Will 2014 Be The Year For Mass Mobile Payments Adoption?

By The Business Solutions Network

Although mobile payment conversations have been “in the works” for the past decade, there’s good reason for retail VARs to get ready now for big changes happening in the near future.

We all know mobility is a hot topic that’s causing a major disruption across every vertical market. Research firm MarketsandMarkets estimates the BYOD (bring your own device) and enterprise mobility market is growing at 15 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) and will reach $181 billion by 2017. Additionally, the Pew Research Center says that 56 percent of all American adults are now smartphone users. With the stage set for mobile payment, what’s keeping it from going mainstream? The fact of the matter is that the mobile payments discussions have been going on for more than 10 years now, and there have been several predictions along the way suggesting mobile payment is going to take off at any moment. To avoid adding another overhyped technology trend to the list, let’s look at what reputable sources such as RSPA, Element, and VeriFone are saying about this topic and discover for ourselves whether the changes happening in the marketplace that are causing some stakeholders to take this topic seriously are worth heeding.