Marriage of mobile banking and payments key to success

by. Brian Day

Year-end 2013 saw fewer than 10 percent of mobile phones incorporating mobile wallet functionality. In the coming years, however, that statistic is expected to more than double, reaching 20 percent by 2018. That’s according to Juniper Research’s recently released Mobile Wallets: Strategies for Developed and Developing Markets 2014-2019.

The report also predicts contactless payment functionality to be increasingly featured in mobile wallets. Specifically, Juniper forecasts more than 50 percent of wallets in developed markets will rely on contactless technology by 2018; globally, more than a third will do so. The potential introduction of the Apple iWallet is expected to spur some of this market uplift. Additionally, deployments are anticipated to get a boost from Near Field Communication (NFC) services incorporating Host Card Emulation (HCE).

Another growth driver will be the launch of additional Person to Person (P2P) payment initiatives similar to Paym in the U.K. or Dwolla in the U.S. Such services will provide another method of payment as they are incorporated into consumers’ current mobile banking or payment apps.

The practice of combining mobile payments functionality with a mobile banking app is a great way to allow consumers to see their complete financial picture from within a single app.

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