Mobile payments are gaining acceptance among consumers in North America, Japan and some countries in Western Europe, with half of consumers in mature markets expected to be using smartphones or wearables for mobile payments by 2018, according to Gartner.
Gartner defines mobile payments or mobile wallets into three distinct categories - i. smartphone or wearables-based payments, ii. branded mobile wallets from banks or credit card providers, and iii. branded mobile wallets from retailers such as Starbucks.
"Any mobile payment wallets that are tied to the device will have limited adoption and only if the device has a huge installed base," said Annette Jump, research director at Gartner. "Instead, cloud-based solutions will have a better chance to succeed as they can reach a wider audience and can support many use cases beyond face-to-face or in-store options. Also, mobile payment and mobile wallet adoption requires a country-by-country rollout plan with an enabled payment infrastructure and agreement with major banks and retailers".
However, Gartner forecasts that mobile payments using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay) will be limited in the short to midterm due to lack of partnerships between retailers and financial organizations compounded by poor take-up from consumers.
