News Articles

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Mobile contactless transactions are expected to treble in the next five years

The number of contactless transactions via mobile handsets is forecast to exceed 9.9 billion globally by 2018, up from just over 3 billion this year. That’s according to a new report from Juniper Research.

Two factors are expected to boost this growth: HCE (Host Card Emulation) and an Apple iWallet

HCE creates a ‘virtual’ smartcard within a payment app, which means that NFC transactions can be conducted without the need for a physical ‘secure element’ (e.g. SIM card that includes payment card information) within the handset. It also has the potential of reducing time-to-market and lets banks offer NFC payments without needing to partner with mobile network operators.

Rumours that Apple is planning an iOS-based ‘iWallet’ are likely to become reality by the end of this year, the report notes. This could enable contactless payment via Bluetooth Low Energy and a mobile connection. Any move by Apple into this type of ‘proximity payment’ would increase consumer awareness and indirectly drive the adoption of other mobile payment processes.

However, report author Dr Windsor Holden warned that these technologies would cause mobile network operators to lose out. He said “With the emergence of HCE, the operator role at the heart of the NFC value chain is no longer sacrosanct. Banks can now go it alone and as a result the scale of the operator opportunity is significantly diminished.”

[Whitepaper; report]

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«March 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
26272829123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
1234567

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement