It’s common knowledge that mobile payments are highly regarded as mainstream, but the complete change to mobile payment methods such as ISIS, PayPal and Google Wallet is coming very soon. In fact, recent data from the U.K. arm of Forrester Research, in partnership with PayPal, estimates that mobile payments will replace other forms of payment by 2016. A PayPal article, entitled No Wallet Required, examined the British mobile payment marketplace and concluded that “digital money” will become the go-to payment method within the next four years.
“We believe that exploding smartphone growth and a myriad of opportunities will grow mobile payments at a much faster rate than our respondents anticipate,” said Gary Matuszak, KPMG global chair of the Technology, Communication and Entertainment practice, in a statement. “A wide variety of payments is ready for adoption, as several key players already provide or are rolling out mobile payments, and interest among consumers in utilizing mobile payments is growing, in line with the industry’s readiness to deploy them.”
PayPal processed about $3.5 billion in mobile payments in the U.K. in 2011 alone – five times the amount that the online payment giant saw in 2010.
Carl Scheible, Managing Director of PayPal U.K., says paper currency won’t go away entirely, but will face a diminishing demand. “The lines between the online world and high street will soon disappear altogether,” he says. “Children born today will become the U.K.’s first ‘cashless generation.’ It will be completely natural for them to pay by mobile.”
What do you think, Tru fans? Are you ready to give up your wallet?