A new study from Juniper Research has found that the number of consumers making contactless payments via their mobiles will reach 148 million this year, with Apple and Samsung together accounting for nearly 70% of new customers.
According to the new research – Contactless Payments: NFC Handsets, Wearables & Payment Cards 2016-2020 – the industry has already received a strong stimulus from the launch of Apple Pay and Samsung Pay in selected key markets. It cited the case of the recent arrival of Apple Pay in China, where nearly 40 million payment cards were registered to the service in 24 hours in mid-February.
Furthermore, the research argued that with nearly 1 in 5 POS (Point of Sale) terminals in the US now contactless-capable, the infrastructure was now in place for that market to experience traction. It anticipated that NFC smartphones would be the primary initial driver of contactless payments in the US, given the limited number of cards that currently offer the facility.