Most people prefer digital payment instead of carrying cash. Mobile phones have also become one of the most efficient ways of payment for various services and products. There is already a raft of apps and payment techniques.
How we can use mobile payment and what is the market status of mobile payment?
In November 2019, China’s two big-money transfer platforms WeChat and Alipay announced to accept the international bank cards Visa and Mastercard.
Most transactions are processed through these two apps in China. They were previously only accepting Chinese bank cards, which was a major issue for some users.
Mobile payment was first used in Coca Cola vending machines in 1997 when their customers were allowed to purchase drinks through text messages. In the same year, ExxonMobile also offered the contactless payment system.
Since then, mobile payment has been evolving and getting more attractions. The introduction of smartphones opened new doors for mobile payments. Now users can use their phones more than a bank card.
Cryptocurrency is also considered a type of mobile money. It is a transformed form of money but still in a nascent stage. The main theme behind cryptocurrencies is the elimination of middlemen, like banks, which charge a certain percentage on a transfer and also for a large transaction, in some cases.
Cryptocurrencies basically work on blockchain technology which has distributed structure, which implies that there is no central server from which the permission needs to carry out in case of any transaction or transfer. So there are no extra charges on transfer or anything in case of cryptocurrencies. Some of the cryptocurrencies include bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, dash, and ripple.
Most of smartphones companies are also trying to adopt it in upcoming models by providing blockchain wallet through which customers can transfer their coins easily. Some of the models include Galaxy S10, HTC Exodus 1, and Pundi X.
There are hundreds of mobile payment apps which are used both locally and internationally. Almost all of the banks around the world have now their own apps.
In addition, there are some non-banks mobile apps which include PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Cash, and Tabbedout. All these apps have their special offers and systems regarding various types of payments.
The global average market size of the mobile payment industry in 2018 was around US$ 2 trillion, and the market value will reach US$ 3 trillion by 2025.
The Asia Pacific continues to be the largest market compared to other regions owing to the large Chinese market.