Money transfers, NFC to account for half of mobile payments

Mobile money transfer and contactless NFC (Near Field Communications) will account for 50 percent of the global mobile payment market by 2013, according to Juniper Research's Mobile Payments Study.

The Juniper report found that the mobile payment market -- which is dominated by purchases of digital goods, such as ringtones, music, and games -- will, in the future, be driven by subscribers transferring money and using NFC features on their handsets to make purchases.

"This will drive the overall mobile payments market to grow by a factor of ten between now and 2013," stated Howard Wilcox, the report's author. "We see significant opportunities for new services making it easier for the 'under-banked' population and migrant workers to make remittances using their mobile phones as mobile wallets."

Currently, mobile payments are common in Africa, where a majority of the population does not have bank accounts. Wilcox noted that the existing services are already seeing rapid growth.

The Juniper Research study explores how the overall mobile payments market will develop in the next five years. The report provides forecasts for digital and physical goods purchases, contactless NFC, and national and international money transfers and remittances.