The gross transaction value of payments made via mobile phones will grow over five times to exceed $300 billion globally by 2013, according to a new report from Juniper Research.A previous study released by Juniper in October 2007 predicted that the mobile payment market would rise from $77.6 million in 2007 to $11.5 billion in 2011.
But the firm's latest study predicts global annual gross transaction value for digital goods like music, tickets and games will soar even further and will surpass $300 billion by 2013.
Juniper says mobile ticketing will see a particularly sharp rise, driven by transport usage and sports and entertainment events. This will represent over 40% of the global transaction value in five years time.
Western Europe and the Far East will dominate usage, representing 60% of global mobile payment gross transaction. Currently the Far East - especially Japan - is the most mature market, with physical and digital sales both well established. In contrast, Western Europe is currently dominated by digital goods and services sold via SMS.
Juniper says the expected explosion in growth represents a significant and immediate opportunity for mobile payment services, systems, software and support offerings.
Howard Wilcox, report author, says: "Merchants in North America and Western Europe are just starting to realise the potential of a mobile Web presence as a fourth channel to market. Retailers should be evaluating the benefits of the mobile web, and be mindful of the success of regular e-commerce sites in generating sales."
Earlier this year Juniper predicted that mobile ticketing will grow in popularity over the next few years, with 2.6 billion tickets worth $87 billion, delivered by 2011.
The group has also claimed 884 million people will use contactless mobile payments, mobile banking and over the air (OTA) transactions in 2012.
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