Juniper study finds growth, diversity in mobile wallets

In a statistical analysis published April 4, 2018, Juniper Research identified payment and money transfer transactions as leading factors in mobile wallet adoption worldwide. Mobile Wallets: Service Provider Analysis, Market Opportunities & Forecasts 2018-2022 noted third-party wallet providers and financial institutions are responding to these trends by embedding payments and banking functions within single, unified application frameworks. Researchers predict the mobile wallet sector will grow to nearly 2.1 billion consumers, a 30 percent uplift compared to the 1.6 billion mobile wallet population they reported in 2017.

The report contrasted leading mobile wallet schemes, assigning its highest rankings to PayPal, Alipay and Weixin Pay/WeChat Pay. Researchers lauded the three companies' multilayered security processes, which included near field communication (NFC), tokenized credentials, biometrics and two-factor authentication methods. These payment methods are more secure than quick response (QR)-code-based payment methods used in many developing countries, researchers noted.

"QR-code-based payments are likely to have significant growth in markets such as India and sub-Saharan Africa due to the negligible implementation costs," stated research author and report contributor Dr. Windsor Holden. "However, their greater susceptibility to alteration to include viruses and phishing scams is likely to act as a major deterrent elsewhere."

Room for growth in U.S. markets

Jenn Reichenbacher, senior vice president of marketing and direct sales at iPayment, was encouraged by the reported rise in global mobile wallet usage and would like to see more momentum in the United States. "I think we are still in our infancy in terms of mobile payments, whether that's proximity payments, P2P mobile or purchasing from a mobile device," she stated. "With that said, there's no question that mobile payments are on the rise, globally, as demonstrated by the most recent Juniper research, as well as in the United States."

Reichenbacher additionally noted that iPayment is receiving a growing number of requests for mobile payment schemes by merchants with integrated POS systems, countertop terminals and ecommerce websites, but she said the requests comprise a low percentage of the company's overall sales.

"Personally, I love mobile payments, even beyond my Starbucks App, as it streamlines my checkout experience whether I'm in-store or online," she said. "But when I look around, I still see a vast majority of my peers actively thinking about mobile and looking for opportunities to use mobile, especially in proximity payments. I look forward to the day when mobile wallets are more prevalent, as I firmly believe that it's a great experience. In the long run, if retailers and businesses employ the right strategies, they can offer consumers more value in mobile payments beyond just a streamlined experience."

Editor's Note:

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