The Mobile Payment Opportunity

September 2012 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

By Kevin Permenter, research associate, Aberdeen Group

The promise of m-payments technology is undeniable; however, here are several questions that must be addressed.

Payments are the next step for mobile and tablet shopping. According to Aberdeen’s September 2011 Mobile and Tablet Shopping De-Mystified: Adoption & ROI Business Case report, after consumer adoption of mobile Web (57%) and mobile email (40%), payment transactions over a mobile phone device (m-payments) was the mobile shopping component next most likely to be identified as essential, chosen by 40% of 300 qualified enterprises surveyed by Aberdeen (including 80 companies in retail and related industries).

According to Aberdeen data cited in this report, even though m-payments are a recent technology innovation, they are expected to grow briskly as a consumer payment form factor within the next three years, due to the mobile/digital affinity of consumers. In the last three years, this industry has seen rapid ecosystem advancement in terms of commercial launches, advanced pilots, and new platforms/solutions. The m-payment ecosystem comprises merchants (retail, hospitality, restaurants, etc.), financial institutions, handset manufacturers, payment infrastructure providers, and mobile network operators (MNOs).