Digital payments, including online, mobile and contactless payments will reach $3.6 trillion this year, a 20 per cent increase from 2015, market analysis firm Juniper Research has projected.
Last year’s numbers totalled $3 trillion worldwide, the group said.
In its report, the firm suggested that the uptake in digital payments is thanks to scaled up infrastructure rollouts.
Nevertheless, at least within the next five years, cards will continue to dominate contactless payments with 90 per cent of transactions, suggesting NFC-based smartphone payments such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Wallet will remain slow, at least on a global level.
This won’t stop other players from entering the market, however.
Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram have already announced strategies to enter the e-commerce space allowing users to buy products they see directly within apps.
The report also talked about peer to peer (P2P) payments rising, such as through the WeChat app in China. While these social media-based payment functions have regional access or traction, Juniper expects their reach to grow.
