The results of the latest study by Juniper Research have been released, showing that near field communication (NFC) technology will have facilitated approximately $74 billion in mobile transactions by the year 2015.
Though NFC mobile payments remain in their infancy, they are being used on an increasing basis for the purchase of transit tickets and to purchase products in-store. The use of smartphones as an alternative to paper tickets and plastic credit cards is among the most rapidly growing segments of the m-commerce marketplace.
The report, called “Mobile Commerce Markets”, showed that the speed at which mobile devices are being adopted for activities relating to commerce is not at all limited to NFC payments. There have been sizeable growth rates and positive forecasts for all segments of m-commerce, including banking, money transfers, coupons, and mobile payments.
An example of the use of NFC payments is the recent announcement by Shippensburg University that it is launching a pilot program that will allow its students to order their cafeteria meals using an NFC-enabled sticker.
The program will run throughout the length of the spring semester in the hopes that it will prove itself to be worth a longer period of use. The program is running as the result of a partnership between the University and Gold Mobile.
There are now two kiosks at Shippensburg University that have been NFC-enabled. One at a Starbuck’s location operated on campus, and the other is in the student center of the university. Since it first had its start in January 2012, there has been a student enrollment in the program of approximately 400 people. For every dollar spent, there is currently a return on investment of $1.50.
