terms of the development of mobile payments, with a preference for mPayment solutions that incorporate Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

This has been evidenced by the recent launch of Samsung Pay in South Korea. While at present only available in Samsung's home country, the new mPayment solution will reach the US on 28 September, with the UK, China, and Spain next to receive the facility. Samsung's is the latest major 'tap and pay' solution to be rolled out, yet there is a distinct difference that its developers hope will mark it out from the competition: thanks to a proprietary technology, Samsung Pay is usable with older magnetic stripe readers. It remains to be seen whether this feature, which extends the range of the service by allowing users to 'tap and pay' with a larger number of payment terminals, will give Samsung Pay the edge over the rival offering launched by Apple. What is beyond question, however, is that the introduction of 'tap and pay' solutions has energised the mobile payments space.

In the UK, for example, mobile payments are projected to reach over £1.2 billion per week by 2020, representing a three-fold growth over the next five years. Further, consumer adoption of mobile payments is growing faster, with 60% of Britons expecting to use their mobile devices for payments once a week by 2020. The demands of the digital consumer, as well as the desire for benefits accrued through the act of making a payment, such as loyalty points and targeted discounts, are spurring uptake. It is little surprise, then, that a recent Payments UK and Consult Hyperion report predicts that over the coming five years the mobile phone will become the primary means of making a payment. With demand on the rise in both mature and emerging markets, mobile payments is likely to remain an area defined by innovation for the foreseeable future.