Global value of contactless payments to hit $1.3t in 2019

And contactless card transactions will exceed $2t by 2021.

New data from leading fintech analysts, Juniper Research forecasts that the global value of contactless transactions made via payment cards, mobile and wearables, will reach $1.3 trillion by 2019, more than doubling from an estimated $590 billion in 2017.

According to the new research, Contactless Payments: NFC Handsets, Wearables & Payment Cards 2017-2021, contactless card levels will continue to dominate transaction values, accounting for 80% of total contactless transactions in 2019. The research forecasts that contactless transactions via debit/credit cards will exceed $2 trillion globally by 2021.

The research found that many markets with a relatively well established contactless infrastructure have been seeded by the card providers, albeit with varying degrees of success.

“Purely from a payments and convenience perspective, it will be difficult for mobile wallet providers to gain existing market share from contactless cards. It is therefore incumbent upon them to deliver innovative services through which the mobile wallet will become the default payment mechanism”, added research author Nitin Bhas.