Recent research by Frost & Sullivan has revealed that NFC and contactless payment technology supported by the telecommunications, financial and payment industries will transform end-user payment habits, leading to increased to transaction volumes.
According to Frost & Sullivan analyst Yiru Zhong, “As users’ payment habit trends become more entrenched, they will spill over to other regions, enabling lagging countries and regions to leapfrog traditional payment methods and provide smart card vendors with a new avenue of revenue potential.”
Poland, as the first country in the Central and East European region introduce proximity cards by banks and mobile operators within the last two years, is a good example. Poland’s newest payment methods include the ING Bank sticker that can be affixed to a mobile phone and a module in Laks watches introduced recently by Bank Zachodni WBK. Both methods are an enhancement for proximity cards introduced already for use in MasterCard’s PayPass networks around the country.
The report also predicted that there will be a renewed initiative from the financial and payments industry to enable secure mobile payments after a wave of NFC commercial deployments expected to occur in 2011/2012.
Frost & Sullivan anticipates a fight for a dominant payment form between the two industries. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/contactlessnews-4.gif)
