A new study from Juniper Research expects the number of mobile wallets using contactless technology to reach 200 million by the end of 2016, representing a growth of more than 100% in two years, from 2014 to 2016. The research found that while historic growth of mobile wallet usage was driven by P2P (Person to Person) services for the unbanked in the developing markets, the launch of Apple Pay has prompted a hive of activity in the contactless arena. It argued that with public awareness of contactless payments heightening in the wake of Apple's launch, competing services such as Samsung Pay and the forthcoming Android Pay would no longer need to seed the market.
Additionally, the research also found that numerous banks were partnering with Visa or MasterCard to implement their own-brand contactless wallets using a cloud-based secure element. According to Juniper, wallets run by mobile operator consortia continue to fare badly, with the UK's Weve dropping its planned wallet, and Softcard folding in the US. In developing markets, there has been a significant upscaling of mobile wallet usage for savings and loan disbursements, while more than 100 million are now in use for micro-insurance.
