Mobile payments users hit 141m

The number of mobile payment users will hit 141.1 million this year, a 38.2% increase from 2010, according to a Gartner report, states Credit Union Times.

The research firm pegged the 2011 global mobile payment volume at $86.1 billion, up 75.9% from 2010 volume of $48.9 billion.

However, Gartner analyst Sandy Shen points out that despite favourable conditions for mobile payment in developing markets, growth is not as strong as Gartner anticipated. “Many service providers are yet to adapt their strategies to local requirements,” he adds.

Fierce Mobile Content reveals that the mass market adoption of near field communications-based m-payment services is at least four years away.

“The biggest hurdle is the need to change user behaviour by convincing consumers to pay with mobile phones instead of cash and cards,” Shen says.

According to Bank Tech, Gartner expects SMS and unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) to remain the dominant access technology in developing markets, with money transfers and prepaid top-ups driving transaction volumes.

The firm says in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, SMS and USSD will account for 54% and 32% of all transactions in 2011, respectively.