NFC-enabled Mobile Wallets 2020 Market To Top $1 Trillion In Transactions

NFC-enabled mobile wallets will top $1 trillion in transactions this year according to data gathered by Learnbonds.com.  Predictions call for mobile wallet transaction value to double in only three years with the number of mobile wallet users jumping to one billion in 2020.

Mobile wallets allow payments by tapping or bringing an NFC-enabled device like a smartphone in proximity to a merchant’s payment terminal. NFC wirelessly handles the data transfer.  The Near Field Communication (NFC) standards that make these transactions possible are developed by the NFC Forum.  The NFC Forum is the global standards and advocacy association for NFC technology.

The Continued Rise of Mobile Wallets

This rise in mobile wallet use is being powered by two catalysts.  First, market leaders ApplePay, Google Wallet, WeChat Pay and AliPay are hitting critical mass in the number of users of each payment method.  Second, NFC technology has proven itself to be the technology of choice for mobile wallets over QR codes.  Interest is strong enough that the NFC Forum developed and released an NFC Money Transfer Specification last year.

Learn More About The NFC  Money Transfer Candidate Specification

NFC technology has – and continues to have — a massive impact on society leading the drive toward a more connected, simplified life for consumers and businesses.  NFC’s “tap and go” simplicity combined with a great user experience is driving the rapid deployment worldwide of NFC in a number of applications including mobile wallets.  Another driver is the benefits of NFC over QR codes.  QR codes have proved to be cumbersome to use, they require the user to open and focus their camera, and are prone to fraud.

The Big Five Lead The Way

China leads in the use of mobile wallets and according to a Statista survey, is expected to generate almost 80% of global mobile wallet revenues in 2020.  Learnbond suggests that the reason for the mobile wallet popularity in China and other Asian markets is that a mobile payments infrastructure was already in place and there was little history of credit card usage.  Other geographies around the globe are behind China in usage for mobile wallets.

See All The NFC Forum Specifications

NFC Inevitability

A quarter of the people on the planet – two billion people — have an NFC-enabled device.  Approximately every second 64 NFC-enabled devices are produced.  These devices are usually smartphones because NFC is standard in smartphones.  This means that whether or not people are aware of it their smartphone has NFC inside making the continued rise of mobile wallets in society inevitable around the world — and NFC is the technology making it possible.