Consumers will conduct almost 300 billion mobile payment and banking transactions worth more than $860 billion in 2013, a twelve-fold increase in gross global transaction values in five years, according to a new forecast published by market research firm Informa Telecoms & Media. Informa contends that if key players collaborate effectively, the mobile payments and banking market offers a shared annual revenue opportunity of more than $10 billion in 2013, galvanized by m-banking services, which are expected to contribute $5.5 billion of that amount. Informa predicts that in four years' time, more than 445 million mobile subscribers worldwide will regularly use their mobile phone to purchase physical goods and services remotely--the report estimates that while the value of mobile payments and transactions in 2008 totaled around $71 billion, a third of which was spent on mobile digital content like ringtones, games and full-track downloads, physical goods and services will represent about 95 percent of mobile transactions by 2013.

Informa forecasts there will be 977 million worldwide users of mobile banking services by 2013, up from about 67 million at the end of 2008. In addition, almost 424 million consumers will transmit more than $157 billion of personal funds via mobile domestically by 2013, with another 73 million sending $48 billion internationally. However, Informa anticipates near-field communications payment models will be held back by the lack of availability of NFC-enabled handsets and related uncertainties concerning the overall business case for mobile NFC. Even so, Informa believes approximately 11 percent of all mobile handsets shipped in 2013 will be NFC enabled, with more than 178 million mobile subscribers regularly using mobile NFC phones to acquire physical goods and services, such as tickets, at the point of sale.

Informa credits the growth of mobile payments to drivers and enablers including more sophisticated handsets and network technologies, a more enlightened regulatory perspective on mobile banking, consumer familiarity and increased investment across the ecosystem. The report concedes that uncertainties remain, in particular the global financial meltdown as well as a crisis in consumer confidence triggered by widespread turmoil throughout the banking industry.

For more on the Informa forecast: read this release

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