Report: Mobile Wallet Market to Reach $2,950.2 Billion by 2020

Recent market research predicts that the mobile wallet market is poised to reach $2,950.2 billion by 2020.

The Grand View Research report, "Mobile Wallet Market Analysis By Application (Grocery Stores, Public Transportation, Restaurants, Retail, Vending Machines) And Segment Forecasts To 2020," shows that the size of the mobile wallet market in 2013 reached $425.8 billion, and it predicts the market to experience a surge in growth over the next six years equal to a 32 percent compound annual growth rate. That will, by 2020, place the entire market near a worth of $2.9 trillion with advancements in 3G and 4G networks expected to help create demand for mobile payment systems during the projected time period.

The research shows that the current appeal of mobile payment systems is that they can provide easy methods for consumers to pay for goods and services while saving time completing such tasks. Consumers can easily link their credit cards and banks to mobile wallets, and from there they can see an overview of how much money they have in various accounts while also providing themselves with simple ways to budget and spend. High-end mobile devices are making it even easier for consumers as such devices present advanced near-field communication technology that can connect a user's phone with a point of sale terminal by simply placing the two devices in proximity with one another.

NFC translates, alongside other technologies, to removing the need for consumers to remove their credit cards from their wallets because their personal payment information will already exist within their phones. While many payments systems can utilize smartphone cameras as card readers and others can use dongles in which users can swipe their cards, the future of mobile payment technology appears to be one that ultimately eliminates cards from the equation. When the only thing that matters is the information a credit card's magnetic stripe contains, that information located securely on a smartphone can be equally as valid as it contained on the card itself. Therefore, while businesses may continue to benefit from the use of physical card readers and card-reading software contained within their own mobile devices, consumers may be pushing the desire for more even more efficient payment systems that take advantage of device communication protocols.

Market growth of the mobile payment industry was contained most prominently in the Asia Pacific region, Grand View Research points out. It says that Asia Pacific accounted for more than 30 percent of the market volume last year, and its research predicts that that geographical region will also experience the most rapid growth across the next six years. In large part, the area will also experience growth in smartphone usage and Internet connectivity, and those two factors will only serve boost adoption of mobile payment systems.