Published on the 17/12/2015 | Written by Newsdesk

Mobile payments are also sure to gain traction in New Zealand, with ANZ recently launching its GoMoney Wallet which turns late-model NFC-equipped Android phones into virtual credit cards (and that system works well, as tested by iStart.)

Gartner said half of consumers in mature markets are expected to be using smartphones or wearables for mobile payments by 2018.

It said there are three types of mobile payments or mobile wallets available now: smartphone or wearables-based payments, branded mobile wallets from banks or credit card providers, and branded mobile wallets from retailers.

However, mobile payments using NFC technology (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay) will be limited in the short to midterm due to a lack of partnerships between retailers and financial organisations, as well as consumers seeing little value in such payments.

“Any mobile payment wallets that are tied to the device will have limited adoption and only if the device has a huge installed base,” said Annette Jump, research director at Gartner. “Instead, cloud-based solutions will have a better chance to succeed as they can reach a wider audience and can support many use cases beyond face-to-face or in-store options. Also, mobile payment and mobile wallet adoption requires a country-by-country rollout plan with an enabled payment infrastructure and agreement with major banks and retailers.”