Mobile commerce is expected to take off in Taiwan next year as more telecommunications companies begin to adopt NFC technology. Far EasTone, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the country, has announced that it will be working with the other four telecom companies in Taiwan to build a foundation for mobile commerce. Together, the companies expect that the number of NFC-enabled smart phones in the country will surpass 100,000, which means that mobile commerce market will be ripe with potential.
The new telecommunications coalition has met with the Bankers Association of the Republic of China in an effort to formulate mobile commerce standards that will govern the emerging market. The group is also seeking to team with Easycard Corp, one of the credit institutions in Taiwan with more than 26 million clients. Far EasTone believes that mobile payments will become a prominent form of commerce in the region next year, depending on whether financial regulators choose to show support for the company’s efforts.
IMS Research, a market research firm based in the UK, estimates that NFC-enabled smart phones will reach 35 million units worldwide by the end of this year. Next year, that number is expected to swell to over 80 million. With products such as the Google Wallet, which turns a smart phone into a mobile payment device, mobile commerce is expected to grow as quickly as the popularity of NFC technology itself.
