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Statistics and Facts about mobile payments
 

Statistics and Facts about mobile payments

by Jessica Kril

Mobile payments refer to payment services performed from or via a mobile device. The four primary models for mobile payments are premium SMS, direct mobile billing, web based payments (including apps) and contactless NFC. In the United States, 21.90 percent of mobile payment users utilized designated online wallets such as PayPal or Google Wallet and only 8.4 percent used carrier billing.

How do you make your mobile payments?
Mobile payment methods used on smartphones in selected countries, ranked by usage

In 2012, the global mobile payment volume amounted to 171.5 billion U.S. dollars. One of the most popular uses of mobile payment services was in making online purchases. In 2011, 36 percent of U.S. mobile payment users accessed their devices to shop online, either via mobile retail apps or online browsers.

Although the technology is currently only available on relatively few smartphone models, experts forecast that the NFC payments market will experience significant growth in the coming years. In 2011, the average spending per proximity mobile payment user in the United States was 61 U.S. dollars in 2011; this is expected to grow to 1,294 U.S. dollars in 2016.

Number of U.S. proximity mobile payment transaction users
U.S. proximity mobile payment transaction value from 2011 to 2016
Average spending per U.S. proximity mobile payment transaction user

Global mobile payment readiness differs from country to country. The United States is currently ranked third in mobile payment readiness with an index score of 41.5 out of 100.

Photo: istockphoto.com / saturated

Usage
 
How do you make your mobile payments?
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Credit card, debit card or prepaid card66.40%
Have you used any of the following methods to make or receive mobile payments in the past 12 months?
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Used your mobile phone's web browser to make or receive a mobile payment23.00%
Using your mobile phone, have you done any of the following in the past 12 months?
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Paid bills online (excluding payments made directly from your bank website or application)47.10%