For all the hype surrounding the emerging mobile commerce industry, it is still considered something of a novelty amongst consumers. Driven by NFC technology, the industry is not lacking in terms of innovation or promise, but the companies participating limited field tests of mobile payment platforms have been met with lackluster results. The problems may be due to the limitation in mobile technology, as few smart phones are equipped with NFC chips. While several new phones and mobile devices are being released with such capabilities, business executives from around the world believe that it will take some time before mobile commerce comes into the mainstream.
According to the 2011 KPMG Mobile Payments Outlook report, more than 1,000 business executives hold the belief that mobile commerce will not be a viable industry of business until 2015. Of those surveyed, only 9% believe that mobile payments are mainstream today. The report comes from KPMG, one of the world’s largest professional service firms. Eamon Russell, sector leader of the firm’s Ireland division, has a differing view from those of the respondants.
Russell believes that the mobile commerce industry will boom within the next two years. This will be driven by the onslaught of new smart phones and mobile devices flooding the market, most of which will be compatible with NFC technology. He expects that the sudden growth of both the mobile commerce and mobile technologies industries will present business professionals with a myriad of opportunities they have yet to fathom.
The overall success of mobile payments, however, lies in the hands of the consumer. If companies like Google and PayPal, who are developing platforms for mobile payments, cannot offer comprehensive products, consumers will shun the industry in favor for more traditional and familiar forms of commerce.
